PowHERtalks is a process that encourages women to focus on integration.
Within this powHERful process, magic occurs. Magic typically dances at the periphery often times unnoticed… perhaps a seemingly insignificant introduction, an a-ha moment that risks slipping by or a down-played opportunity drowned out by day-to-day busyness. Magic happens at the periphery.
Let’s talk about the process. It’s a valuable one that I hope you will commit to for 2016. Let the magic begin!
When developing a PowHERtalk, there are three key questions to explore:
- Who am I?
- What’s my mission?
- What’s my ASK?
Developing the ability to confidently and concisely communicate these three things in 9 minutes or less is invaluable. And it is something that we, as women, were never taught to do – not as a student or a young women growing up, not as an entrepreneur or business owner seeking success, and not as a female professional doing everything possible (and sometimes impossible) to try to advance in a corporate environment. And as a result, we’ve been held back. Until now.
So let’s start here. I’m a big believer in visualization.
1. Begin with the end in mind.
When you visualize yourself delivering your talk, what is your audience doing? Perhaps you are in a boardroom, a 1-on-1 meeting or even on stage. Are they laughing? Inspired? On the edge of their seats? What exactly are they doing and what is the experience they are having?
TIP: Use your natural gifts and talents to develop your talk. Most importantly, BE YOU.
EXAMPLE:
Let me give you an example. For the past 15 years, I have been motivating women both inside and outside of the gym. I am a natural born motivator, energizer and creative catalyst for positive change. I know that. When I visualize how I want my audience to feel, I picture a cross between a Tony Robbins audience and an Oprah Winfrey audience. I not only see them in my mind’s eye, but I hear them and I definitely feel them. The energy in the room is rev’d up, women are sitting up tall, fully energized, focused and completely engaged. They are giggling with excitement, vibrating with anticipation and percolating new ideas and insights. Inspired to take action, they are jotting down reminders and follow-up items in their bright orange, coiled PowHERhouse journals.
EXERCISE: Savour the Stage – look, listen, feel
- 1-word that your best friend would use to describe you. “You are so __________________!”
- Describe in 30 seconds the experience you want your audience to have (not what you will say, HOW they will feel). Remember, go back to your natural gifts and talents. What is the word you used above? Write down this experience and do some free-flow journalling around it. Share it with a PowHERhouse peep.
2. My Body. My Best Teacher.
My entire life I’ve been extremely connected with my body. With 4 older brothers and 4 male cousins, I learned to play hard at a young age. And I’ve lived my entire life fascinated with the relationship between Lifestyle + Leadership, bringing ALL of you to the game. Integration.
What I’m excited to share with you through the PowHERtalks process is called ‘intentional integration’. We are going to intentionally integrate all of our various pieces to develop and deliver the most powHERful talk we’ve ever given.
Old thee-legged stool from a workshop. Isolated on white with natural shadows.
Write this quote down: “High-Calibre performance happens when you balance your stride between your passion, your purpose and your powHER.”
Passion: Who are you and what’s it all about for you? Typically, this can be boiled down to one story or key memory. What would be your one story?
[Emotional. Your energy, life force, pulsating through your veins. Your passion is expressed not in your words but in your delivery of those words, your tone, articulation, pace and projection.]
My story:
I exist to… build strong women.
I am passionate about… intentional integration.
My crazy big goal is to… Create a positive and uber-powHERful national media platform (with global interest) and a strong and supportive community of energetic and engaged women across Canada (and beyond!) with a goal of elevating women on a large scale by building stronger bodies, business and lives.
EXERCISE: Complete the following
I exist to…
I am passionate about…
My crazy big goal is to…
Purpose: Your WHY. Your Mission. Make it memorable What gets you up in the morning? Why do you do what you need to do?
[Mental. Cognitive, common sense melded with inspiration. Your WHY should resonate with your audience. Your WHY is your grounding pillar.]
PERFORMANCE TIP: Your mission (and your clarity around it) is also a great performance filter. As requests and opportunities come your way, you can run them through your filter and know fairly quickly whether they are a fit for you or not.
My Why:
I believe that strong women build strong families. Strong families build strong communities. And strong communities build a strong future – our future. This belief gets me up each morning excited for another day. At PowHERhouse, from the stage to the page, we celebrate Canadian women making an impact in sport, business, the arts and community leadership and we provide solutions to keep them strong. Why? We learn through stories. Stories inspire action, and positive role models need a platform. It’s time to elevate the face of Canadian media for women – and the impact it can make – to a whole new level.
PowHER: Connecting to your greatest powHER, YOU. The power in your body. The power of your mind. Your will.
[Physical. Your posture, body awareness, groundedness, confidence]
You can have the best content in the world (ie. your purpose) – but without your PowHER and your passion, it will fall flat.
It all boils down to an exchange of energy. People are drawn to people who are magnetic. Energy attracts energy. Let’s talk about bringing all of you to your talk.
This is what sets PowHERtalks apart. We want you to teach you to utilize your body to help you deliver your talk with energy, focus and presence – commanding the stage with confidence. It is something very, very few speakers have grasped.
First and foremost, it is important to remember that we are physical beings. We need to use our physicality to express our passion and purpose to harness our energy and share it, powHERfully.
There are 5 techniques I like to demonstrate to help you connect to your greatest powHER and to bring all of you to your talk:
- ACTIVATE! What do you do to activate your energy?
- Engage to Engage! Use your muscles to increase your confidence.
- Your PowHER Stance: Finding the PowHER in your pelvis! Rooting down to PowHER up!
- Remembering your Ribs: Breath work, posture and projection.
- The PowHER of the Pause: Pacing, timing and play.
TIP: ‘Flipping the Butterflies’ – Here’s the thing. We ALL get nervous. Nervousness is just energy, and we have the ability to shift it and use it most powHERfully. The next time your nerves are getting the best of you, remember to simply ‘flip’ the butterflies!
We have planned a series of PowHERtalks as a goal to encourage women to embark on this process. But it’s important to remember that just like signing up for a half-marathon that lasts for just one morning, the real benefit is in the process. And that the real magic happens at the periphery.
Watch for 2016 dates and invitations to join us for virtual PowHERtalks workshops as we continue to work through this process, prepare for upcoming events, and continue creating the magic!
2016 PowHERtalks schedule:
Vancouver: January 30th, 2016 (complete)
Victoria: June 18, 2016
Calgary: September 2016
Toronto: October 2016
2-Day Lifestyle + Leadership Conference Late Fall 2016 – tbc
Join our PowHERtalks Speaker Series Facebook group.
Watch for our upcoming article on Developing & Delivering Your Most PowHERful ASK!
