Courage Over Confidence

While we may not always feel confident sharing our story, we can always choose courage.

I founded Center Stage Connections (CSC) for deeply personal reasons: I believe in the power of stories. Stories connect to our emotions.  Our emotions connect us to each other.  At work. At home. In life.

I spent a large part of my life struggling with self-doubt. I know what it feels like to listen to the external and internal voices that keep us from trusting ourselves and doing the work we imagine. At some point, we must believe what is on the other side of our fear matters more than what is holding us back. For me, on the other side of fear, are more lasting meaningful connections with others.

High-stakes moments are scary. High-stakes means something different for each of us. You may be an executive seeking to nail a series of pivotal presentations, a medical student preparing to interview for a coveted residency match, or a leader needing team members to speak more confidently and concisely. While each of these moments requires specific professional expertise, each of us wants to show up with presence, clarity, and authenticity.

So how do we show up and step into the best of who we are?

With the help of others. During our lifetime thus far, each of us has had a few people beside us who “get” us. The past and present people who see us for who we truly are or, more importantly, what we could be. One of the most consistently impactful CSC stage-inspired exercises clients engage in calls for reflecting on those relationships–the relationships most influential in how we define ourselves and shape who we are today.

Perhaps you are thinking of someone right now. I encourage you to reach out and let that person know they made a difference in how you see yourself. If you haven’t connected with that person in a while, let them know how they showed you your story matters.

Belief in ourselves (often through the eyes of others) is a transformative thing.

As we take a collective step into 2024, let’s share that support we once received with someone else who needs it. Especially those whose lived experiences are not reflective of our own. Be the person who encourages others to bring their unique voice to the conversation, the meeting, or the board room. Step away from the computer, silence the notifications, or flip that phone over on the table. Be the person who lets someone know their voice matters. Small actions send lasting messages.

Wishing all good things to you, those you hold dear, and those whose stories long to be told at work, at home, and in life…

Julie

julie@centerstageconnections.com

Why Your Story Matters to Me...

And why you haven’t heard from me in a while…

YOU are the only one who has lived YOUR story. Funny. Touching. Bold. Subtle. Silly. Intense. It’s likely your story holds a sprinkling of all those qualities. None of us is all one thing.

Just recently, I stepped away from my work and monthly newsletter for a bit as I needed to be with my son away at college. He is fully recovered from a foot injury that required a complicated surgery followed by a stressful time of complete bed rest. We are all relieved here in our house.

With this break in my work, came time to double down on the business side of my business…revising my website (let me know what you think,) getting some advice on marketing, and growing my 1-to-1, team, and guest speaker trainings…it’s still all about what you say and how you say it in a way that resonates with your audience.

I hope you find a moment to share some of your stories with friends or family over the winter holidays. And I hope you find a moment to encourage someone to share a bit of theirs.

Stories connect to our emotions. Our emotions connect us to each other. Just ask any of my kids who catch me teary eyed when they share a post of a giggling baby, a squirming puppy, or someone coming home for the holidays… “Mom, that’s supposed to be funny, why are you crying?!” I am all in when it comes to stories. It’s a thing with me.

 Thank you for being part of MY story as I continue to grow Center Stage Connections. I cannot do this work without people like you.

Stories connect us. At work. At home. In life.

Warm wishes to you and your loved ones,

 Julie

Find Your Tightrope

What does walking a tightrope have to do with telling your business story?

Completing a walk across a tightrope was a requirement before completing my MFA in Acting. 

Required, not because our department head wanted his students to be more marketable as future circus performers. He believed the act of staying on a tightrope, from beginning to end, was analogous to what is required of our mind and body to be on stage. Staying on a tightrope has less to do with athleticism or grace, and more to do with mindset. Being present. Moment by moment. Step by step. Always moving forward.

I learned a valuable lesson over those months of tightrope class. The second I thought of what I was going to have for lunch, recalled an earlier conversation that had left me unsettled, glanced away from the end of the rope, or allowed even a smidge of doubt to enter my mind, I would fall off that rope. Every. Time.

I fell off a lot. A whole lot. But one of the class rules was if you fell off, your turn wasn’t over. You got right back on. Before you could dwell on why you fell off. Just get back on. Find the courage. Be Present. Move forward. Step by step. Moment by moment.

The mind/body experience of walking a tightrope remains with me today in my work at Center Stage Connections, as I support, encourage, and guide others to move their story forward—whether in the form of a high-stakes presentation, a grueling interview process, or team building and messaging. Moving your story forward is not always easy. Internal and external challenges will be there.

If you or your team have fallen off your tightrope, I have many tools and techniques to get you moving forward with focus, presence, courage, intention, and boldness for the business stage.

What an Actor does for public speaking anxiety...

Yes, I get nervous before speaking gigs.

What do I do?

External tools…content preparation, exercise before a speaking engagement, pre-gig mind body vocal warmup, choose wardrobe night before…

But it’s the internal tools that have the most power…

Remind yourself that what you have to say and the meaning and purpose behind what you have to say is bigger than:

- the voices of self-doubt,
- imposter syndrome feelings,
- inner critics,
- toxic people in your life that told you then or are telling you now that you will never do (fill in the blank), or aren’t qualified, to do (fill in the blank), or too (fill in the blank) to be successful at (fill in the blank).

So…imagine what’s on the other side of the presentation, the performance, the interview, the meeting…and if you have to do the presentation scared, the performance anxious, or the interview nervous…go do it anyway.

Because on the other side of fear is the possibility for connection.

Recover during your presentation

How to recover during a presentation…

Ever find yourself going off the rails, down a rabbit hole, or veering WAY off-topic during a meeting or presentation?

I did.

And my audience knew it.

So...I used a tip from my stage tool kit for confidence and clarity:

1.) Take a breath (more oxygen to your brain allows for clearer thinking)

2.) Refer back to the one-sentence synopsis you delivered at the very top of the meeting on why you are all in the (virtual) room in the first place--hold yourself accountable for owning and leading the room

3.) Be authentic-everyone makes mistakes-it's how you recover that your audience will remember

#presentationskills #confidencebuilding #connection