The before: loss of confidence
An innovation expert with a PhD came to me with the following question “I will have an evaluation for a promotion and would like to prepare for it with an experienced coach.”
*Privacy Notice: To protect individual privacy and confidentiality, certain names and specific personal identifiers in this document have been altered or generalized.
When I first met Sophie, I saw someone who had shrunk herself a lot. She had lost confidence in herself and was preparing for a job promotion interview. Not a winning combination.
If you are familiar with my approach to public speaking, you’ll know it starts with YOU. and not with what you say. We start with your confidence. Your leadership. Your energy. Your attitude. Your style. How you feel. And what you think about public speaking. So we can do some reprogramming. Letting go of old patterns and conditioning that don’t serve you anymore. Building a healthy relationship with your inner critic. Activate your inner cheerleader. To make room for creating new and deliberate habits.
In my work with clients, we uncover what is holding you back from expressing yourself freely. And define exactly who you are today and who you want to grow into as a speaker and a leader. Then we pull that future person into the present. I call it the design of your speaker persona.
Sometimes clients feel isolated and disconnected, and that is exactly why a coach by your side will make all the difference.
There is no standard recipe for rebuilding your confidence. For every client, I assess which insights, tools or shifts will make the most difference, aiming for both quick wins and lasting change. Active listening, combined with years of experience is what guarantees a quick breakthrough.
The change: new found confidence
When she told me about how she was feeling today and then spoke about a previous job, where she was assertive, didn’t hold back, and shared her opinions, and was appreciated for it, I saw glimpses of the real her. Back in her home country, she had always been confident. But coming to Belgium, people are different, and her outspokenness was not appreciated in the same way. Different culture, different communication.
This was the change.
– FEELING differently: we went back to who she was before she started shrinking herself. And reconnecting with that confidence, that power, that fire. -> a new feeling.
– THINKING differently: I can prepare in a way that will surprise the whole room. It is possible! -> a new belief
– ACTING differently: developing a strategy and a script on how to approach the job promotion interview -> different action
– new ATTITUDE: “I will rise to the occasion.” -> different result
“I see a very different Sophie in front of me; your expression, your energy- it has totally shifted. ” I told her during our third session. I smiled. She smiled.
Next: powerful content
Next up, we worked on the presentation and the script. The number one pitfall to avoid is to deliver an enumeration of things that were done.
CONTENT prompts // sentences that show you are taking the LEAD:
“I have done these projects, and here’s what I have learnt from them and this is what I will be doing differently….”
“Here’s how I will create win-win scenarios for the different stakeholders….”
“I have developed a new vision on the scope of my job… and I have decided….”
“You can count on me for not holding back on …..”
“Here’s what changed….”
“A decision I made, that made the whole process more efficient…”
“What this means…..” -> Always, always highlight the benefit.
“You are a perfect coach. Thank you so much.” she wrote to me after one of our last sessions.