You Are The Show

Welcome to another edition of my green wall, not to be confused with my grein wall; that’s a totally different episode. My green wall wants to feature this thing, there’s nothing to feature, it’s not doing anything to help me and that’s precisely the point because I don’t need anything to help me. A lot of you out there do business presentations, you present to your clients, you present to win the work in an interview, you present to your team, and you’re relying so heavily on the stuff in the background to be the presentation when you are the presentation. Earlier in my career, I felt everything was a reflection on me, I wanted beautiful backgrounds, I wanted great lighting; boy, I had no idea as you got older how much more the great lighting was going to be important, but you just don’t always get what you want, but you can be the thing that you need. That’s the point of the big green wall, it’s not bringing me anything, I have to carry the show, and that’s the attitude I want to suggest you bring into every presentation you do. You are the show, you are everything. Got a PowerPoint? Fine, doesn’t matter, I’m the show. I’ve got a beautiful background, great setting, great lighting, great; doesn’t matter, I’m the show, I’m the show. And so, I want you to look towards a couple of energy sources; one is your feelings, are you feeling what you’re talking about, are you feeling the love for your work, are you enjoying what you do, are you feeling how serious something is, do you feel the empathy for someone else when you talk about them, those emotional energy sources are really, really important, and we often damp them down instead of bringing them up. I want to feel also when I’m presenting, the second energy source is just my warmth, do I care about the people that I’m talking about, am I really focusing on being there for them as someone to deliver value. These are simple energy focuses that you can do to bring more of you out, which is kind of the point, are you exuding your essence? It’s like pushing yourself through yourself. Many presenters just give the information, and I think this is one of the best times ever in the world to devote some energy towards bringing you into the mix. AI is coming along, well, AI is here, but AI is getting good at the visual, it’s getting emotionally natural. We will see a time when AI can out presence you, this is the time to really find yourself. So think about your emotions and your feelings, think about your conviction to exude to bring you through, and bring more than just the information, and don’t ever rely on a background to bring you your professionalism because you are the show.