Becoming the Best Version of Yourself Part II

This post is a follow-up to last week’s Becoming the Best Version of Yourself Part I.  Today, I want to share tactics for getting noticed at work and how to prepare for an event.

Sam Horn, the author of What’s Holding You Back?, the book that inspired these posts, believes that standing out at work requires courage and confidence. We need to create opportunities where decision makers can see us in action, when we can really put our skills into practice. Sam has a theory called ‘power positioning.’ She describes it as “intentionally positioning ourselves wherever luck is most likely to happen,” and suggests volunteering for leadership roles where we can add value and influence the results.  My advice is to take on more responsibility and put yourself out there. In these uncertain times, it’s so important to remind your employer of the value you provide to your company.

In last week’s post, I shared tips on working a room. Now, what if you have to say something in front of a group of people?  Successfully introducing yourself and becoming part of a conversation is one thing, but standing up in front of everyone and preventing yourself from sounding like a bumbling idiot is quite another. Sam suggests these five steps to prepare yourself and feel confident when the time comes:

1. Conduct a mental dress rehearsal.
2. Picture the bad stuff and plan how you can handle your worst nightmare with poise.
3. Use the drive (or subway) time to the event wisely.
4. Create a one- or two-word command to clear out mental clutter.
5. Control your thoughts during downtime with rituals.

She also offers these wise words of advice:  ”From this day forward, when preparing for a scary event, refuse to focus on your fears. Choose instead to focus on positive projections. Dwell on how you want to behave and mentally rehearse your ideal performance…practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes better.”

Now, some wise words from this Sam. I used to tutor teenagers who were preparing for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. We spent the majority of our time preparing and practicing the portion they would read from the Torah. In case you don’t know, the Torah (aka the Old Testament) does not have vowels, so it can be pretty daunting.  I would tell my students to do the best that they could, and if they messed up, just keep going.

Honestly, very few people know the Torah well enough to know if someone makes a mistake, but this approach applies to public speaking as well. If you get flustered, don’t say “oops,” “I’m sorry,” or “That’s not what I meant to say.”  Keep going! As long as you don’t draw attention to your mistake, chances are that very few people will notice. When all else fails, smile, crack a joke, and move on.

This is one of my favorite quotes from the book, and I think it’s something we should all keep in the back of our minds:

“If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.”  –Mary Pickford

How do you prepare for a “scary event?”  What have you done to stand out at work? Are there any tactics you use to maintain your confidence?

Tagged as: Advice, confidence, Gen Y, Learning