We are living in a rapidly changing world where disruption, digital transformation and innovation are all around us, shaping our society. More than ever we have the tools and the need to spread ideas and connect with each other, but never have people, companies and brands struggled so much to bring humans together and get ideas, visions and plans across in such a way, that they truly inspire action. In this blogpost we will show you with five simple steps how you can stand up, express yourself in the most powerful way and stand out in life and business.

       1. A great story isn’t about what you say, its about how you can make people feel

In a week or so, this post will be a distant memory. When you finish reading it,  you will only remember 50% of what we wrote. The next day it will be around 25% and the next week it will have shrunk to a measly 10%. Same goes for your presentations, emails, pitches, conversations …

Expressing yourself, inspiring or convincing people doesn’t start with purely content. It starts with focusing on how you are going to make people feel about that content.

       2. Monkey see, monkey do

Every human being, when feeling an emotional connection, will copy the other person in some way. Tapping into people’s emotions is done not only by words. It is a combination of content, body language, energy, sound and visualization. Most of the impact you will have on another person is by combining these elements, with content in its purest form as the least  differentiating one.

For example, you can’t expect people to be driven and ready to take action when you yourself brought the message cold, monotone and without emotion. If you are driven, punctual and enthusiastic, chances are you will notice it with other people who are close to you.

       3. Get yourself pumped

Your body is unable to lie. Your thoughts, behavior and feelings influence each other. People are creatures of feeling and energy. Being aware of all this will help you a lot in understanding situations you previously linked to external factors. Like walking into a network event or attending a workshop where you don’t know anybody. People tend to flock together, seem to be ignoring you and you find it hard to connect with anyone. You start questioning your popularity and fulfill your own prophecy that you are a bad networker. You come home and blame it on the group and the organization. In those moments, remember the 3 most important rules in communication:

• The energy you give is the energy you will receive
• It’s never the audience or your environment, it’s always you
• You feel stressed, ill, nervous, angry? Nobody cares, deal with it

      4. If you want to inspire action, you need to believe in yoursel and your story first, before        you can expect others to do so

Whatever your story is, you need to own it. Even if you make a mistake, don’t panic, stumble or justify yourself, own it. The reason nothing happens when you interact with people, is that you don’t fully believe you are ready for an interaction yourself. Same goes with simple questions in a normal conversation. Are you asking the question because you think you have to or because you want to? The answer to this question will determine the answer of your recipient.

      5. Listen to understand

Train yourself to listen, hearing what is being said, understand it and read between the lines. Our subconcious is so dominant in our everyday lives that also when somebody thinks they choose their words and control what they say, just like the body, our subconcious can’t lie. What we think, feel, value and believe will always show itself clearly, often subtle and sometimes disguised in what we say and do. Be the person that developed the radar to detect it.

Eager to know more about how you can stand up to stand out?

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