Episode 200
Become an Authoritative Speaker | Chris Marr
Becoming an Authoritative Coach and Speaker with Chris Marr
Summary
In this episode of Present Influence, host John interviews Chris Marr, author of the book Become An Authoritative Coach, to discuss the importance of owning authority in coaching and public speaking.
They explore themes like the struggle with people-pleasing, developing a unique brand, and the distinction between confidence and arrogance.
Chris shares insights on how to present oneself authoritatively, both on stage and in a coaching setting, and emphasizes the value of frameworks, deliberate practice, and having a service-oriented mindset.
The episode provides actionable advice for coaches and speakers aiming to establish their authority and effectively engage their audience.
Check out Chris' book and be sure to visit his website and take the assessment. https://theauthoritativecoach.com
Chapters
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:32 The Authoritative Coach: An Overview
02:22 People Pleasing and Authority
03:40 Confidence vs. Authority
04:27 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
07:07 People Pleasing in Leadership
08:17 Engaging the Audience: Tips for Speakers
14:55 The Inner and Outer Game of Authority
22:02 The Journey to Becoming Analytical
22:53 Levels of Learning: Study, Practice, Teach
23:36 Developing Frameworks and Insights
24:39 The Importance of Personal Frameworks
26:19 Creating Effective and Tested Frameworks
30:48 Engaging Your Audience with Stories
37:00 Balancing Authority and Arrogance
41:28 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Go to presentinfluence.com to get your copy of my guide to building authority through podcast guesting and for speaking enquiries or connect with me on LinkedIn
Thanks for listening and please give the show a 5* review if you enjoyed it.
Transcript
Would you describe yourself as being authoritative, whether that's on the
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:platform or in your general communication?
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:Where does authoritativeness
crossover potentially into arrogance,
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:and how do we make sure we avoid
that so we can stay relatable
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:and connected with our audiences?
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:All this and much more, is gonna
be covered in this special 200th
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:episode of Present Influence
with my guest, Chris Marr.
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:This was the second conversation that I
had with him because he came onto my other
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:show, which is called The Coaching Clinic.
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:And if you are a coach then you
may want to check out the episode
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:with Chris on the coaching clinic.
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:So welcome to Present Influence the
show for speaking and communication
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:professionals to help you master
your speaking skills and be able
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:to impact, influence, and inspire.
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:My name's John Ball.
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:I'm your guide here on this journey
to mastery level communication skills.
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:Make sure you're following the show for
weekly guest and solo episodes and why not
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:connect with me on LinkedIn as well to get
the Present influence Weekly newsletter.
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:First of all, welcome to
Present Influence, Chris Marr.
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:We're very happy to have you with me.
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:Chris Marr: Thank you, John.
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:I'm glad to be here.
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:I'm excited to have a
conversation with you today.
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:John: I'm excited to get to speak
to you again because we have
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:just recorded an episode four.
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:The other show that I do with my good
friend, Angie, the coaching clinic
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:and definitely I'm gonna say to anyone
listening to this, if you have a coaching
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:practice as part of what you do, we will
touch on some of those things today.
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:But you definitely want to go and
check out that episode as well.
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:Different conversation.
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:Anyway, I thinking always speaking
to the same guest twice a year.
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:There's very good reason for that.
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:Which you'll want to stay tuned for.
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:But you have a book that I really
enjoyed called The Authoritative Coach.
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:I've been practicing saying
that, so I think I've just about
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:wrapped my tongue around it now.
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:But I found it really useful just
in terms of, I felt that one of
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:the key themes of the book that
you talk about was people pleasing.
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:Certainly something that
I've struggled with before.
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:And I just wanted to get us maybe
a bit of an overview for you as to
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:where your coaching has been and
that kind of people you work with,
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:and what led you to focusing on this
authoritative side of the coaching world.
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:Chris Marr: Yeah.
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:I think from a branding perspective,
one of the things that we need
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:to do is we need to have a
lane that we stay in, right?
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:So I think even the sort of more
practical element of owning a
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:word, like authoritative or owning
a phrase like people pleasing
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:when I first was establishing the
brand, there was nobody else really
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:talking about things like that.
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:And I thought, you know what?
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:Then maybe there's something in
this that I can really dig into.
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:So from a branding perspective, it made
sense for me to pick something that
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:hadn't already been well established.
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:So that was one practical element
of it, but other part of it was
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:just understanding like that
there's a big need for people to
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:turn up in an authoritative way.
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:And I think when you're
thinking about anything that
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:you're bringing to an audience.
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:And an audience could be a client or
from the stage, or even on the podcast as
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:well, is that owning your expertise and
owning your ideas is a big part of the,
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:a big part of helping other people to
feel confident about what you're saying.
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:So if I came into this show, for example,
and I was a little bit heady about.
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:My ideas would be like I've been
thinking about this thing and maybe
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:it's this, maybe it's that, or whatever.
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:And I was, people would be like I
don't, I'm not really sure about this
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:guy, like what he's saying if I'm
quite confident that he knows what
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:he's talking about, or that his ideas
are actually substantive, right?
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:That they have any foundation.
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:And so there's something about how
people pleasing manifest itself in you.
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:The way that you present your
ideas to the world in a sort
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:of committed and convicted way.
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:And I don't know, I always say
this 'cause I think it's accurate,
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:but also polite to say that you're
accidentally diminishing your authority.
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:I.
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:People aren't doing it deliberately.
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:People aren't going into the
world to deliberately undermine
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:themselves, but there's many
ways that it manifests itself.
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:Sometimes it's the way we turn up.
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:Sometimes it's the doubt that we bring
in that doesn't lead to confidence.
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:I wonder why people don't hook onto
our ideas because we are the ones that
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:are actually the doubtful ones, right?
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:Or we're minimizing or
diminishing our own authority.
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:And so I think that's
been a journey for myself.
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:Of course.
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:But then also seeing it in others
as well and being able to help them
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:understand maybe what's going on there
and how to overcome that and present
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:their ideas better to the world or just
turn up in a more authoritative way.
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:And so I think that's a
big part of it, right?
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:It's not about authority.
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:Having power over people, but turning
up in a way that influences others.
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:And the way to do that is to
be authoritative about it,
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:right in your presentation.
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:And like I said, it manifests
itself in many different ways, but
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:that's really the broad brush, John.
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:John: What then is the difference
between being confident and being
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:authoritative, or is it just.
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:Like parts of the same thing.
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:Chris Marr: Yeah.
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:There's probably two major things
to consider here, is that I look
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:at this as like a spectrum and I
often say that the level of respect
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:that you'll gain from your clients.
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:Or the level of respect that
you'll receive from your clients
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:can never be higher than the
respect that you have for yourself.
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:So what we're really talking about there
is that if I want to get respect from
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:an audience or people to respect my
expertise or my ideas, I have to turn
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:up in a way that where I respect them
and myself in that space as well, right?
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:So you're never gonna receive respect.
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:Any more than the level
that you respect yourself.
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:So that's about how committed and
convicted you are to your own expertise.
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:One of the major gaps, I think, is
what people would probably normally
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:call imposter syndrome, right?
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:Which is the gap between where
you are and where you wanna be.
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:And so oftentimes, I'm working
with coaches or with clients facing
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:professionals that aren't quite
where they want to be, right?
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:Which means that they've got like a
sort of leap to make, I call it the peer
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:threshold, which is ultimately going
from what I call the friend zone, where
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:you know, you're getting some pushback
and some resistance on your ideas.
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:You get some respect, but ultimately
you're not quite where you want to
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:be, and there's a gap between where
you are and where you wanna be.
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:And I think imposter
syndrome, in other words.
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:There's a set of skills that you
haven't learned yet that you need
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:to develop and learn and practice.
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:It's gonna shift you into what I
call that peer threshold space.
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:In other words, you can turn up in
any room with any group of people with
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:any job title and feel like you are.
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:You have a right to be there, that
you're supposed to be in this room,
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:and that you're at that peer level with
people that would, A good example of
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:this would be like even me, for example,
a coach in his forties working with a
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:very successful CEO in their sixties.
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:Can I be in that space
and be the authority?
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:And that's the leap that I think a lot
of people are wanting to make is to go
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:in and not feel like the supplicant in
their own expertise, where they're the
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:ones that are the expert on the stage,
on the podcast, wherever it might be.
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:And then of course, as you go further down
the spectrum, you get to the place where
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:You're a high people pleaser, right?
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:And I think that's, you're getting
into the area where you are
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:turning up and there's a lot of
things that you are doing that are
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:ultimately setting you up to fail.
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:And one of the things that I've seen
a lot is that, need to be liked.
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:The people pleasing is ultimately holding
them back from being a great coach or
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:a great consultant or a great expert.
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:But you've gotta take that one step
further because of your need to be liked
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:and your people pleasing behaviors, you
are actually holding your clients back
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:from doing their best work as well.
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:And so hopefully hearing that motivates
people to get out of that space and move
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:more towards becoming that authority.
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:John: I definitely wanna come back in a
moment to where that fits with people from
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:on the stage, like professional speakers.
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:Before we do that though, just because
I should have asked you this yesterday,
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:really, but just so we have a sense,
like you say you work with coaches and
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:who are the people that you typically
work with and maybe even the audiences
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:that you speak to as well from the stage,
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:Chris Marr: yeah, I've got quite a broad
range of different types of people because
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:the area that I'm in is helping people
to step into their expertise essentially.
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:And so I work, so a broad range.
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:For example, I work with
agency owners, right?
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:So they're leaders.
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:That want to influence their
team and work through people.
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:So I work with people pleasing
shows up in leadership, right?
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:That's avoiding difficult conversations,
avoiding difficult feedback
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:that you need to give to people.
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:It manifests itself in so many ways.
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:One of the ways with owners is that they
still continue to do the work for others.
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:And obviously that, gets in
the way of growth as well.
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:So there's lots of ways
it turns up in leadership.
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:And then there's the client facing
professionals, account managers,
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:project managers, those people that
are doing the day-to-day client work
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:inside larger organizations from
marketing to sales, right through to,
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:accounting and hr, those group of people.
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:And then of course, I work with
individuals who, it might be like
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:a specific coach or consultant in
a specific vertical or industry.
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:And I work with them too.
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:To build their programs and set
themselves up to be the authority in
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:their space, which is massively about
communication, but also looking at how
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:they position themselves in the market
as well from a marketing perspective.
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:So yeah, it's a broad range, but the
one thing that they all have in common
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:is that people pleasing is holding
them back from doing their best work.
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:John: How might that
fit then for people on.
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:On the platform, on the stage,
or where might you see that?
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:How are you gonna know if a speaker
is being affected by people pleasing?
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:Chris Marr: I think there's a really easy
one here, which is if you go on the stage,
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:you've got a 45 minute slot and you're
thinking about what am I going to say?
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:One of the things that you can control
or you feel like you're in control
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:of is if I can just talk solid for 45
minutes, then at least I'm in control
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:of everything that's happening.
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:But that leads to a pretty boring talk,
probably of you just like vomiting
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:all over the audience with what?
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:It's that you got to see.
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:I.
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:So what would it look like to
relinquish some of that control
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:and turn it into a question for
the audience, for example, right?
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:So people pleasing or imposter syndrome
might feel like you're afraid to do
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:certain things, take risks, do things
a little bit differently, right?
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:So I think there's, I think
that's definitely one way.
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:And one of the things I'm just reflecting
on, a recent client that I had, who's
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:actually got a presentation today one of
his biggest challenges was coming onto
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:the stage, for example, and saying the
comfort zone, which would be my name
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:is, and I'm here today to talk about
this is what we're gonna be covering and
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:this is what you're gonna get from it.
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:Instead of coming in with a really high
energy and literally asking the audience a
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:question that requires a response from the
room to start Actually, like for example,
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:instead of telling everybody what you're
going to do with them today, can they get
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:a sense of it within the first 60 seconds
because they're already engaged with
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:the work that you're doing, and that's.
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:Like you're, you want the audience
to like you and you want to stay
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:in control and that keeps you safe.
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:But ultimately what we're looking
for is how can we engage the audience
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:and get 'em involved in this sort
of shared story element of it.
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:So that's certainly one thing
that springs to mind is like what
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:happens in that first 60 seconds,
that first two minutes on stage.
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:This comes from a place, John, that
I learned this lesson myself as well.
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:I was in a restaurant with my mentor
and coach at the time, which was I
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:wanna say it was like seven or eight
years ago or something like that.
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:Just so happened that
I had a talk coming up.
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:It was on social media
or something like that.
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:And one of the things he said
to me, John, was, okay, cool.
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:Tell me about your presentation.
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:Let me help you.
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:And then he just goes, so what's
the first question you're gonna ask?
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:And I was like, what do you mean he is
in your presentation, what's the first
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:question you're gonna ask the audience?
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:I was like I'm not, I
haven't got a question.
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:I've just got lots of stuff
that I want to talk about.
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:And it's okay, we've got
some work to do here.
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:To teach you how to use questions for
self-discovery, to get the audience to
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:understand the problem for themselves.
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:You don't tell them, you show them.
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:And that was one of my biggest lessons.
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:I'd say one other thing here though,
I think that's relevant because
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:you might be wondering who, how
did the audience know who you are?
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:And.
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:Do and what this is gonna be all about.
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:And one of the things I did with my client
this week, for example, was I taught him.
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:Ultimately it taught 'em how to
control the controllables, but
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:also how to get ahead of problems
before they become problems and
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:what we call the Vanguard principle.
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:And one of those things is to,
you've probably heard people talk
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:about this on your show before,
but to write your own intro.
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:Then give it to the mc and get the mc to
practice it, and then check with them on
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:the day that they've actually got it and
they're gonna say it the way that you
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:need it to be said so that when you go on
stage, you don't have to do any of that.
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:And you can come in with this high energy
and you could come in with the really
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:great question that you've practiced and
engaged the audience from the very start.
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:So I would say to me, that's one
of the most important things.
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:To tackle with people that want to be an
authority on stage is can you get 'em to
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:step on the stage and engage the audience
immediately in that first 60 seconds?
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:That first, two minutes even.
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:John: I tell you why I really like
that, Chris, is because I've just
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:finished I, I do, I read a lot
of books, especially audio books.
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:I love audiobooks and I just finished
one called the Expectation Effect.
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:I don't even if you've heard of
it can't remember the name of the
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:author off the top of my head, but
very interesting just in terms of.
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:Ju how much of our life and our
experience is created or generated
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:by expectation to the point of which
it can actually affect things like
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:our longevity or our general health.
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:Whether, if we have negative, just
some stuff I've listen to it, if we
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:have negative associations about.
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:Aging, for example, we're probably
gonna age more quickly if we have
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:negative feelings about older people.
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:There's just one example.
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:But there's so much of life that
comes into Creating that kind of
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:introduction for yourself to make sure
what's said actually needs to be said
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:is creating that expectation effect
to a degree with your audience of
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:like pre-framing them on authority.
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:Chris Marr: Yes, a hundred percent.
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:I don't know that a lot of people
think that they can do this stuff
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:and it's like you've gotta step
into the places where you can have
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:more control than you have already.
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:And certainly the intro and the
outro, this is what I was working
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:with my client on, is write the
intro, have them practice it.
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:Make sure on the day that they're gonna
read it the way that you need it to.
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:So you don't have to do the quote
unquote boring intro on the stage.
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:Let's set yourself up for success.
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:Essentially set the
conditions for success.
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:Similarly, the outro is important as well.
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:So oftentimes you're not allowed
number one is oftentimes you're not
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:allowed to pitch from the stage.
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:It's just like part of the conditions
you're not allowed to pitch.
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:But most people aren't very good at it.
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:But if.
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:You can set it up so that the mc says It
was a great presentation today, Chris.
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:The audience got a lot from it.
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:If someone in the room was interested
in working with you going forward, what
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:would be the best way for them to do that?
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:And so if the mc knows to ask
you this question, at the end,
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:you're not pitching anymore.
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:You're answering a genuine question that
the audience then hear the answer to.
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:And I was teaching 'em this as well.
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:It's if you want to make this
work for you, you've got to get
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:the mc to help you, to help the
audience to help things move along.
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:So that's just another similar
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:John: I think there, there are so many.
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:There, there are a bunch of
different ways of doing that.
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:I like that one.
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:I haven't heard that before.
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:But yeah, how you close off to be
able to set yourself up for people
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:to come and follow up with inquiries.
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:'cause you generally can't pitch
events unless that's been prearranged
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:and you prob as you say, you
probably don't want to even do that.
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:Unless you're good at it,
and most people just aren't.
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:For many reasons.
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:Mostly because people fall apart
when you start talking about money
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:and offers and things like that.
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:It needs to be really well practiced.
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:The whole authoritative concept, right?
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:There's this whole thing of like, when
you're on a platform or you're being
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:presented as a speaker, whether it's a
virtual event or a real in person event
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:the fact that you are up there, that
your name is listed as a speaker, that.
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:Provides a certain amount of
authority expectation as well.
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:But it seems, especially from your book
as well, that there's an inner game and
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:there's an outer game when it comes to
this, like maybe some of the after game
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:things like your brand concept and how
you talk about what you do and the inner
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:game of that mindset of really owning it.
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:Could you lay that out a
bit more for us as to how.
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:What needs to happen on both levels, and
probably a big question, but as best you
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:can give us a bit of an outline there.
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:Chris Marr: I guess if
we're talking about.
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:Like you, a good place to, to focus on.
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:There might be like the
pre-game jitters, for example.
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:Like where anxiety shows up.
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:I'm sure that many people have talked
about this before, but oftentimes
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:anxiety showing up where we're like, that
imposter syndrome's showing up for us
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:because we're too focused on ourselves.
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:And one of the inner game pieces I
found to be really helpful for me,
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:even coming into this podcast today,
and the one that we did yesterday,
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:I just wrote down an intention for
me, like I know a bunch of stuff.
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:My hope is it comes out
in an articulate way.
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:My intention is that it, like
that, I want it to, but ultimately
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:the overarching intention is can
I help the people listening or
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:watching this be better in some way?
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:Can I help?
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:That's basically it.
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:And so the inner game with even going
onto a stage, and this is a platform as
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:much as a stage is a platform as well.
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:The stakes might be higher.
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:Since you're in person, people can
throw things at you if they want to.
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:But the point I'm trying to make is
that you come in with an intention.
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:In other words, you could, on any
given day, your confidence might
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:drop around the skills that you have.
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:But you can always be 100%
confident about your intention
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:to serve others and help others.
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:And I think that's a big part of the inner
game , is focusing on your intention.
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:And one of the other things I
like to think about a lot is that.
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:Is this inner game of letting go.
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:One of the, one of the books that every
time someone says mentions inner game, I
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:just think about the Inner Game of Tennis
by Timothy Galloway, and I've read that
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:book so many times now that it just,
I understand this idea of can I create
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:the conditions in my body and my mind.
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:Trust that my practiced skills will
show up in the moment for me that
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:I think, is trying to explain it.
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:I can give you the science on it,
but there's something about trusting
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:your skills to show up, trusting your
expertise to show up in the moment and
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:not chasing it, or not forcing it or
not, not telling yourself to do it right.
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:But allowing yourself, allowing it to show
up in the world for you when you need it.
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:So for example, you might be
stepping into a really high stakes
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:session with a client, or like maybe
you're doing a pitch, for example,
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:like really high stakes stuff.
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:But can you trust yourself that
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:everything's gonna show up in the
right way for you in the moment.
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:And I think we focus too much
on forcing it and like going
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:over it over and over ahead.
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:It's just it just builds anxiety and
we become, we feel more and more like
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:an imposter than we actually are.
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:So I'd say that's the inner game.
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:I think that's a big factor.
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:What do you think, would
you add anything to that,
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:John: You for some reason I was
thinking back to my childhood of
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:learning to play keyboards and piano
and and just how essential it was
369
:to keep showing up and practicing
that and staying consistent with it.
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:That it, so much of that is
about putting in the work to
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:make sure that you can do that.
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:And I think one of the
reasons why people often un.
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:One of the ways in which people often
undermine themselves is by not doing
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:that, not doing enough practice, enough
preparation showing up to some degree,
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:half-assing it, but more than that it's,
I think if you show up for a talk that
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:you are delivering not fully prepared and
rehearsed, it is probably almost unfair
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:to be charging for it because you're not
gonna be able to deliver what someone
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:could and I do think, it's not just the 45
minutes or whatever that you are on stage,
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:that you're being paid for, you are being
paid for all the work that you've put
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:into all the practice, all the rehearsal
that you get paid for multiple times, but.
381
:I think it's only when you do that and
you can really embody it, and usually you
382
:can trust yourself to be able to deliver
that without fear of things falling
383
:apart 'cause where people tend to get
really bogged down in fear is where they
384
:don't know where they're gonna go next.
385
:Or they're afraid of freezing up
or not saying the right thing.
386
:That is generally not gonna happen if
you are sufficiently well prepared.
387
:Chris Marr: prepared.
388
:Yes.
389
:I think all of those, so we're talking,
there's, I think there's a middle ground
390
:between the inner game and the outer game.
391
:This is the middle ground.
392
:'cause there's the inner stuff,
which is not you can't point at it.
393
:It's even hard to explain or teach.
394
:It's just like you are
just training your mind.
395
:They call it performance mindset, I think.
396
:Just like training your mind to do high
stake stuff and still be grounded in
397
:your confidence while you're doing it.
398
:But there's no question, John, that
reps, quantity and quality of reps.
399
:In other words.
400
:Like every difficult conversation
you've been in, or difficult situ
401
:or high stakes situation you've been
in, the mistakes you've made, did
402
:you immediately learn from them?
403
:Are you on a path of skill
development and skill acquisition?
404
:I think people miss this.
405
:Oftentimes it's like
everything's skill acquisition.
406
:So if you, for example, take your
example, if I feel like I'm lacking
407
:confidence around being able to hold a
45 minute talk of the fear of perhaps
408
:losing my way, what's the skill?
409
:Who's the coach?
410
:How do I get the help?
411
:I need your one skill away
from figuring that out.
412
:And I think that's a really
good way to look at things.
413
:'cause it gives you a
quick path to get there.
414
:So I think reps.
415
:Quality and quantity of reps,
deliberate practice, skill, acquisition.
416
:Those are all the activities, the leading
indicators I would say of success.
417
:You're doing all the work, and you're
getting as much from it as possible.
418
:One of the things I've thought about a
lot, John, is like I put the book out a
419
:couple of years ago, the authoritative
coach there was people in the same job
420
:doing the same work as me at the same
time, except somehow I managed to extract
421
:all the value from it and produce my
first book from it, which is gonna be many
422
:books, but this is the first book from it.
423
:Whereas somebody else still doing that job
just not getting, do you know what I mean?
424
:I'm like.
425
:This obsession of to get from
everything you're doing right.
426
:What am I gonna learn from
this conversation with you?
427
:I've got a client called
directly after this.
428
:How's that gonna develop my expertise?
429
:There's this obsession
to just constantly like.
430
:This in a really healthy way.
431
:It's like a love or obsession of the
work that you do to continually improve.
432
:I don't even think about
it that much these days.
433
:It's just I want to get from
everything that I'm doing so
434
:I can improve and get better.
435
:And it's skills, it's patterns, it's
insights, it's expertise, ultimately.
436
:John: I think there is something that
comes from this, and I've seen it on my
437
:own coaching journey and I see it, I do
see it with other coaches as well, of
438
:when you first get started in coaching,
speaking as well to some degree.
439
:You're in it, you're doing it.
440
:It's all very much about the
delivery and getting your reps
441
:and getting the experience.
442
:But at some point, hopefully you start to
take a little bit of an overview position
443
:on what you do as well, where you can
be a bit more analytical, a bit more
444
:meta if you like about things, which is
where you can start to extract things
445
:like you have with the authoritative coach
of this is, these are the frameworks and
446
:the processes that I work with to get
these results and help you along the way.
447
:And I don't think you can really do that.
448
:And until you put yourself into a
position where you can take a little
449
:bit of distance and give yourself some
overview over what you actually do
450
:because you have to not be in it to be
able to see it from that perspective.
451
:Chris Marr: there is a journey there.
452
:I think I can articulate
it quite simply, right?
453
:There's two things I
think to consider here.
454
:One is the levels of learning, right?
455
:Again, this is something I think
I've thought about a lot, but there's
456
:this idea that level one is to study.
457
:So you're reading the books, you
are learning from other people.
458
:You're in this box of other people's
thoughts and ideas, gaining all
459
:the foundation knowledge and
understanding of what exists.
460
:And then you've got
practice level two, right?
461
:So I'm getting the foundational knowledge.
462
:I'm in the room, I'm doing
the sessions, I'm doing the
463
:talks, I'm doing the workshops.
464
:I'm cutting my teeth.
465
:I'm at the.
466
:Chamber of commerce.
467
:I'm at the free events, I'm doing all
the, all those things where there's
468
:no microphones and there's no stages
and it's all that stuff, right?
469
:And you're getting all your reps in.
470
:So you're studying and you're practicing.
471
:And then the third level
is to teach, right?
472
:Is to teach what you're
learning to others.
473
:And I think as you
score up this ladder of.
474
:You start to build your expertise, like
you said, you see a broader view of
475
:it, which then I think that transition
happens next, which is, okay, over the
476
:years of all my work, what patterns have
I seen in, in the work that I'm doing?
477
:What are the insights?
478
:What am I learning?
479
:So an insight might be, it's got
an insight, is something that if
480
:I told it to you for the first
time, it would surprise you.
481
:It's something that you don't know.
482
:Because I've worked so long in this
area, I've learned that people think
483
:this, but actually this is true, and
they go, wow, that's interesting.
484
:That's an insight, which ultimately then
can be turned into frameworks, right?
485
:Frameworks are things that experts develop
because they had to do a lot of guesswork.
486
:Then a lot of hard work, and then
they can turn it into framework
487
:so you don't have to do the
guesswork and the hard work anymore.
488
:You can get there a lot
faster, a lot better, and I
489
:John: something I wanted to
get to with you actually.
490
:How important are things
like frameworks and
491
:branding from that perspective for
being an authority as a coach, as a
492
:speaker, or however you are showing up?
493
:Chris Marr: Yeah, I think it's absolutely
critical that you're developing your
494
:own ip, that you're able to extract
patterns and insights from your work
495
:over time and get somebody, like
if you're taking someone through,
496
:this happens all the time with me.
497
:I'll be honest with client session
with someone, they'll be like, how
498
:would you tackle this, Kristen?
499
:I'm like, huh.
500
:It's the first time I've
really, let's lay it out.
501
:I'm like, actually that's it.
502
:That's the steps.
503
:Now I could turn that into a
step-by-step guide, a framework, a
504
:illustration something that helps the
next person get there a lot faster.
505
:I'm attracted to it naturally.
506
:I think I love, like when I'm reading
a book and there's illustrations
507
:and you can show people the journey.
508
:I think that matters.
509
:People need to see that.
510
:I think it's a really simple
way to, to get that across.
511
:So I think there's something about, and
I think we should recognize this and
512
:appreciate it more, especially of our
contemporaries, which is when someone's
513
:got something complex, dialed into a
simple chart or a simple framework or
514
:simple illustration, they have worked
really hard to figure out how to
515
:communicate that to you in a simple way.
516
:Without it being overly reductive, right?
517
:Don't want to undermine your
authority 'cause you've made
518
:it so incredibly simple.
519
:But at the same time, there's something
really important about being able to
520
:communicate complex things in simple
ways, and those are frameworks, methods.
521
:Tools.
522
:And I think there's something really
interesting if you can get to a position
523
:where you're ultimately developing your
own version of those things as well.
524
:I think it's okay to share other people's
frameworks, but I would argue that
525
:the lesson I've learned, and I can be
completely honest with this because
526
:I put radical candor in my book, but
V two is not gonna have it in there.
527
:Because to me, looking back now,
that was a silly thing to do.
528
:It would've been much more sensible
for me to perhaps not have published
529
:a book and figured out what my
framework is, 'cause I've got it now.
530
:Like I have developed my own
framework that supersedes radical
531
:candor for the work that I do.
532
:But I wasn't there yet, and so
somebody else's model worked
533
:until I figured out my own model.
534
:And so you're taking all this and
tried, it's like a quite a, it's
535
:like a creative process, right?
536
:It evolves over time, but you've got
radical candor and you're learning
537
:about authority over here, and
you're bringing this book and you've
538
:got all this sort of foundational
knowledge and understanding of.
539
:Current models and frameworks, and then
you can apply your own lens or your
540
:own perspective onto it, and then you
turn it into something of your own.
541
:Like this is something I pulled from
Seneca's letters from a few thousand
542
:years ago, was, how long are you going
to live in other people's notebooks?
543
:How long are you going to
live in other people's work?
544
:When will this become
something of your own?
545
:That stuck with me.
546
:It's like I've got, turn these
words that you're learning from
547
:other people into works of your own.
548
:And that to me is a big part of this
idea of building your own foundation
549
:of expertise, illustrations, tools,
frameworks, methods, getting them branded
550
:up, calling them something, giving them a
name and putting them out into the world.
551
:John: Always welcome a bit of stoic wisdom
onto the show, so I appreciate that.
552
:I do think, personally, I think it
is essential, especially for speakers
553
:and coaches who are in personal and
professional development, which is
554
:most not all there are some maybe
for who framework aren't quite gonna
555
:be so important for various reasons.
556
:Probably for most of the
people who this show is for.
557
:It is and it is that thing of
them having your own stuff.
558
:And I do think you really
can't stand up as an authority.
559
:In someone else's stuff,
like I've seen this in.
560
:The professional training world
for example, I've been involved
561
:with professional training personal
professional development companies
562
:for years, and I've seen trainers
be trained the way that the
563
:original speakers were trained.
564
:The same stories, exactly the same
program, the delivery style and all that.
565
:It's not their stuff, it's not their way.
566
:They have to find themselves all
over again when they move out
567
:that into doing their own stuff.
568
:For when you do have that, when you
do find that for yourself, I think
569
:it is, it's incredibly empowering for
your identity to be able to feel that.
570
:So it is that, I see what you say
about the bridge between the inner
571
:and out work when you have that
stuff, it actually helps with the
572
:inner work as well of owning that as
being your expertise and authority.
573
:So I do appreciate that.
574
:Chris Marr: I think there's a
work there that I would encourage
575
:everybody to do to sit in the
problem for longer and know that you
576
:can come up with your own concepts
and your own frameworks and tools.
577
:I think one of the mistakes I see
people make is that they create
578
:frameworks because they think
that's what they need to do.
579
:So they'll ship a framework, but it
has no real foundation in testing.
580
:So here's a cool way to illustrate a
thing that I've never done before with
581
:people, but it makes me look good.
582
:And that's not it there needs to have
based in foundation, like every framework
583
:I share has the framework is the output
584
:of having done the work so many times and
even sometimes I'll create a framework
585
:and then I'll go teach it again.
586
:I'll be like, still it, like I'm
gonna have to change it so I've
587
:had to restart things from scratch
because they just didn't quite
588
:land and you've gotta be prepared.
589
:To continue to refine
and tweak your stuff.
590
:And so I think it's important to
recognize that what you're doing here is
591
:creating tools or methods or frameworks
to make it easy for other people.
592
:But if you're going to, and I think
this comes back to authority from the
593
:stage, if you want your framework
or tool or methodology to really
594
:land, you have to have really
595
:good stories to illustrate how the
tool actually helps, or stories that
596
:illustrate where the tool would've
helped if they had used it because they
597
:made the mistake or had the problem
that you were trying to illustrate.
598
:And I think it's important to
recognize that it's gotta come
599
:from something meaningful.
600
:John: Yeah, a lot.
601
:A lot of the clients I work with
are people who've come from training
602
:backgrounds, workshops, even teaching
and coaching backgrounds as well,
603
:who really struggle to let go of
this idea that everything on the
604
:stage then needs to be teaching.
605
:Chris Marr: Oh,
606
:John: right.
607
:It needs to be stories, it needs to
be, things need to be illustrated.
608
:We need to have case studies.
609
:Otherwise you're just doing
an information dump on people.
610
:Which.
611
:May put them to sleep or maybe
they'll pay attention to it,
612
:but they won't remember it.
613
:And that's the most important thing.
614
:They won't take much away from it.
615
:But they will remember your stories.
616
:They will remember how you
close things off and what the
617
:message that you left them with.
618
:The whole recency bias of things
like, how you close your talk is
619
:one of the most important things.
620
:Chris Marr: Yeah.
621
:There's one thing I'll share
here that I think just helps
622
:complete this whole thought this
conversation that we're having.
623
:which is When I'm teaching people how
to do a talk, I teach it in segments.
624
:So for example, if you had a 60 minute
talk, it might be three segments,
625
:but you could deliver the same talk.
626
:You just take a segment out and you
could teach it in 45, for example.
627
:And these things are like blocks within
your presentation that you can switch
628
:in and switch out as you need to,
depending on how much time you've got.
629
:One of the ways that we structure a
segment is through this idea of question,
630
:story, result, challenge, right?
631
:And so the question that you ask
the audience is supposed to help, is
632
:supposed to bring about the problem in
their mind before you tell them what
633
:the solution is or what the tool is.
634
:So for example, you wouldn't come into the
audience, say, Hey, I'm gonna teach you
635
:this really cool tool, and they're like.
636
:What is it?
637
:Like they're already resisting the idea,
but if you come in and you ask a question
638
:that raises the problem that you wanna
solve for, you're gonna have a better
639
:chance of landing your ideas with them.
640
:And so the whole idea is engage the
audience through a series of questions.
641
:Typically two or three questions, right?
642
:Raise a hand if you've
ever felt like this.
643
:Great.
644
:What was the biggest
challenge you had there?
645
:And then they're, you're engaged and
then you tell a story like another.
646
:When you get deep into this with
the clients, we actually have them
647
:map their story to a story arc.
648
:So they tell the story really
well, and then they can land on
649
:the result of that story, what the
outcome was, and then leave the
650
:audience with their own homework,
their challenge, the call to action.
651
:What are you gonna do next?
652
:You can even finish with a question,
what's your biggest takeaway?
653
:Or whatever it might be.
654
:So when we think about authority and
we think about I think you made a
655
:really great point, which is, look,
if we're gonna do this, we better.
656
:Let's do the best we can to make sure the
thing actually sticks with people, right?
657
:And one of the ways to influence an
audience, to make your ideas stick,
658
:to help teach it to your audience in
a way that actually stays with them.
659
:Question, story, result, challenge,
as part of a single segment in your
660
:workshop or your talk that you're doing.
661
:And I think about that a lot
when I'm doing the work is okay,
662
:I wanna teach them this thing.
663
:What's the problem I'm
really trying to solve here?
664
:And what's a story that I
have that illustrates this?
665
:And if I do all of that, and then they
walk out the room and someone bumps
666
:into them in the corridor and says, Hey,
what was your presentation all about?
667
:Do I know what they're
going to say to that person?
668
:And realize I know after going in
that presentation with Chris, I now
669
:realize that what is it you want
people to say about your presentation?
670
:And those are the things I think
a lot about when I think about.
671
:Getting your stuff together, right?
672
:Preparing well so that when you
get up on that stage, you can
673
:articulate your ideas, you can tell
stories, you've got your questions.
674
:You know what problem you're solving for,
you know what you want 'em to leave with.
675
:Those are the things that I think if you
really dial in on them, you will come
676
:across more authoritative from the stage
as opposed to waffling through a million
677
:ideas running over time, going too fast,
and then like everybody in the room's I
678
:don't know which idea you want me to st.
679
:What is the thing that you
want me to go away with?
680
:And I think that's what we do tend
to, and it's like actually the exact
681
:opposite is slow down, do less, ask
more questions, have better stories,
682
:and focus on maybe just one thing.
683
:John: There is this thing I see a
lot of speakers and coaches do, and
684
:I work with a lot of them on this
particular issue as well of they have
685
:a sense of what maybe they've managed
to narrow down what they want to take
686
:out into the world and they figure
out, this is what I think people need.
687
:And it's I.
688
:Sorry dear.
689
:Nobody gives a shit what
you think other people need.
690
:They know what they want and
that's what you have to give them.
691
:Now, maybe you can include some of
what they need, what you think they
692
:need within that, but if you are not
actually giving them what they want
693
:or helping them solve a problem or get
to somewhere that they really want to
694
:get to, they're not gonna give a crap.
695
:Chris Marr: That's right.
696
:Yeah.
697
:What's the transformation you,
what's the journey that you're
698
:trying to get 'em from too?
699
:I love that.
700
:Yes, exactly.
701
:It's not a lecture.
702
:People aren't coming to sit in the
audience to give you a round of
703
:applause about how smart you are
about the work that you've done.
704
:People want something that's
going to move them towards where
705
:John: Yeah, look I'll give you a
very quick example on this is that
706
:I'm working on a talk at the moment
is one of the big things about
707
:is about taking responsibility.
708
:People do not want to hear that
they need to take responsibility.
709
:That would be a lecture.
710
:I need to make this in a way where
taking responsibility for how people
711
:show up in their life, in their work
situations, in their interactions with
712
:other people is something that they want.
713
:Make that look desirable and give them
a pathway to making that happen with a
714
:very clear result as to why that's gonna
help them and everyone else in doing it.
715
:It has to be along the
lines of what they want.
716
:They want to be more productive,
they want better work cultures.
717
:They want to have psychological
safety, all those good things.
718
:But if I just go saying the problem
really is that you're not prepared
719
:to take responsibility for what you
say or how you show up is like no
720
:one wants to hear that.
721
:Chris Marr: in how to get
pushback from an audience, right?
722
:John: no one's gonna buy that.
723
:I don't wanna hold you for the
whole day 'cause we do have, we both
724
:have lives to get on with, but I
do wanna get to one thing that you
725
:may be able to shed some light on.
726
:A lot of people, certainly coaches,
but certainly speakers as well,
727
:struggle with this, finding the line
between authority and arrogance.
728
:And I wonder for you if you have some
guidance around that, I think we talked a
729
:little bit about it in terms of coaching
in our chat with Angie, but how to avoid
730
:being an asshole, really, but how do we
avoid that on stage that we can be on
731
:authority without having to become a diva?
732
:'cause certainly there is a lot of
those around in the speaking world.
733
:Chris Marr: Okay.
734
:So the way I look at this is there's, I.
735
:Arrogance to me if I'm thinking about
authority and how we then become
736
:arrogant around our expertise is a simple
phrase, which is, I am always right.
737
:So if you are on the stage or if
you're on a, like on a podcast like
738
:this or whatever, there's a lot
of nuanced arrogance as well, like
739
:the way I turn up, the tone of my
voice, all of that sort of stuff.
740
:But I think the big piece
is where's it coming from?
741
:And it's coming from a place of ego,
and that is that I'm always right.
742
:What I'm saying is right.
743
:What I'm saying is the only way, what
I'm saying is the way that you all need
744
:to do this, you all, that's arrogance.
745
:Arrogance is I'm always right.
746
:So one of the big lessons I've learned
is that you should always be prepared
747
:to be wrong or be proven wrong, or be
open-minded to a different perspective.
748
:That doesn't, there's a lot of
contradiction here because if
749
:you want people to listen to your
expertise, you should probably.
750
:Get used to speaking in absolutes,
but that again, doesn't have
751
:to come from a place of ego.
752
:Right?
753
:A place of, I'm always right.
754
:So I would say and we can't do this on,
on, on the podcast just now, but imagine
755
:there's three, three overlap circles
in a sort of linear fashion, right?
756
:So we've got circle in the middle,
in two circles on each side, right?
757
:The circle in the middle
is competence, right?
758
:And that's like I know what to do.
759
:The circle on the right is ego,
and that's, I'm always right.
760
:And so if you've got the overlap between
competency and ego, you've got arrogance.
761
:That's somebody who's
coming in ALS, right?
762
:I know what I'm doing.
763
:You don't know what you're doing.
764
:You are all stupid.
765
:I'm the smartest person in the
room, type of arrogance, right?
766
:But the overlap that
we really wanna be in.
767
:On the other side, which is competency
in the middle, overlapping with
768
:confidence on the other side.
769
:And those two circles create a
grounded confidence where you
770
:know what to do and you believe in
yourself whilst you're doing it right.
771
:So not only do I believe in my
skillset and believe in myself
772
:to help people and affect people
and influence people, but I also.
773
:Know the skills in order to do it,
and so you be, you get a mix of where
774
:we want to be is in this overlap
between confidence and competence
775
:and have a grounded confidence.
776
:In other words, I can go into a
room knowing that I've got a certain
777
:amount of expertise in a certain
area and that I can deploy it.
778
:I can do that thing when needed too.
779
:And I can do it in a way where
it lands with people, right?
780
:So I've learned the skills about how to
influence people around it, but I believe
781
:in myself and I know what to do as opposed
to I know what to do and I'm always right.
782
:And that's how I think about the spectrum
of grounded confidence to arrogance.
783
:And that's.
784
:Arguably you, what are
we talking about here?
785
:A life's work to separate yourself
from your ego, essentially
786
:where arrogance comes from.
787
:But that's the mental model.
788
:When I think about it, I just
think, how can I be more in between
789
:confidence and competence and less
in between competence and ego?
790
:John: I think it's helpful.
791
:Look, in the speaking world,
nobody wants to book divas.
792
:If you show up and you are arrogant
and you are or any right by stuff
793
:and you're maybe even abrasive
with the audience, you're probably
794
:not gonna get invited back.
795
:But also I think there is that other
side to it where you create your brand
796
:and your framework, and then research or
development things move in a different
797
:way that perhaps show that what you have
might be a bit outdated or might actually
798
:need to be modernized or rethought.
799
:And if you're not open to that, you
are locking yourself into having to
800
:do things an old way because you've
made that your brand and it has to be
801
:right, because it's what you do and
that's not gonna serve you either.
802
:So I think people think that they're
self-serving behaviors because sometimes
803
:that arrogance, the diva behavior can
get them what they want in the moment,
804
:but long term it doesn't pay off.
805
:And so I think it is a really good thing
to wrap up our conversation with that.
806
:It's a fascinating area that we could
probably go into a lot more, but I really
807
:enjoyed your perspective on that, Chris.
808
:For people who want to go and find out
more about you, which I do recommend.
809
:'cause I really enjoyed
the Authoritative coach.
810
:It's a great book.
811
:What's the best way for people to
find out more and connect with you?
812
:Chris Marr: Yeah, thanks John.
813
:The best, obviously the book, the Become
an Authoritative Coach is on Amazon.
814
:And you can get on any store
in Amazon across the world.
815
:It's about 10 bucks.
816
:So it's nice and easy to pick up.
817
:There's also the audio book as
well, which I recommend as well.
818
:And then you can get on Kindle.
819
:So that's the book.
820
:And I think if anyone's wanting like
more recent things from me on an ongoing
821
:basis, the best place is Instagram.
822
:At the Authoritative coach and
there's videos, reels, and all
823
:good stuff happening there as well.
824
:And then I'd say the last thing,
especially if you go to Instagram, you'll
825
:see this anyway, but I have a people
pleasing assessment as well to help client
826
:facing professionals find out where their
people pleasing behaviors are showing up
827
:the most and how to solve them as well.
828
:So it's an assessment that takes you
through that, and then gives you coaching
829
:and training on how to repair those
particular areas that are showing up.
830
:For your manifesting for you too.
831
:So those are the best places I think
832
:John: valuable indeed.
833
:'cause I certainly, as I said right
at the start maybe before we recorded,
834
:but I think most of the people who
are doing speaking work are also doing
835
:coaching, consulting, things like that.
836
:We need to know this stuff.
837
:We need to make sure that
we're following that.
838
:So I really appreciate that.
839
:I think I've been very lucky this
week that we got to talk about coaching
840
:with Angie on the coaching clinic.
841
:Today we got to speak a lot more about
speaking and owning your authority and
842
:mindset and a deeper dive into stuff.
843
:It's been a really fascinating
conversation, Chris, and you certainly
844
:have expressed things very well.
845
:I've thoroughly enjoyed it.
846
:I thank you for coming and being
a guest and present influence.
847
:Chris Marr: Thanks, John.
848
:It's been great.
849
:John: Well, I hope you've enjoyed the
show, and if you have, well maybe leave us
850
:a five star review on your podcast app if
you already have your device in your hand.
851
:It should be nice and easy to do,
and certainly I will appreciate
852
:you forever for doing so.
853
:I don't wanna spend any time
here , banging on about how I've
854
:got 200 episodes of the show.
855
:It does feel like a milestone for sure.
856
:One that I celebrated.
857
:I talked a little bit more about
that in my solo episode on Wednesday.
858
:So if you haven't already checked
that out and you want to hear
859
:some of my journey and experience
to make it to 200 episodes.
860
:And boy, it has been some ups and downs.
861
:Please make sure you do that.
862
:One thing I have been sharing is that
I've recently agreed to go to a story
863
:slam event, which is where you can
put your name in a hat and potentially
864
:get pulled up on stage to have five
minutes to tell a story, and then you'll
865
:get scored on it, and it's a contest.
866
:Should be a lot of fun.
867
:So I'm gonna be doing that.
868
:No guarantees that I'll actually
get called up on stage, but if
869
:I do, hopefully it'll be fun.
870
:If I can get a recording of
it, I'll share that with you.
871
:But next week I am gonna be doing
my first ever open mic comedy night.
872
:I am excited and I'm also terrified,
but I am looking forward to it.
873
:I've been working on the
five minute material.
874
:It needs a little bit of honing,
maybe a bit of practice in front of
875
:a few people before I take it live on
stage, but I think it's gonna be okay.
876
:I'm hoping that I'm not going
to completely bomb, but.
877
:Either way, I'm gonna share the results
with you and, we'll make that into part
878
:of the show, provided that I could get
a good enough quality recording to share.
879
:But here's where I wanna wrap up.
880
:Episode 200, and to say at this point
as well, that, despite last year where
881
:I really was in two minds as to whether
to carry on with the podcast or to maybe
882
:call it a day or maybe start something
new, which I did with the coaching clinic,
883
:I still came back to present influence
because it's so tied in with everything
884
:else that I want to do professionally.
885
:And I have to say that the quality of
guests that I'm getting at the moment
886
:are people like Judy Carter just
recently, but Chris today as well.
887
:Just amazing.
888
:And the guests that I'm lining up are
equally exciting specialists and I
889
:haven't many times just haven't heard
them going on other shows that I listen
890
:to as a professional coach and speaker.
891
:So I hope in doing that, that I'm
bringing you people and information that
892
:other people may not be bringing you.
893
:So make sure that you stay
tuned for more of that.
894
:And if you have feedback for the show,
you can certainly get in touch with me.
895
:LinkedIn is probably the best
place to connect with me.
896
:I spend a lot of time there.
897
:Shoot me a message, leave me a voicemail
or a video message if you prefer.
898
:And if you do prefer email,
by all means, send me an email
899
:to john@presentinfluence.com.
900
:I'll be very happy to hear from you.
901
:Do go and check out the
present influence.com
902
:website that is is all recently updated
refurbished, completely revamped website.
903
:I hope you'll enjoy some of the
information and content there and
904
:maybe even try your hand out the
speaker strengths archetype assessment
905
:quiz that is there for you as well.
906
:All right.
907
:That's it for this special 200th episode.
908
:We'll see you back next
time with episode 201.
909
:Wherever you're going, whatever you're
doing, have an amazing rest of your week.
910
:Take care.
911
:See you soon.