Ever suggested something and had it ignored…

only to hear someone else suggest the very same thing and be greeted with enthusiastic approval?

Personal impact is created by hundreds of tiny cues in how you speak and behave. You’re unaware of them – that’s just how you are, right? But while others don’t consciously notice most of these cues, their subconscious is continually picking up on what you say and do and assessing your credibility, trustworthiness, enthusiasm and a host of other personal qualities.

Your personal impact

is about more than first impressions. The way others experience you day-to-day will hugely affect your ability to influence them. Many of my clients want to shake up the way they are perceived at work. Sometimes it’s about stepping up to influence more senior people. Often it’s about gravitas.

So I start by asking how you want to come across. I then give specific, expert feedback on the impact you’re currently creating and how it’s being created. Then we work to merge the two by practising in a safe, supportive environment.

Many of my clients are women who routinely find themselves underestimated, particularly at senior levels.

The first 10 seconds

In 2021 Chia Jung-Tsay, an associate professor at UCL showed groups of subjects 10 second clips of entrepreneurs in Venture Capital pitch competitions and asked them to predict the winners. The most successful were the subjects who had access only to the video i.e. visuals without sound.  There were no slides, so they never even learned what was being pitched. By contrast people who heard the sound with no visuals scored worse than chance.

Jung-Tsay’s conclusion was that for the VC investors, passion was the differentiator and this was primarily communicated visually by energy, facial expression, gestures, etc.  When she asked subjects to identify the most passionate entrepreneurs, it mapped to the actual winners.