You’re about to speak in front of your audience — your team, your board or your boss. How do you get yourself ready to share your ideas in a way that will influence and persuade?
By igniting your state of flow – that state where your whole being is involved and you are using your skills to the utmost.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a positive psychologist who is credited with having popularized the concept of flow, has defined the mental state of being in flow as being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. Each action, movement and thought follows inevitably from the previous one.
Most of us don’t live in this state on a regular basis, we visit it. It’s almost as if it just “happens” to us when we’re doing something we love. The fact is, you can ignite this state, and you want to.
You experience flow when you are in your “sage” brain – that part of your brain associated with positive emotions, peace and calm, clear-headed focus, creativity and the big picture. Your sage sees patterns and is the source of your intuition, showing you the decisions and actions that have the greatest ease and flow, and will have the most positive effect. Sage is flow.
When you speak from a state of flow, you speak more powerfully because you’re speaking from the natural brilliance of your creative sage brain. And when you are in this state of flow, you can bring your audience to that state as well, moving them from the part of their brain that automatically resists change, to the part of their brain that is likely to say yes to positive change. This is how you can influence and persuade them to consider your ideas.
You might think, okay this all sounds good, but how do I do this?
• First, recognize that “flow” is not about beliefs. It’s not about analyzing or thinking hard or figuring something out. When you are in flow, you are operating out of the emotion/energy part of your brain. Time slows down. You are completely engaged in what you are doing and who you are doing it with. When you are in this state, you express authentically, spontaneously and effortlessly. Audiences love this! They feel it, and persuasion occurs when your listener experiences a “felt” credible solution to a “felt” need. They need to be able to feel it, not just think about it.
• Second, know that you can ignite that flow state by increasing your “mental fitness.” You can learn how to engage your sage brain where that flow state exists. To discover how, click here: https://www.andreabeaulieu.com/mental-fitness-pq/
• Third, when developing your idea, information or argument, get clarity about why this is important to you. What is your bigger “why?” It starts with you.
• Fourth, meet your audience where they are – their needs — and move them into their aspirations – their dreams. Present your idea or solution in the context of their needs and aspirations.
• Fifth, gain enough mastery in your speaking and communication skills so you can focus on being in your sage flow state and not on remembering your content or technique.
Being in the sage flow state when you speak is an incredibly fun and fulfilling experience for you and your audience, and the way to be influential and persuasive. It’s also absolutely doable.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can gain mastery in your speaking and communication skills, and engage your flow state, contact me at Andrea@AndreaBeaulieu.com to schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery session. I’d love to support you!
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