Recently, I was lucky enough to attend the StartupSmart Awards as a guest, and what an evening it was!
It may not have been as glittering as the Logies or include the red carpet activity of the Brownlows, but it was a rush of an occasion to be at.
The atmosphere of joyful electricity ran through our veins and made it a blast. It wasn’t just the fact that people were getting together to share and celebrate their achievements; it was the collective energy of enthusiasm of everyone in the room for their work.
The flame that lit these young (as in recently established) entrepreneurs burned from within and made them shine.
So that made me wonder – what can you do to share your burning ambition and make sure people see it?
Here are three questions to help you focus more on what lights your fire:
The entrepreneurs in the room were bubbling with the work they do. Everyone I spoke to LOVED what they do. Every single person.
It was all they could talk about, it was all they cared about – and it showed. Their passion was visible in their smiling faces, their glowing demeanours, and the buzz of excited conversation.
What does that do for you? Perhaps ask a critical friend close to you to notice when you light up when you are talking and harness that feeling.
I’ve been to lots of different get togethers full of networkers who are good at pressing the flesh and coming across as ‘awesome’. They are often so amazed with their own awesomeness there is hardly room for you in the conversation.
Others ‘fake it till they make it’; and we can recognise them from across the room. Being honestly connected to what matters to you is more important than pretending something that you think will sell.
Genuine attachment to what you say shines brighter. Think about how you can create a context for your listener via a direct connection to your deepest concerns.
Even ask them what matters to them? This can be risky but rewarding.
There are too many overused phrases and clichés about finding your passion and so on floating about. These don’t really connect with listeners any more. Find phrases and words that work for you. The entrepreneurs I spoke to didn’t talk in generalities; they described very specifically how they work with people and the changes they see.
For example, rather than just being passionate about something, you might be fascinated by it. Instead of developing, you might be curious.
Find a word or two and then look them up in the thesaurus. Curious can also mean questioning, hungry for, inquisitive, searching, speculating or studying.
This gives you a range of words that are more likely to be particular to you and to catch the ear of your listener with their originality.
