Talking To The CEO...OMG!

Recently one of my clients shared that a few months ago she spontaneously signed up for a conversation with her CEO who opened up several slots to talk to employees at all levels of the organization. She thought it sounded fun and was excited to get some facetime with the CEO! 

Suddenly, the night before this conversation was scheduled, she messaged me as a blast of fear and overwhelm came rushing in. 

Haven’t we ALL been there? 

Think back to a moment when you had a really “important” meeting and as it got closer, you felt a huge wave of doubt and fear come pouring in. Maybe you were thinking things like:

What did I do setting this up?
Why did I put myself out there, what do I really have to say that’s impressive?
OMG who am I to talk to this person, they’ve done so much and I don’t want to embarrass myself! 

If you have one of these big conversations coming up or you’re trying to get the courage to put yourself out there and request a meeting with someone who you admire, here's some ways to get out of your own way:

• Consider the feeling
  Come up with one feeling word of how you want to feel both in the conversation and what you'd want to walk away with. Then let that feeling lead the way. If you let your intentional feeling create your conversation, you'll probably have an entirely different conversation!

• Don’t try to be a robot
  These very important people are human first! They want to connect with you as a human, not as a walking resumé. 

• Let FUN lead the way
  Instead of trying to impress them, let yourself have fun with it! Ask questions that you’re genuinely interested in that might not even be work forward for a few minutes, that you’re passionate about and want to hear their perspective on. Ask about the last place they traveled, what their favorite brands are, what advice they'd give their 20 yo self or how they find inspiration. 

• Invite in your curiosity
  Curiosity creates openings, in conversations and in relationships. So let yourself be curious and don’t be afraid to say, “Tell me more about that!” 

If you're curious...my client had an amazing meeting and shared that it was so much fun!

Let me know how this resonates with you and I'd love to hear how you’re going to play with this in your way this week? 

With ♡ and gratitude,
Jennifer