Once a person convinces himself/herself of something, the voice, face and body ‘play along’. This is what I saw and heard demonstrated, by Craig Thomson, when he delivered his speech in Federal Parliament last week.
Thomson’s voice, face and body were consistent with those of a victim. Of a person who feels he had been wronged. Of a person who admits he had made some transgressions, for sure, but who sees himself as a superior performer to the Health Services Union leaders prior to the start of his HSU leadership.
Leaving aside whether Thomson was telling the truth or not in the speech, the lesson you can take from his performance is this:
If you convince yourself (really convince yourself) about something – your voice, face and body will ‘play along’.
Now I’m not talking about ‘fake it to your make it’ here. Rather more in the line of ‘acting as if’, which is based in the realm of reality.
The ‘how to apply’ for this post: Convince yourself of a positive aspect of (or – put a ‘positive spin’ on) yourself, your product or your service. Operating with that identity, as you go about your daily life, note how it affects your personal communication. Note its effect and impact on other people.
p.s. Here is a link to a Daily Telegraph article on Thomson’s speech which includes my analysis.