Listen to the full interview:
1. You’re passionate about helping people find their authentic, confident voice. Can you tell us what that exactly means to you?
“The irony it’s customized. It’s different for every individual, hence the word authentic. A little bit about my backstory: I was a financial advisor for about 15 years. Being in the situation I was in, I didn’t feel I could show up in my authentic, confident way for a long time, which was extremely frustrating and disheartening. I ended up getting really, really grumpy because I didn’t feel valued. So, about eight years ago, I started studying communication, trust building, relationship building, and how to help others learn how to find who they want to be and who they are that enables them to feel confident because they show up as themselves in a strong way.
There’s that the balance but also communicating and mirroring whomever they’re communicating to. As Adam Grant and so many other fabulous thought leaders talk about, we cannot really own who we are and be the greatest success that we can be until we know truly who we are and how we want to show up. That’s what I mean by showing up as your authentic, confident self. You can walk in a room, head held high, shoulders back, feeling good, even when you want to throw up. You can breathe and you’re like, ‘Okay, I’ve done the work, I’m ready.’”
2. You’re certified in the PrinciplesYou assessment. How does this assessment help people find their authentic, confident voice?
“What this assessment does for others—both individuals and teams—is it enables people who take it to see how they prefer to communicate, how they prefer to receive communication, how they prefer to go through change, and how they prefer to work with others when going through change. It’s not just about us and how we think things through; it’s also an extended level in communicating with peers, bosses, and team members of any level. One of the biggest challenges in our world, not just the financial industry but any industry, is quiet quitting or disengagement. Much of that is because different generations and genders like to receive communication in different ways, whether it be tasks or feedback. None of it is good or bad, better or worse. It’s just simply different.”
3. What have you noticed with communication when it comes to employee-manager relationships?
“The best leaders and managers, we hope they take it upon themselves to adjust how they see that person to realize, ‘Okay, I have been communicating to that person in these ways, but I need to change that to get them more engaged, connect with them on a better level, a deeper level.’
It shouldn’t be one direction: boss to employee or younger generation to older generation. The hope is that it’s always reciprocal. The younger generation learns and grows in respect, trust, and relationship building more warmly toward older generations and older generations have a greater respect and deeper relationship-building opportunities with younger generations.”
4. When you first started speaking and presenting, where did you get stuck and how did you persevere?
“I want to be careful about people who think they can’t speak in front of people. I don’t want to make them feel bad. You’re in good company. There are very few people who enjoy public speaking. So, don’t beat yourself up if it is a skill set that you want to go deeper into, you do see the importance of it. It does bring value to whatever it is that you’re endeavoring to do.”
Tip 1: Define Who You’re Presenting To
“Who are you presenting to and what do they want to hear from you? It’s about them. It’s not about us. Or in the very least, it’s about both of us together. As an example, if it’s a negotiation, if it’s a job interview, if it’s a presentation to a group of 500 people at a conference, it really does matter who the audience is. What is their perspective? What’s the vernacular that is going to resonate with them? What is a story that will get them emotionally engaged? The best thing to do is think things through from their perspective.”
Tip 2: Get Everything Down on Proverbial Paper, Then Modify Your Language
“What do you want to say? When you’re done with that, ask yourself: what did I say that the audience, the listener is not going to care about or it’s not going to resonate with them for whatever reason? Then you modify the language so that it will resonate with them, or you strike that idea completely and change it.”
Tip 3: Rehearse and Refine Your Message
“Think about: how much time do I have? Practice it and time yourself. Shorten it, so you can say everything that you want to say within that amount of time. Then start thinking: what are the 10 main points that I want to make sure I talk about? What are the seven main points? You make it shorter. Ask yourself: how do I summarize it down to seven points? How do I summarize it down to five points?”
Tip 4: Don’t Read From a Script
“And then you can have, if you want to, one index card. You never want to read from a script ever. You never even really want to have to rely that much on any paper in front of you. You want to always, as much as you possibly can, be able to keep eye contact with whomever you’re talking to. If you have slides, yes, you can use them to trigger your thoughts. But again, the biggest thing is figuring out, for you, how to remember what you want to say based upon a word, based upon a phrase.
For me, I learn best in an auditory fashion, meaning once I have my script done, I record myself and then I listen to it over and over in the car, in the shower, when I’m working out. Then based upon that, I write it down on an index card and figure out: what do I put in the beginning that’s going to remind me what to say? Middle and so forth.”
Tip 5: You Don’t Need to Memorize It Word for Word
“When I first started presenting, I thought I had to memorize everything, word for word. For me, that was the biggest mistake. I coach public speakers or people who want to do presentations, and that includes videos and webinars. Don’t feel like you have to memorize word for word. I recommend people start with, as Brene Brown calls it, your ‘shitty first draft.’ You type into whatever you use, or you dictate it into your phone, whatever works for you. Many of us are never able to memorize every single word that we want to say. And even if we do, chances are that until you’ve become an exceptional and experienced speaker, you’re going to be nervous.”
Tip 6: Emotions Aren’t Bad
“Remember too, emotion is not bad. People aren’t going to remember all of your words, but they’re going to remember how you made them feel.”
Tip 7: Focus on Solutions
“Talk about solutions for them. It’s not just, ‘here’s the problem, here’s the proof that this problem exists.’ What do we do about it? What are solutions that the audience can put into their daily actions, their daily tasks, to help with whatever challenges they’re looking to overcome? If you give them ways to make their lives easier, they’ll love you.”
5. You’ve built an impressive platform on LinkedIn. What has worked for you and how can corporate professionals utilize it to uplift their authentic voices and thought leadership?
“I wouldn’t have the business I have today without LinkedIn. I’m not blowing smoke. As an example, I left the financial industry and then came back. The only way I had to reconnect with business relationships I had built in my career as a financial advisor was through LinkedIn. I didn’t have email addresses. LinkedIn saved my backside.
It’s all about researching algorithms. What is it that makes the algorithm work? It is trial and error to some degree, and the algorithms do change. It’s making sure we’re keeping up with how many hashtags, how many people do we highlight? What’s working as far as video versus other content?
I request connections with people through people I know, and I don’t add a message in mine. Personal choice. It’s simple. I still have at least a 50% to 60% connection rate, meaning 50% to 60% of the people I reach out to connect with me and accept my connection request. I make sure when I’m at conferences, I make sure when I’m doing webinars that I utilize LinkedIn as one of my lead flow CRMs. And it works for me. I now have almost 20,000 connections and I have increased that meaningfully in the last few years.
It’s just by showing up. You show up with meaningful content. Talk about things that have nothing to do with the market. Talk about things that are personal to you. Don’t be afraid to be an individual. Again, it’s that authentic, confident voice. I am so proud of seeing so many people talk about personal things. It’s a great lead development opportunity too, when you set yourself apart. When you talk about what you’re truly passionate about, how you truly help your clients and or do the things you do in your business—it’s a lead magnet. It can be if you use it correctly.”
Interviewer
Finka Jerkovic
Career Advancement Coach and Founder of Finka Inc.
With 25+ years in leadership and sales and the financial services industry, she has witnessed the power of recognizing and celebrating people’s unique strengths and differences (a.k.a Brilliant Differences™) within a workplace. When everyone’s unique talents are appreciated and people work together using them, that’s when the real magic of career and business growth happens. Fast forward 10 years. Finka has established programs that help mid-career professionals and leaders grow in their careers by tapping into the full potential of their personal brand, so they can clearly define their strengths, value their differences, and perform at their best.
Interviewee
Julie Johnson
CEO of XY Communication
Julie Johnson is the CEO of XY Communication and a leading authority on intergenerational and gender communication. As a current member of the esteemed Forbes Coaches Council and a former Barron’s winning SVP with UBS (CFP & CIMA), Julie has devoted her career to helping professionals and teams build trust, engagement, and loyalty. Julie specializes in psychological safety and conflict navigation. She is a Certified Behavioral Finance Trainer, a Certified Facilitator in Adam Grant & Ray Dalio’s PrinciplesYou program, a Certified Brene Brown Daring Way Facilitator, a Globally licensed member of the International Coaching Federation, and is a Certified Global Speaker through The National Speaker Association.
