The ‘Feel’ Factor: Why How You Make People Feel is the Biggest Game Changer in Your Career

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In today’s professional landscape, excelling at your job isn’t sufficient for reaching the highest levels of success. It’s not just about what you know or how hard you work; it’s about

"How you make people feel"

The distinction between being a dependable performer and becoming exceptional lies in your ability to shine on the big stage and elevate your performance when it truly counts. Advancing in your career or business often pivots on how you deliver in those critical ‘defining moments’—whether it’s an interview, a pivotal client pitch, investor presentations, or navigating unforeseen crises.

Reflecting on the recent Euro 2024 Tournament, one can observe parallels in the world of sports. It’s about seeing the player who confidently scores the crucial penalty kick or stays composed in a high-pressure 'one-on-one' with the goalkeeper. These individuals inspire confidence not only in their managers and colleagues but also among those observing from the sidelines. They are the stars who deliver when the heat is on.

How does this translate to your career?

We all have deining moments in our careers. A defining moment typically occurs when you’re put on the spot—where the pressure is on to earn others’ trust. We rise or fall on these moments in the spotlight.

Here’s the crucial insight that you need to understand: In such situations. When you understand and grasp this you will never act the same way when you are in the career spotlight.

The fact is that what you say is the least important factor. Yes. That is right. Few people will remember afterwards what you said. They will have heard similar words from everybody that you are competing with.

The quality of your slide deck is equally inconsequential. It is a distraction from what will really 'win' in that moment.

What people judge you on is about 'how you show up'. It's about your demeanour, your tone, your ability to ease tension in the room. They are subconsciously judging how you make them feel. Do they trust you? Do they believe in you? Will they trust their careers or investments with you?

What Most People Do

Ironically, however, many of us prepare for these defining moments in the opposite manner. Before an interview or presentation, we spend days perfecting slide decks and obsessing over scripted words and their order. We fear forgetting lines or not covering every point on the slides.

The result? We enter these critical moments burdened by fear, focusing on our slides and scripts rather than allowing ourselves to make a positive impact. We appear tense, lose the audience’s attention and confidence, and fail to regain it. Often we bore them, hiding behind our comfort zones of slides and scripts. I am sure you have all seen it. The presenter who keeps looking over their shoulder at their slides. How does that make you feel as an audience member?

Here is the reality. People of authority and high status don’t rely on slide decks or scripts. Why? Because they engage authentically with their audience, exuding calmness and confidence.

The Three Hacks to Enhance Your Impact

So, how can you inspire in these defining moments and become one of the elite people who deliver in that defining moment? Here are some tips that I teach those that I coach

1. Ditch the PowerPoint decks: They consume time and distract your audience. Sorry to my friends in the Microsoft World but Powerpoint is not a presentation aid, it's an Impact Annihilator.

2. Focus on Three Key Points you want to make: People only remember a few key points anyway. If you know your subject, you won’t need a script. Rather you just interact in a natural way with your audience about the three points you want to make. They will remember you if you do this.

?3. Prioritise Personal Interaction: Did you ever see the video where the Queen was making a speech alongside George Bush. Unfortutaly she was placed behind a lectern that was almost as tall as her? Of course, no one remembered a word of her beautifully crafted script. And it was the worst possible way to start her tour of the US. So, remove barriers like tables, lecterns, or impersonal seating. Enhance connection with your audience. Making yourself vulnerable endears you and connects you to your audience.

Be the Person Who Delivers When the Heat is on

Implementing these three steps will help you relax, forge deeper connections, and project greater authority.

It may sound intimidating at first. 75% of people fear these situations and most of us default to 'fear mode' in defining moments. So just learning to deal with this immediately puts you in an upper quartile of people who can seize the opportunity to shine.

You can easily learn to embrace these moments. Imagine feeling excited rather than anxious when put on the spot—operating at peak performance under the spotlight. Just like the penalty taker conditioned to see a huge goal and a small goalkeeper, inspired by the attention and free of doubt; you see presentations and interviews as a platform to shine and accelerate your success and worth.

I teach individuals to develop this unwavering belief, shifting from fearing to loving the spotlight. You can shift from hating being on the spot to loving it in just 21 days, propelling your career to new heights and reducing stress as you embrace these challenges.

About Jonathan

Jonathan Butler is a Performance Coach and Rapid Transformational Therapist (RTT). He combines his 30 years of work as a high performer in Management Consulting and Tech Companies with his experience as one of the Leading RTT Therapists in the World to deliver rapid and lasting transformation to his clients.

In a career with with Avanade, CapGemini Ernst & Young and Fujitsu he specialised in delivering business turnaround and ultra growth agendas. BOOST Performance Coaching was born from the methodology that Jonathan developed to deliver major growth and turnaround agendas. His secret sauce being understanding how to get people and teams to pull together and achieve beyond what they previously believed possible

Learn more about BOOST Performance Coaching at https://www.myfitmind.co.uk/changecoaching/

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