What I learned from meeting with Ivanka Trump & Attorney General Barr

A voice mail left late one evening last week asked if I would please return the call - it was "sort of time sensitive," the caller said. It was the director of the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy, Kelly Kinnish, calling, someone I had met only once when she heard me speak some time ago. We've exchanged some emails - I serve as one of the volunteers for events held for survivors of sex trafficking, where I share my story of overcoming child sexual abuse and sex trafficking by my father, and I teach leadership, life skills, and success principles.

Of course, I returned her call right away. Was I available Monday? She asked. A group of VIP's were coming to tour the Child Advocacy Center, and she wanted me to speak, share my story, and speak to the events we host for survivors. Always glad to add value, I checked my schedule and agreed to be there Monday morning. We talked again over the weekend as details were confirmed, and Kelly shared that the VIP's were going to include Ivanka Trump, Attorney General Barr, Governor Kemp and his wife, Marty Kemp.

It was an incredible opportunity to highlight the work of the program. I was honored to be invited for not only the facility tour, (difficult to tell in COVID-19 times, but that's me in the middle with the gray jacket and black mask!) but also invited to sit down for a small group discussion after the tour to share my story and how it's impacting the lives of other survivors in such a positive way through my books and teaching.

We are using my new book, Fearfully and Wonderfully Me: Become the Woman You are Destined to Be, as part of the sessions for the survivors on learning to overcome adversity, develop themselves, and become successful. This book isn't specifically written for survivors of sex trafficking, but written for any woman who wants to become the best version of herself and reach her potential.

I was honored to give each of the VIPs a copy. I'm not interested in politics - I'm only interested in high level leaders who want to help make the world a better place - so all politics aside, it's a privilege to be given an opportunity to influence high level leaders. And, I walked away with a few key takeaways myself.

I shared some of them on my podcast this week if you want more details but here is a quick summary of what I learned:

1) You must be prepared before opportunity comes

I was given a general outline of the plan for the visit, but it's impossible to know every detail in advance for something like this. I certainly could not have prepared a scripted speech in advance because until late Sunday night, I wasn't even sure how long I would have to speak. This is where need for us to develop ourselves consistently every day is really highlighted. As John Wooden said, "When opportunity comes, it's too late to prepare."

If you are constantly developing yourself and growing, you are preparing in advance. Then when opportunity comes, you have done the work already. Much like studying in order to be prepared for the pop quiz. If you have done the work, you'll ace the test.

2) Connection is critical for communication

I speak to this more in depth on my podcast - something that really stood out to me from my meeting with these VIP's is how each of them were incredibly intent listeners. They were intentional about giving their full attention as I was speaking. They made eye contact, asked great questions, and even took notes. I felt like they truly cared.

Our ability to connect with people determines our influence. I guarantee you, if I felt like Ms. Trump wasn't paying attention to what I said, her influence with me would have decreased. Instead, I noticed how she gave her full attention not just to me as I talked, but to whomever was speaking. That kind of connection increases influence x1000!

3) The higher your position, the more humility you should have

It's interesting to note Ms. Trump, Attorney General Barr, Governor and Mrs. Kemp all have a high formal position of authority, and yet they were meeting with me (let's face it, I'm not exactly at the same formal position of authority as a United States Presidential Advisor!) with just as much intent as they would meet with the president of another country. It takes confidence and humility as a leader to not come across as arrogant. I've met some arrogant leaders in the past, who made me feel like they thought they were better somehow than me, but it was refreshing to note that while all four of them were confident, they were also humble, respectful, and very down-to-earth.

As my husband Mack Story says, "There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. It's called humility." The higher your position as a leader, the greater level of humility you should have. The moment you forget to be humble is the moment you lose influence.

Leadership speaker and author Ria Story empowers women to increase influence, develop leadership, and maximize results. She is the creator of "Fearfully and Wonderfully Me: Become the Leader You are Destined to Be."?

Visit RiaStory.com for resources, podcast info, programs, and books on leadership, success, and personal growth.