April 30 2020 Digitize Your Leadership Brand WEBINAR with Julie Hyne & Amanda Blesing

0:00:02.3

Amanda: Hi, everyone! And welcome to our webinar today, How to Digitize Your Leadership Brand. My name is Amanda Blesing and I am the founder of The Ambition Revolution. A whole heap like a leadership coach, but predominantly, I work with women. You know how frustrating and terrifying can feel when the world as you know is totally changed. You're going along swimmingly, your career goals were in sight, you're achieving a few things, and all of a sudden, the rug has been pulled out from underneath us. And we really don't know what's what. What I do is I teach a really powerful approach to branding, and we want to have your effort, but double your impact. And today, we're going to talk about that online with video. So, welcome, fantastic to have you along. I'm just going to introduce you quickly to Julie. Hi, Julie!

0:00:53.1

Julie: Hello, Amanda! Hello, everyone! Very nice to be here.

0:00:58.2

Amanda: Yeah, Julie, could you tell us just a quick snapshot about yourself. And what I'll do is I'll get everyone in to chat in the chat box. So, at the bottom of your screen, there's a little icon, chat icon. Go to the chat, and then change it to chat to everyone, not just the panel lists, chat panel lists and everyone, and just give me a “Hello”. Tell me a little bit about what the weather's like in your location. And while you're doing that, Julie's going to introduce herself. Okay, Julie.

0:01:28.4

Julie: Thanks, Amanda. For those of you who don't know who I am, I actually work in the C-Suite Space with senior executive women styling and because you know how sometimes you might wake up in the morning and wonder, “Oh my goodness, what am I actually going to wear?” Well, I help senior executive women dress for business, for professional situations, for business casual, and even casual. And yes, there is a difference. And it's really important - even in this online forum, ladies - to think about how you're going to present because this is a marathon, it's not a race. And so, the time you've taken to actually build up your personal brand and develop your own style and image is just as important now as it was when you're going out to meet people face to face. So that's what I do.

0:02:23.3

Amanda: Fantastic. Thanks, Julie. How about we just check in with the chat? Can you see the chat at your end as well?

0:02:27.8

Julie: Yes.

0:02:28.4

Amanda: Let’s say “Hello” because we were actually a sale out webinar today, with over 100 people wanting to come along. We were so excited about that. But it means we need to manage the chat quite closely. So, if you've got a burning question that we don't get to by the end of the webinar, pop it in the chat in all capitals, or send it as a question with the other option. There's a question asking option at the bottom. So, if you've got a burning question that we don't address by the end, when we get to the end, pop it in capitals and send it through. Let me tell you how the chats going to work.

Because you are going to be contributing, you as the participants in the beginning will be contributing just as much as we are. And it might be that I ask you to drop in the chat if you've got a resource that might help someone, or drop in the chat if you've come across an article. What I'd love for you to do is make sure it's all panel lists and attendees, and drop that resource in the chat because we're going to send the chat out to participants on the webinar.

So, the other great news is we're going to run this webinar again on the 14th of May because Julie and I got so excited with the number of people, the number of messages Julie had to send in the last couple of days to people saying, “I'm so sorry, it's sold out.” So, yeah. Hi, Julie. What do you reckon, 14th of May, is that a go?

0:03:49.9

Julie: Absolutely, it's a go. As I said to you before we came on, I was busy for an hour messaging people on LinkedIn saying, “I'm so sorry, you couldn't register, but we have got another one scheduled for the 14th of May.” So yeah, very excited to be able to share with you all today.

0:04:06.9

Amanda: Fantastic. All right. Before we go on, in the chat box, what's one silver lining that's come out of this shot, this lockdown? One silver lining. So, Julie and I were chatting before, what’s your silver lining, Julie?

0:04:21.2

Julie: Well, my silver lining is, A, I'm not having to travel as much at the moment, which is very exhausting. But it also forced me to really sit down and think about all the things that I haven't done because I've been so busy out and about working with clients. And one of those things is actually developing my online program. So, the whole executive styling experience that I was delivering face to face is now going to be deliverable online. And I'm taking expressions of interest from women who actually want to jump onto that right now.

0:04:53.8

Amanda: Fantastic. Okay, let's head on over the chat. So, who have we got? I'm going to have to put my glasses on because that is a question, that is a really big consideration when you're digitizing your leadership brand to wear glasses or not. They do reflect a little with the glare, but I can't read without them. But okay, so we've got Denise. So, we've been online since 1999. I'm not sure I understand, Denise. Can you explain more?

Okay, tech advancements. Julia, hi, Julia! Fantastic! Yeah, it is a great opportunity to pivot.

Charlene, nice to see you online. Great!

Yup, like Carrie, hi! Fantastic!

L Harrison, I’m not sure you are. Oh yes, forcing you to network on LinkedIn. Absolutely. It's a really good time to knit or do your LinkedIn networking. If you can't see them face to face, get online.

So many good things, Mary Beth, Larissa, Arnette, everyone, fantastic! Great to see you!

All right, let's get into the content because I know that's what you've really been waiting for. So, before the webinar, Julie and I asked you to send in some questions when you registered. And we were overwhelmed with the fun of it, and also the quality. But let me give you a little bit of an insight.

So, I've done a little snapshot here. I hope you can see. And there you go, a little snapshot. And you can see that this is what you all shared. So basically, about 20% of you said that you wanted virtual performance. About 20% of you said you needed information on the technical details. About 20% of you said that you wanted information on appearance and style. Gosh, we're in the right webinar, aren’t we?

And then another bunch of you just said, “I don't care what you tell us. I just love being in a webinar.” Yay! If that was you, pop a little thumbs up in the chat box. Then quite a few really wanted some meeting management tips. And I have to say that's a really big one. And Julie's going to ask me about that later because that's a really big one. I've been dealing with a bunch of my clients this week, really concerned about how to get their voice heard in meetings. The meeting is maybe power-mile-style of run talking over the top of each other, not getting a word in edgewise. It was hard enough before shut down. Now, it's virtually - no pun intended - impossible.

But before we get on to that, let's talk about one of the big issues, what on earth do we wear? So, Julie, what on earth should we do be doing about dressing and style? Because we're at home, it's in shutdown, I'm feeling a little bit like I can maybe ease off a bit, not with quite the same amazing corporate look that I wearing around the office. You can't see my feet, but I've got some unicorn slippers on. [laughter]

0:08:11.4

Julie: Before the webinar.

0:08:14.7

Amanda: Oh, what, you can't see. Well, hey. All right. But you're the expert in this space, what advice are you giving your clients about what to wear when you're doing video meetings presenting on video and when you're trying to create that virtual impact?

0:08:31.7

Julie: Well, basically, Amanda, it's no different or not really that different to when you're actually meeting someone face to face, as I said before. Now, I know when you're at home, normally, you come home to feel relaxed, you're at home, you get into casual clothes, it's your chill out time. So, for a lot of people being in a situation like that, where they all of a sudden find themselves having to work, it's a very much out of sync feeling. They feel out of character when they pull on something as if they were going to the office to actually have the meeting.

But you have to understand that everyone is in this situation. And as I said right at the start, you've created or you've spent so much time and possibly invested so much in building a personal brand, and presenting yourself in a way which your clients and your peers expect you to present, then why would you drop the ball and start all of a sudden to presenting things which are not consistent with what your brand is like out there in a normal work environment.

So, my first point is, maintain your brand. Think about how your peers and clients might want you to look like on the other side of the camera when they're meeting you in this scenario. So, you don't want to let them down and you don't want to let yourself down as well at the end of the day. So, it doesn't mean you have to go over the top, because as I said, you'll probably feel a little bit out of character and a little bit out of sync by putting on the really power suite and things like that when you're having a meeting, in some situations, you might need that.

But look, some of my clients are still having very high-level Zoom meetings. They're on government advisory boards, and they're meeting with MPs, and so they're still having to present at their best. So we're still putting on a formal jacket, we're still putting on a really nice fitted blouse, or dress, or something, we are still presenting with accessories, but making sure that they're not distractions, thinking very carefully about what colors to wear, what patterns to wear, and what that impression is going to look like on the other side of the screen.

So yes, it is still very important. And then there's the whole grooming side of things as well.

0:10:56.2

Amanda: Before we head into grooming, Julie, can we just spend a little bit of time on color and patents? Because I know in our preparation I was trying on various jackets, and because to the audience, it's actually quite intimidating knowing that you're going to present a webinar with a stylist. I mean, Julie's pretty amazing and pretty wonderful. And one of the reasons that I send my clients to her is that she has a really good warm, empathetic style with my clients. And they always come back feeling a million bucks and looking a million bucks. But I was a little intimidated, so I wanted to make sure I looked my best while my stylist was on the other end of the call. So, can you give us a few hints around color? Like what works on video, what doesn't cut around that color sort of space.

0:11:46.2

Julie: Okay. So, when I work with individuals on color, and I've done this with you, Amanda, we look very much at your personal colorings, hair, skin, and eyes, and what colors actually resonate, what actually brings out the best of you.

So, Amanda, for example, can wear quite strong color. But on camera, it can be a little bit overkill. So, I've just got a few little scarves here, which I thought I'd demonstrate, because contrast of color is really important. The best contrast of color you can wear, whether you're meeting someone face to face or whether you're actually on camera, is to have something that's medium contrast. If we wear something that's really powerful and strong in color, it can really be quite distracting. So, let me show you as an example.

0:12:35.4

Amanda: So, Julie, before we got on, are you saying I shouldn't have worn my red jacket or use -- okay, all right, I just wanted to –

0:12:41.5

Julie: It actually works really nicely on you, Amanda. But see, I'm wearing a pale blue, which -- and color has psychological meanings to it as well. So, I always think and look at color in terms of what is the psychological impression that that's going to make on the other person, and also how that makes you feel as well.

So, my reason for wearing this, A, is because it's a light color, it's non-threatening, it's just soft. And so, I wanted to be able to get my message across to you all here this morning. And it also creates a medium contrast up against my skin tone, so it worked really nicely.

So, when we look at different colors, and we still look into at all the Four Seasons, so if I put something like this up against me, it's very monotone, it's very low-contrast, it doesn't do an awful lot to make me stand out if I was on one of those Zoom calls where you've got a lot of different people.

Conversely, to this one here, where it just hold out some of the really bright colors. If I was wearing a color which was really bright like this, if you can see, it actually screams out ahead of me. So, all anyone is ever seeing is the color, and not necessarily me, which is because I want to get my message across.

Whereas, if I'm wearing a pale blue, or if I chose something that was in times like this, which is actually just quite pleasing on the eye, and it marries in really well with my hair color and everything else, then that harmonizes. And what we're seeing is the complete picture as opposed to just the color that you're wearing. So, color and the contrast of color becomes really important.

Now, we could talk about patterns and whether you can wear patterns. So, I've actually made the fatal mistake myself of putting on a striped shirt to have a Zoom meeting with someone. And all of a sudden, everything just started moving on the screen. So, I would avoid stripes.

And the other thing if you have a green screen behind you and you're doing one of those superimposing a Zoom image behind you, if you're wearing green and similar color to your green screen, that doesn't work either. So, you have to really think about what's behind you. So, I wouldn't wear white because I've got a white wall behind me, so that means I'm just going to sort of disappear. So, lots of things to consider when it comes to color.

0:15:12.1

Amanda: Yeah. The other night, I was working with my clients, I have a bunch of clients and we meet every Tuesday for Zoom drinks. Yes, we do do serious topics, but one of the things we were doing was preparing for video. A couple of them produce some videos for critiquing, which was fantastic. One idea in one minute, and that was our challenge to each other. Great work! Marybeth, great work!

Okay, so one of the things we noticed was we were trying if when a jacket blends into your background. So, if you're wearing a darker jacket and you've got a darker background behind you, or white jacket and white background behind you, it really doesn't work. And it was so obvious. So yes, I totally agree with you. Don't blend in to your background. [laughter]

0:15:56.6

Julie: So, I've got a question here from Corinne, does color impact the type of look you're going for, for example: strong, confident, leader versus soft and supportively? Absolutely. And color, as I said, has enormous psychological meanings and impact. So, it really impacts how you feel. And we had a discussion before, I actually have a black jacket, which I really liked to wear, and the men said, “Please don’t wear black when we’re on. And I said, “Fine.”

It is more friendly, it's more engaging, and the best color for anyone to wear, which is the most trustworthy of all colors when you're in a business environment, is navy blue. And there are different variations of navy blue, depending on whether you're warm or cool. So, finding out which one is perfect for you is one of the things that I do when I'm working with clients. So, navy blues, not any color that's going to come across as too strong, too authoritative, too bright for your personal colorings. It's really getting that balance right.

0:16:59.7

Amanda: Yeah.  I've got a beautiful blue jacket, which many of my clients and probably other people have seen a lot of my branding photos, I use that jacket. And it really pops on video. I've recently had 15 new videos produced and I was wearing the blue jacket. And it was just amazing. We try it on four or five, the videographer was working with me. I tried on four or five, and he was the one who said wear the blue. It looks really powerful, and it's congruent with your message. So, I guess that's part of it as well. You want to be congruent with your message.

All right, patents. So, I noticed the other day when I was filming, creating some film, one of the attendees, Carla, was online. Hi, Carla! We gave each other a challenge. And we each had to produce a video, one idea in one minute. And the one I produced, and I was wearing this beautiful jacket. Now, it's a beautiful jacket. I love it. It's a brand that -- Julie, you recommended me to it and I went there and I bought a bunch of stuff from this brand. It's a beautiful jacket. But for whatever reason, it really doesn't work on video. Could you tell people why this jacket doesn't work on video or with me? You might may have seen the video.

0:18:16.8

Julie: No. Hold it up a bit higher, Amanda. Yeah. Oh, that's just too much. [laughter]

So, when you hold that up, for me, what I see is I see a lot of movement. And it's very distracting on the eye. And so, patterns, yes, you can wear patterns on camera, but you have to maybe test it out before you actually wear it to make sure what do you see in the camera lens when you do a little quick Zoom recording on what that pattern looks like.

I think patterns that have very subtle patterns might work. That's actually what Amanda's jacket had, was very bold pattern. And it was a lot of blinds and a lot of things going on there. So subtle patterns, patterns that have clearly defined images on them could work. Again, it depends on what colors are going to be in that patterns and whether that the print on the pattern becomes the dominant factor of what someone's seeing, or whether actually all harmonizes together. So, there's a lot that goes into it.

0:19:20.9

Amanda: Yeah. And I think I saw someone in the chat saying, “Look, I've got an amazing wardrobe, but maybe it's not right for video.” I mean, hey, excuse to go shopping. [laughter]

0:19:31.7

Julie: Who hasn't found that out? Since we've all been in lockdown, and we're reaching in the wardrobe to find something to wear, and all of a sudden -- it's happened to me as well, and I've thought, “Oh, you know, I don't have enough things that I'd like to be wearing on video as well.”

So, it's also happened to the stylist. I also has gone to a wardrobe thinking, “Oh, I've got this really important one on one with someone, and this is interesting, what am I going to wear?”

Because we're not normally out working face to face, I tend to sort of allow myself to disappear into the background a bit because it's not about me, it's about what's happening with the client.

0:20:12.6

Amanda: Yeah. Okay, Julie, really big question. And this came up lots of times, quite a few times. And maybe I'm even asking for a friend on this one. So, we're a bit nervous, bit stressed with COVID-19, and maybe family members or someone we know is being diagnosed or is unwell, or is unwell for other reasons. And the whole being infinite thing right now is quite stressful, then we've got the news headlines that are going gangbusters about the economic downturn, and we all know someone who's lost their job, and there's no into the near future that we can see. I'm perhaps not exercising quite as much as I would normally do. My routines are out, maybe I'm drinking a little bit more than normal. Oops. And it's impacting on my sleep. And then what happens is, I get up in the morning and I go into my Zoom meeting or a video call. And all I can see is the bags under my eyes, and I just am really worried about looking really old and frumpy, and that my skin is aging.

Okay, so, definitely asking for a friend, but there were actually quite a few people who asked about them. What advice would you give to us, anyone, who is feeling that they're looking old on screen and looking a bit frumpy, and that they're just looking old and tired, what advice would you give us?

0:21:40.5

Julie: Okay. So, the first sign or the first indicator of dark circles under the eyes is, yes, sleep deprivation. The second thing can also be dehydration. So, dehydration could be coming from within, you're not drinking enough water. It can also be dehydration of the skin. And it can also be hereditary. So, there's a few different reasons as to why you're seeing those black circles under the eyes and puffiness sometimes.

So, what you can do is, what I would have advised on -- always advised my clients to do in the past as well is to invest in a really good concealer. Something that's just going to lighten, bring light forward, so it doesn't look like everything's actually receding. And then get a really nice foundation that matches your skin tone along the edge of your face here. And use a nice dusting of mineral powder that creates a little bit of warmth to the skin. And so, you may want to get some help with that in terms of where you go, because that's the biggest mistake, Amanda, I find when I'm doing that final touch with clients in terms of getting the makeup application right, because it is important.

They've often got a drawer full of makeup, which is totally wrong for their skin tone. And so that's why they finally get makeup on their collars, and they're getting a line around here. And it's just not feeling right for them, because also as a woman ages, she cools off. So, we need to not only adjust the colors that we wear for ourselves personally, but we also need to adjust our makeup colors, and how we apply our makeup as we get older.

So, tips for looking a little bit old and just a little bit worn around the edges when we're presenting online, would be to take a little bit of time, ladies, to prepare yourself. Do moisturize, do use an eye cream, do apply a little bit of makeup, take a bit of time to actually style your hair.

Someone's asking in the chat here where am I getting my nails done whilst I'm in lockdown. My nails are in a terrible state actually, if I can share that with you. I normally have acrylic on my nails and that's all come off. And I borrowed a girlfriend's S & S Quiche on the weekend, and I actually did my own and they're not really good. [laughter]

I can't wait for the nail salons to open again.

0:24:15.3

Amanda: I can't wait for the hair salons to open again. Now, I know, Julie, you might have been to the  salon, but it might have been 12 weeks. I'm really dying here. [laughter]

0:24:25.9

Julie: That certainly gave me a spring in my step. I can tell you when I had (them done yesterday

0:24:30.6

Amanda: My hairdresser contacted me yesterday and said she's thinking that they're going to open next week. So, yay! Fingers crossed. All right. We've got quite a few more questions, issues to cover. We've actually got a couple of guys on the call. And even if you're not a guy and you're on the call, maybe there's a guy in your life and you want to give him some style advice. So, Julie, do you have any advice for guys who are still wanting to make an impression at work, they're still keen, they want their opinion to be heard and valued at work, etc., and not come across like a slob, you got any advice for guys?

0:25:07.1

Julie: Yeah. Look, same applies to the guys. Take the time, make an effort, do have a shave, do make sure you've got a clean shirt on. And same for women, think about who is on the other side of the screen. How would you normally dress if you're going to meet that person? Yes, we're all at home, we're all working in home environments, however, have a little bit of respect, not just for yourself, but for the other person, too.

It's going to make a really big difference to how you're received on the other side, and also help your message actually get through. So, you might not need to wear a tie, but I've seen so many guys coming online in just the round neck t shirt, unshaven, they just drag themselves out of bed basically, it's just disrespectful, I think, to the person on the other side.

So, we're still in business, we're still trying to maintain our brands, we're still trying to create good impressions with other people. Because when all of this is over, we're all going to be out there with our skates on trying to make tracks, and so you don't want to do any damage now in that lead up to when everything's released.

0:26:20.8

Amanda: So, good grooming, good grooming of the facial hair, I've noticed a few with beard slightly. [laughter]

0:26:26.9

Julie: Make sure you take the claim as well. I know food deposit still left in there from origin the morning and things. [laughter]

0:26:36.1

Amanda: The mind boggles on that note, that's actually a really good segue into a really big question that was concerning a lot of people. What are the biggest fails that you've ever seen? So, I thought, let's not, Julie and I, come up with the biggest fails. I thought there's probably a few fails that some of people in the audience have experienced or seen. Now, without naming and shaming, please don't do that, in the spirit of being helpful, but also, let's have a little bit of fun. What are some of the biggest fails you've seen in this new era of digital and video building your brand online?

Yeah, I heard someone the other day mentioned smoking, of smoking in a meeting. Now, my opinion on that would be… I guess that perhaps because this person was working from home, that might have been a standard smoker home, so they might have been taking a stand.

But if your home environment is now an extension of the office environment, and people's perceptions of you will be impacted by that, so if you're thinking, “Oh, maybe I have a cheeky sickie while I'm on a video meeting,” then maybe you want to think again. It might not be helping your brand or career like as much as you might imagine.

All right, what else have you got? Big distractions in the background? Yes. Yeah. And also, we've seen lots of naked people in the background, haven’t we? [laughter]

0:28:07.5

Julie: Yeah, we’ve seen lots of -- yeah, no, nothing on below. [laughter]

0:28:12.7

Amanda: Yeah. And one of the tips that someone -- my husband actually gave me at Christmas, he gave me and I'm just going to -- excuse me, this is not your video going wrong. It's a little slide that's on my video. And I just slide it across and it covers up the video. So, if something's going on, if someone needs to come into the room and I can plan around or plan for it, and slide that across, or I acknowledge straight up.

All right, what do we got? Virtual backgrounds, Karla Phantom, a big distraction. So, there is a lot of thinking about virtual backgrounds. And people who teach about video branding, etc., talk about it all the time. There is a business case for having a virtual background. If you've got to get a green screen, if you've got some crap going on behind you. I've got a mirror behind me, which is really hard to manage. But watching in this room, it's hard to turn side on. Otherwise, I look like Phantom of the Opera, even if I do like the other side. So, the mirror is behind me, but I try and cover as much.

But virtual backgrounds, try and match your brand. Be professional. So, Julie, you and I were playing around with virtual backgrounds before. You found it had a couple of good ones. Do you want to bring one of them up? It looks like an extension of your office and it looks professional.

0:29:30.0

Julie: This is really easy to do on Zoom. And I actually downloaded a whole suite of images from Zoom right at the start of all of this. I have to say though that I don't use a lot of them. But that’s one, which people have said is quite nice.

0:29:44.7

Amanda: Yeah, it's nice. I find that a bit distracting, but it's lovely. I love the green. It's quite restful.

0:29:50.3

Julie: And then there's this one.

0:29:53.2

Amanda: Yeah, I like that one a lot. It's open and spacious.

0:29:56.9

Julie: It's nice, and warm, and friendly. Look, I have other shots, which -- my favorite spot in the whole wide world. There, which I don't use very often. Here's another one, which --

0:30:09.9

Amanda: Looks a bit busy, yeah.

0:30:11.6

Julie: Too busy?

0:30:12.2

Amanda: Yeah, maybe, yeah.

0:30:13.3

Julie: I think the thing is to stick with things that are non-distracting. And just very simple because what you want is for people to be focusing on you, and what your messages, and not necessarily on what's happening in the background. Just fine, simple, nice. If you have a white wall like I do, I mean, I've got just got some flowers here. And just make it elegant, I think, and just professional.

0:30:42.9

Amanda: Yeah, beautiful. So, in terms of the background, humor doesn't work for women as well as it works for men. I mean, my clients know, I like being a bit funny, but the downside of being a bit funny is that diminishes my credibility in some circles. So, whatever you do, unless you're really trying to bond with your staff and be a bit funny. No, ocean waves and breezes like you look like you want to be in Hawaii. Think about it like a background photo on your LinkedIn. You want to keep it really professional. Your background, really professional. And to amplify the impression you're trying to create.

And right now, in this environment, my webinars have been about how we shift from feeling like we're frustrated and terrified to being unflappable. And that unflappable leader that is calm, cool, collected in a crisis. That's the leader, probably we want to be right now because people, our staff will be more innovative, they'll think more clearly, they make better decisions, they'll turn up and be more present at work, when we can present ourselves in a more unflappable manner.

So, whatever goes on in the background, make sure it's congruent with what you're trying to achieve for the meeting.

All right, we're going to flip that around right now. So, Julie, you're going to ask me a bunch of questions about some of the other issues that were raised in the chat, and also in the question before the webinar.

0:32:14.3

Julie: Yes. Now, for some of the people that are on here that are my connections who maybe have not met Amanda, Amanda does amazing work with my clients when I send them on to her in helping them really project the right language and use the right words to be really heard and noticed in the right way. So, my question to you, Amanda, is I know you've had some enormous success with a lot of your clients even during this particularly difficult situation, and you've actually helped some of your clients get amazing new roles with much higher salaries even during this time, so I'm sure everyone would love to know, what is it that you do? How do you accomplish this for these women?

0:33:05.6

Amanda: Thanks, really. So, I actually have been really delighted with and for my clients. I've had three clients win fabulous new roles during this time. And one came with a really juicy increase in salary. And I've had another client who's just done two interviews, all virtually done two interviews. And she's just waiting to hear whether she wins a promotion to director. And she was told she blew them out of the water with her video performance, with her interview performance.

Now, what are these women? What are they doing? What are they doing that's really different? The first thing is they're not letting all the drama get in, distract them from their ultimate goal. So yes, it can feel a bit frantic right now. But they're not letting that get in the way. They're going like, “I still got my eye on the prize and I'm going to do the work that helps me get there.”

And that's the other thing they did. They did the work that helped me help them get there. They polished, they prepared, and they planned, and they polished their performance until it looks like -- as I like to say, until it looks like nude lipstick. So, you don't really know that they're actually rehearsed it until it looks natural, like they're just having really fun on camera.

One of my clients, she said she was interviewing, she was delivering her “These are the three pillars of my career,” and all out, she was having a brilliant time, and then her interviewer, she said he was looking all around the room while he was speaking to her.

So, one of the things that my best pieces of advice, is look at the camera, look at the camera, and that's really hard to do. And normally, that -- my little post-it note just dropped off, let me get another one. Normally, before a webinar, well, before an important meeting, I stick a little post-it note on the lens. And you can do that, too. Or it could be a blue tack. But this is advice that's been around for years, it's not new advice. Anyone who's been preparing for video knows they need to look at the camera, harder said, harder to do on an iPad, so if you're operating Zoom on your iPad, I really recommend sticking something quite obviously the lens.

So, my clients that I'm working with, really, we focus on whatever they're presenting, look at the camera. The next thing that we do, is make sure that the top of the head is near the top of the screen. So, your eyes are in line with the camera. And that your mouth is just above the mid-level of the screen. And that you're actually looking at the lens with the head top of your head just near the top of the screen.

Why? Because we tend to associate gravitas and credibility with newsreaders. And newsreaders don't sit down like this, like a little bobble head. Newsreaders, in actual fact, the head is near the -- you can see more of the body. In fact, you're actually seeing a whole heap, more modern times, you're seeing a whole heap more of their body, they look like they're sitting on stools. And there's a whole heap more of them.

But we don't have that sort of technology right now. So, head and shoulders, throat, it connotes open communication and trust, and a little bit of decolletage or this part of your chest. I don't mean you necessarily have to show your chest, but you want to have that part of you, whether it's closed or not, you want to have that visible on the screen.

The downside of having a head at the top of the screen is that in your enthusiasm to make a point, and so your head gets really chopped off. So, it's practice. So that was just two really easy tactics that people can do when preparing for an important meeting or to make a presentation.

0:37:05.7

Julie: Good points, Amanda.

0:37:07.2

Amanda: Fantastic.

0:37:08.9

Julie: Yeah. The other thing we haven't touched on is style of dress. We talked a lot about color, and color is very important. But I had a client once that came to me that was not actually -- she was missing out on opportunities all the time. And I even had another one also that said the reason why she didn't get a CFO role was, and she got the feedback from the recruiter, was that they felt she didn't look like CFO material, which was really amazing.

But so, we had to power her up a little bit. And I say that with resistance, that word power, because there's a lot of women that don't want to feel like they're coming across as being too powerful. But line and design on garments also can create quite significant impressions on people. So, when you have strong clean lines, it indicates strength. And also, that's why when you're wearing a jacket and it's got a shoulder pad in it, and it's giving a really nice defined shape, that gives a woman strength when she walks into the room. And then we marry that with color and coordination.

But if a woman walks in and she's wearing things that are very rounded, very soft, she's got frills, that sometimes can give the impression of softness, and she may not be as strong in how she communicates her message. Now, in saying that, I'm also a big advocate for women being able to express their personality in what they wear. And for some women, wearing things that are a little bit softer, is more in line with who they are as a person.

So, it's all about creating this very lovely balance of line and design, and color, and personality style so that you can come across in a meaningful way. And that's why I send my clients to you, Amanda, because you know if they are tending to be a little bit on the feminine side or the softer scale, and they need to project a little bit more confidence and a little bit more gravitas, as we say, then often that can come through in the vocal part of the whole image and personal branding, which is where you really play it up.

0:39:35.3

Amanda: Really good point. And often I talk with my clients about how to hack gravitas. And one quick and easy hack is a jacket that looks like it's got that line that looks like a warm jacket. It's a quick hack. Another tip is, and this is true for any meeting whether on video, or whether it's a face to face meeting, or a phone meeting, quite a few of us have a habit of speaking with an upward inflection, so when I first started work, I worked at the Law Institute of Victoria, and then I did this and then I did that, and that unfortunate upward inflection connotes youthfulness, that you're not certain, that you're asking permission, that you're actually asking a question, because we normally go upward at the end of a sentence when we're asking a question.

So, that's another quick, easy hack to come across more confidently incredibly downward inflect. And you can practice that with a friend or a coach. You can practice that. I used to walk up and down the beach with my husband in the evenings, and I'd just roleplay that because I developed a little nasty habit as well doing the same thing. Just upward inflection at the end of every sentence.

Apparently, it's quite predominant in New Zealand and in Queensland. Sorry to New Zealand as in Queensland whos on the call. But when you hang around people who are doing it all the time, you are more likely to pick up on the habit’. And it is a verbal tic, that’s all it is.

On that note of verbal tics, that's something that we need to look out for. What do I mean by verbal tics? If you're making a presentation on video and you're a little bit uncomfortable with the medium, sometimes the ‘uhms’, ‘you knows’, those little habits that you have that are space fillers, they can come out more if you're not rehearsed or confident. So, I highly encourage you to do rehearse. Rehearse so much that it's like wearing nude lipstick, rehearse so much that it looks natural. [laughter]

0:41:41.2

Julie: There's a lot of these in the chat at the moment about voice and vocal communication. And yes, as women, we do tend to communicate at a different level. And so, I would just strongly advise anyone to speak to Amanda about how to do this.

Now, another question, Amanda, what are some of the tactics women can apply when they're coming into a Zoom meeting or a chat room and it's predominantly men? So, given I might have styled them up and have them looking amazing, what are some of the other things that you can educate them on as to how they can come across as being confident, or credible, or more engaging, and really help them get their message across?

0:42:30.2

Amanda: Yeah.

0:42:30.7

Julie: And not be suppressed, because I think that's what a lot of women find often is they actually get – what, you've got a word for it, I think, haven't you? Manscape?

0:42:41.0

Amanda: Not manscape. I think that means something else. [laughter]

0:42:43.9

Julie: What is it? See, Amanda’s got some amazing words for –

0:42:47.7

Amanda: Not that one. [laughter]

0:42:50.0

Julie: Not that one. [laughter]

0:42:51.7

Amanda: Mansplain.

0:42:53.1

Julie: Mansplain. That's the one. [laughter]

0:42:57.5

Amanda: Fantastic.

0:42:58.8

Julie: I've just committed a faux pas

0:43:01.3

Amanda: Oh, yeah, we'll edit that one out at the playback. [laughter]

All right, fantastic. [laughter]

Okay. Look, really big issue. Perhaps not if you're at CEO level. So, if you're a CEO, you've got what we call positional power. So, when you say jump, your staff jump. When you want to have a voice and opinion in a meeting, then the staff will listen to you 9 times out of 10, though I'm sure I might see a few chat saying, “Oh, maybe not,” But if you're that middle, upper-middle management, lower-senior management, you're sort of hitting that permafrost level in an organization where there's perhaps some die hards who haven't moved on yet, and you struggle to get your voice heard in meetings anyway, it's not going to get easier online.

And at that level, its predominantly men, and you're going to be one of few women. And I work with a lot of women in technology. And they're often the only woman in the room physically. And the only woman in a Zoom meeting room. And they're all telling me, time and time again now, “I'm really struggling to get my voice heard in the Zoom meeting, how do I get my voice heard in the Zoom meeting?”

So, my advice at the moment, is just like Julie gets you to spend some time preparing for what you look like and the impression you're trying to create before a meeting, you need to spend some time preparing just like you would a regular influence strategy. Don't let your regular business etiquette and business tools go out the window just because you're in a video environment.

So, you might want to set up what would -- some allies, so you can set up some allies before a meeting. So, you say “Okay, this is meeting and I've got this point I really want to get across because I've done my homework, I've read the agenda, I know what the meetings about.”

So, I'm going to set up this little -- create two people who know that this is the point I want to raise, and who will not necessarily support or they're not necessarily in agreement, but they understand that it's important my opinion is heard. So you might want to set up some allies before a meeting, certainly do your homework, it might be that you even go to the chair or the person who's going to be chairing the meeting before the meeting and saying, “Actually, I've got some really important points that I want to raise on the agenda item 2, on agenda item 3. In the zoom environment, I've been struggling to get my opinion heard. I'd love if you could -- if I'm not able to get your attention or get anyone's attention in the meeting, could you direct the conversation to me?”

There's nothing wrong with doing any of that. So, creating allies and doing some homework and preparation beforehand on how to get your opinion across and how to grab attention in the meetings. Something you could do, is you could in the chat -- remember at the beginning of the webinar, I said if you've got a question, please pop it in capital letters, don't just use normal text, it's really hard for others in the webinar to see because it's going so fast, pop it in capital letters. And that's a really good tactic. If you're in a Zoom meeting and you want to grab attention, remember that capitals connote shouting. But you could just say, just pop the title of the topic you want to talk about in capital letters. I'd love to add something when there's a gap in the meeting.

So, there's a couple of ideas to help people who are really struggling to break into meetings and grab attention when it really matters.

0:46:48.6

Julie: Now, there's some really interesting questions coming through here. And I guess this is because when I start working with a client, I asked a lot of questions as well, and which is why I refer them on to Amanda, but a lot of the reasons are very similar. And one of them is all on body language.

So, how can you project your body language through a Zoom meeting to get your point across? And another one is a male counterpart on a meeting actually referring to you, really, really suppressing you. And someone's put in here, “Referring you as girly even when you're the CEO”?

0:47:28.1

Amanda: Oh, wow.

0:47:29.1

Julie: I think that's awful. And we would hope that that would never ever happen in this day and age. However, I think working with your language, and correct use of certain types of words, which project a very strong presence, and also presenting yourself in a way which does not give away any indication that you are anything other than the professional that you are, with the credentials that you have.

So, this is where we can marry all this very powerfully together to make sure that whenever you're in this environment, that you not only look the part, but you sound the part as well. And you can hold yourself well, and your posture also is very important when you're presenting on camera, looking at the camera lens, not being distracted with anything that might be going on around you, and being very, very focused on what it is you want to achieve, and what outcomes you want from that meeting. You got anything more to add to that?

0:48:36.7

Amanda: Just a couple of things. You might notice that I talk a lot with my hands. And that's okay. An extra fact that that's part of my brand, I'm quirky. But I do talk a lot with my hands. It’s quite natural, but it does help me convey a point. But sometimes, one of the things we haven't discussed is camera angle. So, we've talked about the height of the camera. And sometimes I've seen -- I'm just going to shift my laptop. And so, I know things are going wrong when I can see the downlighting.

So, I'm having a Zoom meeting with someone and I can see the ceiling, it means you've got your laptop on the wrong angle. But what that does, too, if I start talking with my hands, my hands end up in front of my face, and you're blocking.

Now, why is this important? When we're in a video environment, emotional intelligence is reduced. Not that video conferencing companies have ever tell you this, but there was some research that came out a few years back and they tested levels of emotional intelligence comparing video to real life scenarios, and emotional intelligence is really reduced. And you might have observed that with your staff, perhaps a lack of emotional intelligence or lack of awareness about the impact of what they're saying, or just lack of how they're presenting.

So, lack of emotional intelligence, the video gets in the way, but also sort of depresses your energy quite a bit. So, you do need to be a little bit more animated to keep attention. If you're chairing the meeting and not smiling, and you're like, “Yes, Brian will hear from you,” “Yes, Mary will hear from you,” it doesn't capture attention, it's not energizing, it won't keep people engaged.

So, if you're in charge of a meeting or even participating, keep your energy up. And you do need to work at it. You do need to work at it.

0:50:36.2

Julie: Someone's asking about lighting and I know, yes, lighting is important. When I was on Zoom yesterday with Amanda, we had the storm come through in Melbourne and it got incredibly dark.

0:50:48.7

Amanda: Yeah.

0:50:49.4

Julie: I hadn't switched the lighting on in this room. I've also got another light, which is in front of the camera, which is shining down on me, and one behind me. So, it tries to diffuse any shadowing effect, but it gives even light across the whole screen. And these things are all very easily obtained on eBay. I do a lot of video work. So, I actually have a lighting which attached to a tripod where I can attach the camera so I can I have it all set up. So, look, we're not going to be in this situation forever. But I think there will be a lot more of this whole online presenting, and interviewing, and meetings, so maybe just invest in a few of the basics that you can have at home on the ready to be able to do it well.

0:51:38.2

Amanda: Yeah. If you've got a really plain wall behind you, one of the advanced tactics is to get a lamp and lay it on the floor, and shine the light up the wall. So, sort of some backlighting, so to speak. Shine the light up the wall, at the wall, not at you. And it creates a bit of a more of interesting effect. It gives the wall a bit of depth and texture. And so, yeah, it just makes it a little bit more interesting. If you're worried about the back of your wall.

Now, I've got one last bit of advice, because one of the big issues that I want to -- I'm always looking for ways to take the stress out of preparing for video meetings, always looking for ways to make it easier for people.

And many years ago, I first met my husband and my husband was really into bushwalking and hiking. And I laughed so hard. You move in together and you start combining things. And I discovered this thing, and it was a laminated checklist for his hiking trips. I nearly fell off the floor laughing. I teased him about it mercilessly for years until I started going hiking with him. And I actually realized, “Oh, that was actually quite handy.” Because it meant that you didn't forget important things like the tent, or the water, or the matches. It was really very handy.

It took the thinking and the grunt work out of preparing for important meetings. So, instead of it being new and you're still trying to remember what to do, and where to switch your phone off, and where to put the post-it note. You have a checklist. So, I've actually prepared a checklist that I'm going to send out to everyone. So, some of the things that I do include the three Js. So, jewelry, jacket, and junk off the disk. And that's number 21. So, it's a 21-item checklist.

But I've sort of categorized everything for you today. And one of the things I'm doing today for you is also showing you a bunch of different techniques that don't rely on you using a slide deck.

So, here we go, I've got a whiteboard. And this is seen as, apparently, it's a good idea, it's a little harder to navigate, but a whiteboard on a chair. And I've divided -- there we go, I've divided my checklist into before, during, and after.

So beforehand, checking your technology, the branding of the room, checking that you've got some meeting management tools, and thinking about how you're going to manage the actual meeting. We're looking on what the outcome is that you want. So, you shouldn't be just rocking up into meetings without a desired outcome. You should be -- smart and talented women go into a meeting not just to be present, they go into a meeting with a desired outcome.

And then any rehearsal, and scripting, and pre- work. That you need to do your elevator pitch or any powerful phrases that you want to layer into your report that you're using, memorable messages, powerful phrases, you want to have done that stuff in advance.

And so that's in the preparation. You can't see the during, and you can't see the after, but what I'll do is I'll send out a list for people, to you, to use so that your preparation and your video meetings will likely be successful. I, too, want you to be slaying them in the aisles and blowing people out of the water because of your fantastic video presence.

0:55:06.9

Julie: That's awesome. That's amazing. So many things to think about. And I, too, can give you a little tip sheet, Amanda, that we can send out to everyone as well. And just some of the simple things that you can do or think about when it comes to what to wear for your online meetings.

0:55:29.0

Amanda: Yeah, beautiful. All right, fantastic. Everyone, it has been an absolute joy having you online. Thanks so much for giving all those chats, participating, keeping engaged. I'm just going to leave the webinar open a little bit longer. If you've got any resources that you think might be really helpful to other executives in this time when we're all playing this learning game and their digital environment, if you've got any resources, links, etc., feel free to pop them in the bottom of the chat there.

Me and the team, or the team and I, will be stripping out any name. So, de-identified comments. And anything that's really helpful, we'll be shooting out after the webinar. As mentioned, we were overwhelmed with the number of people who were interested in this topic. Julie and I have already scheduled another one because not just to talk about the same sorts of things, but similar things. We'll be doing that on the 14th of May. Feel free to sign up again. But if there's someone else in your network who you know who should be coming along to one of these, feel free then to recommend.

On that note, Julie, is there any last comments that you would like to make?

0:56:38.7

Julie: Look, I think there's some fabulous comments still coming through on the chat. So, thank you, everyone, for being engaged and for participating. And I'm sure there's still lots of questions that you haven't asked today that you would like answers for. So, I'm sure, I know, I can speak on behalf of myself and probably Amanda can, too, we welcome all of those because they will form the basis potentially for the next one that we have scheduled in just a couple of weeks time. We're here to help.

0:57:08.1

Amanda: Yeah, we're both here to help. Now, Julie, did you have a special offer for people as a result of today?

0:57:14.9

Julie: Well, the offer is really, just as I mentioned at the start, I am in the midst of transporting all of my face to face executive styling program into an online version, which I'm really excited about, Amanda, because that means I can work with so many more women, because there's no travel involved anymore, no additional expense, so we can do all of what I do: styling, color analysis, wardrobe, work, everything, even personal shopping, I can do for everyone online.

So, that's all in the mix at the moment. So, if anyone's interested in that, then all they have to do is email me or private message me on LinkedIn. And I'll definitely be letting you know when that's due to launch or we can get on and have a quick chat.

0:58:01.3

Amanda: Yeah, fantastic. And I also, for my current clients who are already signed up working with me, you're already good to all of this. But I have a one sub COVID-19 shutdown heat, I really rejigged a couple of packages to just suit the environment. So, I've got one that's executive rescue package. So, if you know anyone who's all of a sudden found themselves out of work at that executive level, and just really struggling, maybe the outplace wasn't tailored in offer. Send them my way. I've got a great quick turnaround, pivot pack or executive rescue pack.

But I've also got an online profile building pack as well. And all designed to just really capitalize. Right now, we're in the midst of a really different time, let's get a digital presence right, let's really make powerful interviews, powerful meeting management. So, an online profile breeding course as well.

0:59:00.2

Julie: Someone's just asking for contact details for both of us. But I think maybe just LinkedIn is the best.

0:59:06.7

Amanda: Yeah, LinkedIn is the best. So, in actual fact, get a connect with us on LinkedIn, pop us an email. Everyone who signed up, we have your email addresses, so we'll send out an email and I'll include Julie's details in that, so you can contact Julie directly, if you like.

And yeah, we're really good to go. So, Julie, what's on the agenda for your the rest of your day?

0:59:29.7

Julie: The rest of my day, I actually have another Zoom meeting this afternoon with a colleague, and just getting on with my work. My day started at 5:30 this morning on a webinar that was coming in from the US, and that was all about my online work that I'm doing. So, it's just product development at the moment.

0:59:53.5

Amanda: Great! Silver lining. So, the rest of my day is I've got two tasks. One is text. It is that text time. If there's any industry that's doing really well in this economic downturn, it's an accounting industry time. [laughter]

But I'm also writing my third book, and that's called “Unflappable Leadership.” So, yeah, unflappably me. Yeah. [laughter]

All right, everyone. We're going to close off the chat now, so thanks so much, everyone. Fantastic to see you. Have a wonderful day.