Sophie Lawler on the question that floored her #004

"Your biggest weakness is your lack of self-belief." "It's not. It's actually my biggest superpower." Sophie Lawler is CEO of Total Fitness, where 700 people across the north of England and Wales have helped grow EBITDA more than tenfold on her watch. She tells Maddy Allen why she squirms at the CEO label, how one media trainer's challenge sent her away to write down her values, and the rituals she uses before and after a big stage. If you speak for a living and rarely get time to prepare, this is how you sound like yourself anyway. In this episode: 1. Know your values and you can speak off the cuff on almost anything. 2. Twenty seconds of courage gets you in; other people's expectations carry you on. 3. Stop mimicking the room and own the way you speak. 4. For a high-stakes talk, script it, then tighten it until it's tight. 5. Your nervous system can't tell a keynote from a camera-on Zoom, so look after it afterwards. This week's rep: write "I am a good human being" at the top of your notes and read it just before you stand up. Chapters: 00:00 Built, not born 01:47 It's just a number 11:26 Water finds a way 16:27 Values in a tatty notebook 26:03 The Question Time call 32:17 Stop mimicking the room 41:02 Why women pause 46:34 Script, tighten, repeat 51:28 Rain, runs and kindness 1:00:05 The post-talk disguise Links: Total Fitness: https://www.totalfitness.co.uk The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fem...) Try it yourself at the free Clubhouse, our monthly speaking session on Zoom: https://thekeynoteclub.com/clubhouse The Keynote Club: https://thekeynoteclub.com LinkedIn:   / the-keynote-club   Instagram:   / thekeynoteclub   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033MruR... #publicspeaking #leadership #confidence #builtnotborn