Empowering businesswomen to perform at their best in the office
RADA Business offers a portfolio of courses for women which explore techniques to help them thrive at work and feel empowered to perform with authority and impact.
Sheelagh McNamara and Lisa Åkesson share key insights and techniques to help businesswomen perform brilliantly at work.
- Breathing is essential for state management. Remember L.S.D.: low, slow and deep breathing. Breathe in and out through the nose to the count of 5; do this 6 or 7 times a minute to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn calms and controls you. Doing this for 2 minutes a day will help change your state.
- Remember: "One thought, one breath". This will help you land messages with clarity. Aim for approximately 8 words to 1 breath, so your audience can pause and digest what you are saying.
- Over the past few years, we have become used to focusing our eyes on the ‘green light’ next to our computer camera. When you are back in the office remember to open up your peripheral vision, connect and make eye contact with your whole audience. Your eyes should move around the audience like a bumble bee does when pollinating flowers.
- When joining video calls we are used to only seeing 1 to 3 people on screen. People make an impression of you in a 10th of a second, so when meeting in person remember to use your whole self to take up space and embody credibility.
- Try to embody ‘Empassertiveness’ (i.e Empathy coupled with Assertiveness) when you communicate. Be credible and assertive as well as warm, empathetic and kind.
- When chairing a meeting which is a blend of face-to-face and virtual, be sure to ask every person on the virtual call for their thoughts or queries. Be sure to allow time for those thoughts to be heard and queries answered. Set expectations up front by letting everyone know you will be doing this to avoid putting people on the spot. It will keep engagement levels higher too!
To control your nerves and manage your state remember to breathe low, slow and deep.
And on a more holistic level of well-being:
- Give yourself the necessary space to function as well as you can.
- Only go to meetings where you see you are adding value.
- Boundaries for self-care are critical: ensure you have a balanced diet, exercise, sleep, and interact with others to enable you to perform at your best.
We offer a range of courses and coaching to help women at all levels perform brilliantly in their company.
Our programmes Stepping up with Confidence for Women, Impact and Influence for Women and Executive Presence for Women are designed to empower women to thrive at work.