I’m sure I’m not the only person who does this:
The other day my friend called and asked if she could drop by for lunch. I said, “Sure!” She said, “Great, I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” So, for the next ten minutes, what did I do? I cleaned! I ran around like crazy picking things up, wiping things down, putting things in tidy piles, and throwing the rest in the bedroom.
Why did I do it? Because I wanted to project my best self to my friend. Even though the “natural state” of my home is a bit unorganized, I wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible in my house. Granted, she would have understood if the place wasn’t perfectly tidy, but I wanted it to look nice for her.
This is often the same situation we find ourselves in when we meet someone for the first time, give a seminar, or are trying to pitch an idea or product to someone. Even though our “natural” state is nervous and wracked with insecurities, we want to project our best self to the listening party. We communicate confidence by sitting up straight, talking in a confident tone of voice, and taking our time to gather our thoughts and communicate intelligently.
Just as my friend would understand if my home was a bit messy, our audiences might understand if we are a bit nervous in various situations. However, it is a sign of respect to present our best self to our business colleagues. We we are project our best selves, it makes our listeners much more comfortable than if we display our nervousness. Plus, we get better business results when we do!
