I am so excited about Circle for this year. Azizi and I spent time over the summer thinking about our goals for our group. What resonated, was the importance of communication skills for leaders. We felt that creating space for the women in our circle to reflect on the ins and outs of communication would be particularly impactful as often perception of a leader's communication is gendered. We are hoping that by providing a space for practicing and thinking about key skills, we will leave feeling confident to engage in difficult conversations, facilitate group discussions and tell our school's story in an engaging way.
For our first meeting we were lucky to be joined by Malika Williams, sister of Azizi, Actor and body language coach. Framed by Amy Cuddy's familiar Ted Talk, Malika facilitated a discussion about our mind - body connection, as it relates to how we are perceived. She made the point that as we meet new people, in a way we are the commodity and the new people are trying to sense our vibe. Our body language, how at ease we seem, how confident we look, goes a long way to creating that vibe.
She gave us tips for quieting the physical attributes of nerves and for calming an inner negative voice. We discussed the importance of enjoying the attention one receives when leading a meeting for maintaining confidence and poise. She also led us in a two minute power pose, per Cuddy's advice, and asked us how it felt to inhabit confidence in our bodies.
Malika left us with a pneumonic to use as our mantra going forward:
EXperience your current state
Posture
Openness (breathing, new things, curiosity)
Self-talk
Empathy
Spelling the word expose, this should remind us that vulnerability comes with leading.
Thank you to Meera Ratnesar at The Curtis School for hosting! We were treated to a yummy dinner and enjoyed the library setting for our meeting.
We look forward to our next meeting on November 8 on the west side - invitation coming soon.
For our first meeting we were lucky to be joined by Malika Williams, sister of Azizi, Actor and body language coach. Framed by Amy Cuddy's familiar Ted Talk, Malika facilitated a discussion about our mind - body connection, as it relates to how we are perceived. She made the point that as we meet new people, in a way we are the commodity and the new people are trying to sense our vibe. Our body language, how at ease we seem, how confident we look, goes a long way to creating that vibe.
She gave us tips for quieting the physical attributes of nerves and for calming an inner negative voice. We discussed the importance of enjoying the attention one receives when leading a meeting for maintaining confidence and poise. She also led us in a two minute power pose, per Cuddy's advice, and asked us how it felt to inhabit confidence in our bodies.
Malika left us with a pneumonic to use as our mantra going forward:
EXperience your current state
Posture
Openness (breathing, new things, curiosity)
Self-talk
Empathy
Spelling the word expose, this should remind us that vulnerability comes with leading.
Thank you to Meera Ratnesar at The Curtis School for hosting! We were treated to a yummy dinner and enjoyed the library setting for our meeting.
We look forward to our next meeting on November 8 on the west side - invitation coming soon.
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