June 17 2020 Webinar - Digitise your leadership brand with Julie Hyne and Amanda Blesing

0:00:02.6

Amanda: Hi, everyone! And welcome to our fabulous new webinar. I'm Amanda Blesing and I'm here today with Julie Hyne, and my assistant. And we are here today to talk about How to Digitize Your leadership Brand in this brand-new crazy world of Zoom meetings, and team meetings, etc., where we’re rolling from one meeting to the other, and still trying to have the same impact as we would as if we were working around the office.

So, great to have you online. The first thing we want to do is just check that you understand the features of today's webinar. The first thing we're going to do is check the chat function. So, down the bottom of your screen, you should be able to see the chat icon. I would love for you to let me know that you're there. Let us know that you're there. So, click on chat and switch to all panelists and everyone so we can all see. Give us a “Hello,” tell us where you're from, and tell us what the weather's like today in the chat function. Off you go, try now.

In between, let me -- Julie, would you like to introduce yourself first today?

0:01:14.3

Julie: Yes, thank you, Amanda. For those of you who may not have had a connection with on LinkedIn, my name is Julie Hyne and I work with senior executive women on how they can present themselves more effectively, whether it be online now or whether it be on person because -- in person, I should say. And it's really important as, hopefully, you will find out from today's webinar.

0:01:39.5

Amanda: Great.

0:01:40.2

Julie: All things styling, all things presentation, all things visual.

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Amanda: Wonderful. Julie, we’ll get back to you shortly. Now, I can see so many people have   responded in the chat there. We've got people from Canberra, we've got people from Brisbane, where else have we got? Sinead do you want to introduce yourself? Because Sinead is my assistant and she's in Darwin. So, we always joke about how warm it is there and how cold it is here in Melbourne session. So, Sinead, do you want to introduce yourself just a little bit?

0:02:09.8

Sinead: Yes. Hi, everyone. I'm Sinead from the Uncomplicated Office. So, I assist Amanda with leveraging a lot of her digital platforms. And I'll be on here today to just talk a bit in the chat. I'll be monitoring your questions. And just as a side note, if you are writing in the chat and it just says to all panelists, not everyone will be able to see that. So just make sure it says all panelists and attendees.

0:02:33.6

Amanda: Thank you, Sinead. That's wonderful. So, who have we got? So, I've got Tracy from Brisbane, overcast today. We've got Janita. Hi, Juanita, fantastic to have you back online. Great to have you online. So many familiar faces. Thank you so much for your support over the last couple of months with attending webinars. It's been amazing. Julie, have you had a blast doing these webinars?

0:03:00.3

Julie: So much fun. It's such a fabulous forum to be able to share information because although we're both active on LinkedIn, I know that there's women out there that miss it because they're busy and they're doing other things through the day, and they may not have the time to catch up on really valuable information that we like to be able to share. So, this is a great way for them to be able to do it. And it's fabulous seeing we’ve got Singapore, Hawaii, I'm seeing in the chat.

0:03:29.3

Amanda: Oh, wow! Wow! Hi!

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Julie: We’re global, which is just amazing.

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Amanda: We’re global. It’s amazing. Yeah. It has been great, hasn't it? It's been a really rich experience. One of the reasons it's been so rich is before every webinar, you, the attendee, you put your questions to us, you tell us what's concerning you, we're picking up on the trends and the themes, so thank you so much for doing that. It has just been phenomenal.

And to be honest, at the end of this webinar, I want to find out from you, should we continue? If you like these webinars, let us know at the end. And Julie and I are maybe thinking about doing this on a semi-regular basis, because there's been so much rich content coming from you. Isn't that right, Julie?

0:04:16.2

Julie: Oh, absolutely. And it prompts us to think, “Oh, okay, well, that's fabulous. If you would like to know more about that topic. I've got loads of information to share, but unless you tell us, we don't know.” So, I get excited because I think, “Well, that's great. I've got an opportunity to actually share with you some really great stuff.”

0:04:37.5

Amanda: Yeah. And that's been really important for me as well. I'm so close to the stuff I talk about on a daily basis with my clients that I forget that some of my clients, perhaps other people, don't know what I talk about. We forget we're so close to our own IP we forget how much we know. And that's been absolutely invaluable.

All right. So, wonderful to have you all online. One of the first things I would like to do now is remind you that nothing beats a good bit of pen and paper. So, when we're writing things down -- yes, this is my killer ideas book, and not every idea that goes in it is a killer, but some of them are awesome. When we write things down, we remember them more. So, a good old-fashioned pen and paper, write things down. If you've got a key takeaway that you'd like to really implement, I highly suggest writing it down.

I will also, if the chat’s rich enough today, I will distribute that after the webinar, so that will go out with the handout. So, at the end of every webinar, we edit the video down, we include some of the resources, and we send out the chat as well, so that you have a really rich experience from this and you can start implementing things immediately.

All right. Last webinar, we talked about a bunch of issues. We talked about how to really stand out, how to really stand out for all the right reasons on a video meeting, because Julie and I had been hearing from some of our clients that if mansplaining was a thing before Zoom came along or before we went worked remotely and had to move all our meetings on to video, then once you're on video, it's even worse. My clients, Julie's clients, were telling us that they were being spoken over, that it was really challenging.

So, last week, we talked a little bit about how to stand out for all the right reasons while you're on video, how to grab attention, how to persuade, how to make sure that you're coming across in the right way like a leader, like the leader you want to be when you're in the video forum.

We also had another couple of quick wins. One of them was around dehydration. Well, it was actually how to get rid of the black rings under your eyes. Julie, can you just remind us of that one, because I reckon, we all need reminding of that one?

0:06:59.6

Julie: Having owned and operated a skin clinic for quite a period of time years ago, that's another life, one of the things that you can do to resist dehydration and dark circles under the eyes is to keep yourself hydrated. So, drinking lots of water, because when you're working in front of a screen, and I found this personally, myself too, you can get to the end of a three-hour session or even the end of the day, and you don't realize how dehydrated you are. I just feel like I could drink gallons and gallons of water at the end of a long session when you're in front of the camera, because I don't know what it is, but you do use up a lot of energy. And so, you need to hydrate.

The other thing you can do is, obviously, wear makeup. And there are some fabulous products out there that will help you minimize fine lines, get rid of those dark circles, there's some great concealers, keep the powder, if you use a powder finish, keep it away from the fine lines, keep it away from that area because it tends to look a little bit crapy. So, just little makeup tips that you can employ, which can help you look fresh and just more useful when you're online as well.

0:08:19.3

Amanda: And one of the other tips you gave last webinar, which I loved and I've remembered, because it made such a difference. As I turned up to the webinar, and I think I had a maroon jacket potentially, and I put on some lipstick, and it sort of looked -- the lipstick matched the jacket, but I noticed that I didn't look as youthful as I like to appear. And, Julie, you gave me some great advice. What was that advice?

0:08:44.2

Julie: Well, it was actually a tip I learned from a photographer many years ago when I was having a photoshoot. And that was that you don't necessarily wear a bright lipstick, you wear something which is more subtle, because when you're on camera, that color seems to come through a lot more vividly. So, just tone down the color of the lipstick when you're online, because if you've not got a full lip, if you're wearing a dark lipstick, it can actually make your lips look quite thin. And it gives the impression that you're actually a mean person. So, just little things like that can make a big difference in how you apply your makeup for doing these online sessions.

0:09:25.4

Amanda: And that is a brilliant segue into what we're going to be talking about today. Today, we're going to be talking about that really strange world of creating an impression, judgments, bias, and stereotypes. We are living in a world where bias, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. It's a really rapid way for us to make a quick decision. It keeps us safe sometimes. But in this new online world, sometimes we're triggering, we're making judgments in the wrong way. But more importantly, we need to know how to navigate that, navigate this world of stereotypes and bias.

Julie mentioned that perhaps thin lips makes you look a bit mean, very unfortunate, I have no idea where that came from, but very unfortunate, so wear the lighter lipstick. But I wanted to talk about the impact of what we call the stereotype effect. I've written two books. My first book was called Step up, Speak Out, Take Charge. And it was about helping women to step into that leadership space that they're meant to inhabit. Like, be the leader you want to see. But more from let’s are acceptable responsibility and take accountability for leading.

The second book was more around the branding, the self-promotion, and in actual fact, this video medium fits really well into the IP on my second book. If you'd like to grab my book, perhaps I could pop the link in the chat so that if anyone wants to grab a copy of my book, it's on my website, it's also on Amazon, quite easy to buy. And easy to read when you're still in lockdown.

But more importantly, in my first book, I talked about the stereotype effect. And it's a bunch of research, looking into stereotypes, and the impact that stereotypes has on us. It has an effect on us, the person being judged, but it also has an effect on the person looking at you.

So, what is the stereotype effect? So, the stereotype effect is for when it works around the women's space. So, if I was to remind you of your femininity in some way, and you were about to go into negotiate or working in a masculine dominated environment, and I was to remind you of your femininity, unfortunately, because of the stereotype effect, you underperform. And you're likely to underperform, then you'll not actually live up to your own potential, you’ll actually performance at your best. You would underperform simply by being reminded of the fact that you're a woman.

Now, that does not mean like, “Hi, you're looking really pretty today,” it could be just like, “Do you have to go and pick up the kids?” “Did you pack the school lunches?” Things that remind you that you're not a leader. Or sorry, that came out wrong. Things that remind you that you have another role, maybe you're juggling. And the stereotype for women is that we're not good at math, that we're not great leaders, wo we're navigating that.

So, that's the impact of the stereotype effect when it applies when you are reminded of the stereotype effect. So, you can imagine, when you're in a meeting, that's predominantly men and someone says “Did you have to go and pick up the men?” All of a sudden -- “Did you have to go and pick up the kids today?” all of a sudden, the men see you in a different light as well.

So, the stereotype effect impacts on your audience. It helps them or makes them see you in a different way and not the leader that you want to be. So, the stereotype effect is really powerful. And we are going to talk about how to navigate some of those stereotypes and the bias surrounding those stereotypes today.

And the first question is, because a lot of my clients are younger, and perhaps look after themselves really well and come across your youthful, and unfortunately, youthful doesn't have gravitas and credibility necessarily, or that we don't align youthfulness with gravitas and credibility, and I've got some research you can refer to later.

But what we want to do today is talk about hacking gravitas. How can you come across with more credibility, more authority while you're in a video meeting? Perhaps if you're looking really youthful, and or smiley. Julie, what are your best ideas?

0:13:49.1

Julie: Very interesting you talk about stereotypes, Amanda, because I was talking with someone only yesterday, who lives in an area of Sydney, which is not recognized as being a well-to-do suburb. And so, there's a lot of stereotypical ideas around the area that she comes from. So, my conversation with her was all about rising above that, and actually projecting herself in a way which is not atypical of where she lives, but also changing the story around in terms of what that means.

So, being able to come up with positives about living in that area and why she lives in that area, so that she can correct that whole story and impression that other people have on her just because she comes from that area. So, stereotypes also can affect you in terms of how you dress, because if you dress in a certain way, which is typical of how other people might perceive, and I'll use the example because we're talking about aging, if you dress in a way which is deemed to be more in line with what an older person would dress in, or you're dressing in something that comes from a bygone era, then people will automatically associate you with that stereotype.

0:15:12.8

Amanda: Can I interrupt? So, I think we've got -- sorry, Julie, can we go back to the addressing the youthful look though? How to hack gravitas? Because what you just raised is a really important topic, but I think we'll address that one next.

So, if we go first to the issue of you're looking -- you're fresh, you're young, got great ideas, super smiley, but people underestimate you. Can we deal with that one first in this video world?

0:15:42.3

Julie: Well, look, it's all about dressing for who you say you are. So, if you want to maintain gravitas and you want to maintain presence in an online forum, then you have to think about who your audience is. Who are you meeting? What is the intention of you meeting with them? What's the impression you want them to have of you?

And it just might mean you're doing a little bit of due diligence, a little bit of homework on what's the dress code that you should be adopting, what are they expecting to see of you when they see you online, and giving them a really good experience of what you have to offer whether it's for a job interview, or whether it's just having a high-level meeting, because people will tend to relax a little bit when they're at home, in front of the camera, because they think that's okay, you're at home, so you tend to relax.

And I think we touched on this in the first webinar. But I know a lot of women who are really serious about this. They do find a space in their home where they can call the office, where they can dress as though they're going to work, where they can respect their position, and the position of the person that they're meeting on the other side, and they can dress as though this is a professional environment.

And I know I had a conversation with a client also last week who works predominantly with men. And she actually had noted that the relationship she was having with her clients changed considerably when she removed the jacket.

0:17:18.1

Amanda: So, in a good way or a bad way, Julie?

0:17:20.5

Julie: She lost power, she lost positioning, and the relationship all shifted. So as soon as she recognized what was happening, and she started to, once again, dress as though she was meeting them face to face, she had the jacket on, she was presented very professionally, she restored that positioning, and she restored that power.

So, I think in terms of usefulness, also, thinking about dressing in a current way. And look, a lot of your clients, Amanda, I know some of them are younger, so perhaps in their 30s that are going through more senior roles, and a lot of women think, “Oh, well, maybe I should dress super professionally.” Well, there's variations of that now, we're in 2020.

So, what does a polished professional look like in 2020? And there's it's like how long is a piece of string? And so, that's when we really think about you don't have to dress like your older counterparts to still look professional, you can still produce a really snappy look in more current younger versions of that very high-level professional look by just really examining the fashion trends, and looking at how you can apply that in your professional look.

0:18:43.4

Amanda: Sorry, someone in our audience has actually asked a question, and on that note, if you've got a question, can I ask you to put it in capital letters so it stands out from the rest of the chat? But I think that someone's asked a great question for you, Julie, in terms of how do we have gravitas? How do we come across with more credibility, more authority without really going out and have to buy a whole new wardrobe for this new online world? Are there certain colors that would help you? Great question. Thanks, Naomi.

0:19:15.5

Julie: Yeah, thank you, Naomi. Look, colors are definitely very important. And when I do work with color with individuals, we have a set of colors that we call menopausal colors. So, these are necessarily not the colors that you would necessarily want to invest in if you want to come across with a more youthful appearance. So, what I've done is I've actually got a colored swatch here, and I've just grabbed a few colors. Now, they do come out quite bright on the camera. But what we're looking at here are very muted, dusty, light colors. Now, particularly the gray on this side, so if you're wearing that soft, dusty muted gray --

0:19:59.0

Amanda: Could you lift that up a little bit higher?

0:20:01.3

Julie: It's a color that we tend to associate with the aged, okay. So, it can instantly deem you as being older than what you are.

0:20:10.2

Amanda: So, if you're young and trying to come across as more credible, should you wear gray?

0:20:15.5

Julie: Well, there’s variations of gray. So, if you're wearing a dark gray, for example, now, a dark gray can come across as very sophisticated and very elegant.

0:20:23.4

Amanda: On a video?

0:20:25.0

Julie: On video. And then it depends on what color you're wearing with it because the importance of color is all on contrast. And the best contrast of color, I always recommend my clients to wear, is one of the medium contrast, where you not got colors which are glaring out at the other person because that can be very distracting, and quite alarming. And some colors actually come across -- like, red, will come across as quite aggressive in some --

0:20:52.6

Amanda: So, just on that note, my jacket, does that come across as aggressive?

0:20:56.4

Julie: Your jacket is orange. To me, it looks orange. And orange is a very playful color. It's very playful and it’s warm.

0:21:06.7

Amanda: So, would orange be a good color for a younger person to wear if they're trying to give the impression that they have credibility and authority? Remember, young women have high likability but low on credibility and authority according to research.

0:21:21.1

Julie: I think, before we get into the actual colors, what I would like to say on color is the best colors to wear if you're wanting to project authority are those darker, more elegant colors. And definitely whether you're warm or cold, that has a big role to play in what value of color that you actually wear.

So, take navy blue, for example, there are warm navies and there are cool navies. So, where do you sit on the scale of things? And that's where having a color consultation can really eliminate all of those uncertainties about what are your best colors. And yes, you can wear color very strategically in a meeting to engage other people in terms of their level of interest, their curiosity, your friendliness, your trustworthiness, all of those things can be communicated through your effective use of color.

And then we go into style, and line, and design, and what are the best angles, what are the best cuts, what are the best shapes in terms of shoulder lines, etc., for you to wear.

0:22:31.8

Amanda: So, one of the quickest hacks that I've picked up from a range of stylists around how to hack gravitas, particularly if you're younger, is to wear some sort of a jacket or a scarf that gives you a line that emulates a jacket. It looks like the masculine jacket a little bit. Julie, what do you think of that idea?

0:22:53.2

Julie: Oh, definitely. Well, look, a V-neckline will always elongate the neck. And for a woman who is going into her more mature years and she's worried about aging necklines, a V-neck will always do that. And remember from the last webinar, we talked about the vital V, Amanda, the most important area to get right is from the center of the breast point out to the shoulders and up.

So, we're really trying to draw that focus of attention up towards the face, and remove any imperfections that you might have. So, we're looking at color combination, color contrast, style, accessorizing, grooming, makeup here. So, all of those things need to be looked at in terms of, well, do I look current, do I look older than what I am, am I venturing into that age of frumpiness or looking outdated.

0:23:46.9

Amanda: Which is our next topic. So, we're going to get onto that shortly. So, we're still staying with this issue of a young 35 to 40-year old professional who looks young, probably a 50-year old professional who looks young. So, for some of you who know me, I'm going to share out of school here, I have a brother who's in his 50s and he looks like he's 35.

Lucky, lucky guy. Except sometimes it's not so lucky in and around the office. Sometimes, people don't take him seriously. So, this is a problem for men and women. Because he's slim, he's light, and he has amazing skin, he looks like he's about 35. And of course, that's a real challenge for a man in terms of gravitas and credibility.

So, he has developed some physical habits and physical tics, etc., or physical things that help him to look more serious, and to take him more seriously including always wearing a jacket, and including often being really serious.

We're about to venture into some mistakes, because my poor brother, I'm not sure he knows I'm going to use him as an example. But when he's on video, I saw him the other day, because in an office, he looks quite serious in order to convey credibility and authority, but when on the video when he used the same tactic, it doesn't work in the video medium.

So, he talks like this at the video to try and convey a point. And he didn't know he's doing it, we've been doing some work together. But you can see, unfortunately, it makes the face quite narrow and the eyebrows come together. And so, when he was extemporizing or talking like this, all of a sudden, the video medium gives his attempts at gravitas and credibility, it sort of diminishes it.

So, we need to modify for the video medium. So just any last thoughts on if you are young, or look young, and you're trying to look like you have credibility and authority, you're trying to push with your career, be taken seriously by decision makers, Julie, any last thoughts for younger people on this webinar, or people on this webinar who may be in their 50s but look really young and aren't being taken seriously? Any final thoughts on how to heck gravatars, how to look more credible and have more authority without going out and changing the entire wardrobe? Any last thoughts?

0:26:20.1

Julie: Well, I think, Amanda, it's just get it right. So, investigate what your best style cuts are going to be, investigate how well-fitting they are, because fit is also a major component, and also, investigate what colors are going to give you the most presence when you're going into those meetings. And then, yes, look at hairstyle, how current is it, I mean, the last thing you want to do is wear your hair in a ponytail if you're -- because a ponytail - again, talking stereotypes - sort of takes you back to when you're at school. And it can make you look younger than what you are.

Now, I know there's lots of different versions of ponytails that women use and wear. And that's fine. But we're talking professional environments, we're talking about you being able to maintain a presence. So, sometimes it's time to just grow up a little bit. When you're 35, think, “Okay, well, I have to ditch that look, and I have to now step into my power, I have to step into a different space, and I have to come across as being serious, credible, reliable, trustworthy, all of those things that the other person is expecting me to be because I'm applying or I’m going for a really big role, or I'm in an important position.” And that's what you have to do, because it's so much of your -- impression management is how you dress and what you look like.

0:27:48.8

Amanda: Yeah. Really, really, really important that we consider this. And I guess it comes back to purpose, isn't it? So, what is the purpose of your meeting, what are you trying to achieve, and what's the impression that you're trying to give? We have Ensar in the chat. Hi, Ensar great to have you online Ensar just popped a little tip in there about wearing glasses, because that can sometimes give the impression that you have more credibility and authority. And that is a hack. It's one I don't want to ever have my name associated with. I don't want to be known as the woman who told you to go out and get clear glasses. But I have heard of men doing that.

A matter of fact, there was someone from an OPSM store said two years ago that she had seen a significant increase in younger professionals going and buying clear glasses, so that they gave the impression of more credit, that we're trying to get ahead at work. And it was something that helped them come across with more credibility and authority.

Really minor. Really, it seems really trivial, doesn't it? However, if it works, and it's aligned with your goals, and it's an easy thing to do, then do it. Great. All right, so --

0:29:07.4

Julie: Can I just stay on that? You might remember our wonderful First Lady Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, when she actually appeared on Prime TV suddenly wearing glasses. And I actually did an interview with 3AW Breakfast. They called me at 5:00 in the morning following that interview on TV to do a whole thing on, “Why is she all of a sudden wearing glasses, is it a ploy, does she actually need to wear them?”

But you're right. Wearing glasses, they're a fabulous accessory. And I think every woman should have a couple of different pairs to coordinate back with their outfits because it certainly does give you a look of intelligence and credibility.

0:29:55.7

Amanda: However, I must admit I'm still off the -- I have a different bent. So, when on video, if I wear my glasses, you can see my -- I have a selfie ring light. So, this is something you do need to be careful about, glasses on video. I actually had someone complain to me after one of the webinars, or during one of the webinars, about the reflective glare from the light that was from the window or from the light there.

And that seems really trivial that people would even tell you these things. But if you have a really important meeting, you're trying to make a really big sale, you're trying to win the dream role, or you're just trying to get back into the workforce because you were made redundant, and you're feeling a little bit desperate right now, you're going to use every tactic that you can use so that you do come across professionally.

And if you do need to wear glasses, just be aware of the glare. So, it might make you look more credible, except when there's the glare in your eyes. So, thanks, Julie, really helpful. Before we go on, you're going to use the chat. Now, I want to ask you a question, or maybe Sinead. I did give you this question. The question is, what's the biggest mistake you have seen in an online meeting, a video meeting? And we've shared some over the various webinars, haven't we, Julie? We've shared a few doozies. But my recent one, was it was actually recounted to me, I didn't see it. It was someone was in a video meeting. There were about 15 people in the meeting. And the presenter forgot that his screen was on view. And he unfortunately wiped his nose with his collar. [laughter]

And everyone saw a dreadful, dreadful, dreadful video faux pas. And while video might be great, it connects faster than a phone call. It's certainly lingers longer and is there for all posterity. And everyone saw it. So, what's the biggest fail you've had? Let's have a look.

Low cut blouses. Thanks, Mel. Yeah, leaning over to fix technology. Oh, goodness, yes, dreadful, dreadful, dreadful, dreadful. People not realizing the camera is on and eating food.

Oh, a couple of months ago, we heard a story of someone smoking in a video meeting. And I think that that really brings us to an important point like, while we might be at home, our office is now in a home, like we've brought work into our home. And a lot of the conversations I've been having with clients is around establishing boundaries. We brought work into home, do we need to be really working till 8pm at night? We might feel like we need to, but do we? So, establishing boundaries, but smoking in a video meeting, your office, it's the professional environment, you don't smoke at the office. I'm not really sure you should be smoking on a video meeting. What are your thoughts, Julie?

0:32:52.0

Julie: Yeah, look, you wouldn't do it in person. So why would you do it when you're on Zoom? And the other thing, I'm seeing a lot of people coming in and mentioning pets. Now, a lot of us have pets at home. But is it appropriate to have them jump off onto your lap or walk across your screen while you're trying to have a business meeting? It's very distracting. I think, talking about maintaining gravitas, that instantly diminishes any presence that you've got when you have a cat or a dog jump up and lick your face, or walk across the middle of your meeting. So, I think you just have -- it’s preparation. It's insane, I hope my dog doesn't bark at anything because he's in the other room. But you know, we've just got to be careful.

0:33:42.4

Amanda: Yeah. And I guess, once again, it comes back to purpose. And Julie and I are both very much aligned. Both of us talk about being really strategic, both of us talk about being aligned with your purpose, just the same as you do with your LinkedIn posting, just the same as you would do around the office, keep it professional, keep it aligned with what you're trying to achieve, be very purposeful. And the gold standard of executive branded is proactive, intentional, future-focused, and strategic.

I'll pop that in the chat in a minute so that you've all got that. Wonderful. All right. So, thanks so much for all those mistakes, that will be a really rich resource of things not to do.

Before we go on to the other topic, because if you're more mature and you're trying to look younger, or give the impression that you're not as mature, because let's face it, there's a lot of bias around age. And in particular, there's a lot of bias around when women hit a certain age it can, we judged negatively, that's for sure. But before we do that, I wanted to share my screen. I just wanted to talk about the pillars of branding now that we've started to look at that and talk about branding.

So, I’ll just share a little bit with you, so that you can have a quick understanding of what I mean here. So, everything that I talked about aligns with confidence and strategy, because we know that when it comes to confidence, often, we will talk about our lack of confidence.

I mean, don't let the mantra of low confidence become a self-fulfilling prophecy. But confidence is really critical. And I think our confidence is not when we don't feel that we fit in, when we're being told that we're being too bossy when all we're doing is being assertive.

Confidence has chipped away at every day when we're stressed, when we're exhausted, when we're trying to create a career that really counts, and yet we're being criticized or pulled down. Our confidence can be undermined. And the other part that I really want to focus on is strategy. Because I think women are given lots, and lots, and lots of well-meaning, but busy advice.

So, we're told to do all this stuff. And so, we're racing around doing everything that everyone tells us, trying to get to where we need to go with our careers, and all it does is leave us really worn out.

So, one of my bits of advice is really make sure that you prioritize for impact, stop being busy, stop being strategic, and prioritize for impact. So, let me quickly take you through. So, Julie and I both talk a lot about executive presence. The impact you create when you walk in the room, or in this case, when you're on the video. You want to command space, you want to have gravitas, if that's the currency of the meetings or opportunities that you're presenting into, a deep voice and height are correlated with success and leadership. Your voice is really part of your executive presence along with your style, your presence, the way your mojo, if you're worn out and flustered, no one promotes that person.

People promote the person that looks more like the swan. Maybe their feet are paddling madly underneath, but you're looking quite calm, cool, and collected on the top. Something else, Julie and I often talk about personal branding. You see a lot of stylists, and you see a lot of branding experts talk about personal brand, but if you think of it, your credentials, your CV, your track record, your results, your runs on the board, positioning is something I spend a lot of work time with my clients. And how do we command this on them on a video?

Now, you might say I changed my name on the Zoom meeting, I changed it to make sure, just to remind a subtle reminder of my positioning, helping women into the C-Suite. So, positioning is a really powerful, powerful tool. And yes, we can do lots of things even on video.

Persuasiveness both on and offline. It's seen as the new leadership expertise by 2025. It'll be in the top 10, learn how to persuade. Your reputation from a perspective of taking charge of the narrative before it takes charge of you. And in this video medium, what does that mean? It means don't become a victim of video, learn the platform, learn how to do this stuff really well.

Don't stress, just learn it, get on with it, start learning some tactics so that you are presenting persuasively and taking charge of the narrative before it takes charge of you. You're getting on top of the platform really well.

And all with the goal here, giving you back that sense of personal power and agency. So, you feel confident, you know that you're on the right track, and that you know that it's all progress, and just with a few tweaks, you can really nail this new platform. She who nails video fastest, will definitely win in this brand-new online world. All right, Julie.

0:38:52.4

Julie: Hmm.

0:38:53.5

Amanda: Fantastic. Good. Julie, let's talk about the other end of the spectrum when it comes to stereotype and bias. And yes, when we're talking about stereotype and bias, it can sound -- it’s murky ground and it is murky, murky, murky, because it's all about judgment and perception.

But if you are a mature woman, in this new video medium presenting, what are some things that you want to avoid in order for people not to start thinking of you as a mature woman? Because the stereotype for mature women is that we're not good at technology, that we're perhaps a bit flustered, and I let myself in that space, mature woman, unfortunately, I need to do that, too. I'm over 55. But we need to be able to hack this as well. So, what's your advice for mature women when we're on video?

0:39:44.0

Julie: Look, I think it all comes into the preparation, Amanda. Like I said before, it's on thinking about what you look like now. So, I've actually got some before-and-afters here which I thought I'd share with the audience, because I think they're very powerful because you can actually see the difference that would make when you're coming across online. So, if that's okay, I'll just share it.

0:40:10.0

Amanda: Yeah, that'd be really great, thanks.

0:40:11.9

Julie: I’m trying not to get the shine on the screen. So, you can see here, this was a woman that came to me. Trying not to get it too shiny there. Several years ago, so this is quite an old one. But we had to do a lot of work with her to actually bring her into what was going to be a current look. So, she was going from being a postie on a motorbike, wearing a motorbike helmet, which gives you a totally different impression of her, to actually working front of a house, in actually an eye shop.

But she really wanted to look presentable, and she really wanted to look friendly and approachable, and so it was all about the hair, it was all about the style of clothes, it was all about the color. And what you see in this photo here is someone who's very pleased with herself, very happy. And do you think that made a difference in how she came across to other people? Yes, it did.

Her confidence level has absolutely soared because she knew she looked the very best version of herself that she could possibly look. And that gave her such an enormous boost of self-esteem.

Now, I've got another one here, which is actually not my work, but again, you can see the difference of this woman here who's not wearing any makeup, she's let her hair go quite light, and that's what happens as we get older, our hair goes gray and it goes lighter in effects.

0:41:38.4

Amanda: Never, never. [laughter]

0:41:42.1

Julie: But she's gone. They've actually started here, they've given her hair some warmth, she's got some makeup on, the style of clothing that she's wearing is a lot more current, more youthful, and complimentary to her. So, she's not going to be looked at as being someone who's necessarily past their use by date, she's actually looked upon as “Okay, well, here's someone that's got a wealth of knowledge, here's someone that's actually could really engage with people in our organization, and she’d be an asset to work with.

So, that's what you've got to think of is, what are people going to think and you, yourself, as a woman who's aging, and hey, I'm on the other side of 55 as well. So, we have to work a little bit harder, and we have to work at looking - -not necessarily looking like mutton dressed up as lamb, we don't want to do that. So, we don't want to be ridiculous in how we present ourselves. But we can certainly think very carefully about presenting ourselves in a way which is attractive to others, and is like a magnet to other people, so what they see is a wholehearted value proposition rather than someone who looking a little bit age, which might mean that their work ethic and the work they provide would also be a little bit outdated as well.

0:43:14.3

Amanda: And that comes back to the stereotype effect, doesn't it? The stereotype. So, we talked about the stereotype effect, reminding a woman that she's a woman, but if you can remind a man or a woman that they're older, then they start performing to the stereotype.

And one of the things that often you'll hear people verbally do, isn't it, as we age, we’ll say things like, “Oh, my memories’ going as I age,” we’ll say those things out loud, when in actual fact, what that all that does is remind the audience that you're aging, and we shouldn't necessarily be doing that.

On that note, there's a fabulous podcast on Harvard Business Review: Women at Work podcast, I will send that out in the material after the webinar. For anyone who is navigating, feeling like they're being mis-underestimated or misjudged because of age and perceptions around age, it's a really good little podcast. It's not rocket science, but it's a great reminder of all the things we can do. Whether it's face to face or online, if we're feeling like we'd be judged because of maturity in terms of we're over 50 and we're feeling like we've been judged negatively. So, Julie, is there anything else that you would recommend?

0:44:34.0

Julie: There's a really interesting question in the chat. I'm just reading here about bias around youth, and bias around being older, and what is considered the optimum age.

0:44:46.4

Amanda: Well, it depends on your sector, and it depends on your work environment, it depends on what you're actually aiming to achieve in terms of optimum age. There would be no one answer necessarily, don't you think, Julie?

0:45:03.4

Julie: Look, yeah, and I think on that question of “Is there bias around youth?” I think, yes, there potentially is bias around youth. And I know I've had many conversations with women who said they've missed out on roles because the feedback they've got is that they didn't present themselves to be what they expected to be for that particular role.

So, their dressing style was too immature for what that role was deemed to be. And so, they had positioned themselves as just not being ready in all shapes and forms. So, yes, there would be a bias around youth. So, can you do something about that from style and color, and how you present and how you groom yourself? Yes, you can.

0:45:49.5

Amanda: And that's what we just talked about in the first part of the webinar, to be honest. Yeah. Great. But so --

0:45:56.4

Julie: And it happens. That's just what happens.

0:45:59.4

Amanda: And let's come back to that issue. So right now, we're actually really talking about those who are a little bit more mature, and feeling perhaps that they're being underestimated. And I think it's a really good point, isn't it? So, it happens at either end. So, those who are more mature, feeling that they're being marginalized, marginalized out of meetings, marginalized out of decisions, perhaps not taken seriously, not taken credibly anymore, there's a fascinating piece of research from Photofeeler. Not necessarily the best known for their research, but they analyzed LinkedIn photos. And they look at photos of young women, young men, older, more mature women, more mature men, and anywhere in between, and they analyzed thousands of photos.

And what they found was that young women are really high in likability. So, the audience, a general audience, will rank young women really high in terms of likability, but really low in terms of credibility and authority. And you can imagine that that really gets in the way of your career goals. If you're a young woman, and you're smart, you're intelligent, you've got great ideas, you can imagine that being likable is nice.

But if you're not winning the top job because people underestimated you, because they don't think you have the gravitas, then that's really tough. The only good news in that story out of this bit of research, is that young men will rank low on likability, credibility and authority. So, they ranked low on all three.

But then something changes as men and women mature. So, the young women lose in likability, and the young men gain. And so, for men in actual fact, there is an optimal age. In their mid-30s or 40s, that is seen as when they are relatively high on likability, and also high in credibility and authority.

And then men continue to grow in that credibility and authority, but their likability doesn't increase. And unfortunately for women, their likability decreases, but their credibility and authority doesn't increase as much as for men.

So, that's the murky mind we're playing with. Does it have to be like this? No. And that's why Julie and I are talking about ways we can hack this, what can we do to give the impression online that we're not flaky like the stereotype, or whatever the stereotype might be. So, Julie, any other ideas about not looking as mature when you're in a video meeting?

0:48:27.0

Julie: Yeah, look, no, I think I've actually said it all. And if you're a woman that doesn't want to continue to color your hair as you get older, then embrace the gray, but think about having your hair in a style which is current, that actually complements your face shape, and you would make up for it in other ways in terms of the colors that you wear, and how you accessorize, and just your general energy levels that you're putting across in a virtual sense. Because it's like when you're going on to -- you're doing a photoshoot, or you're doing a video to present, or you're actually acting, they'll always tell you when you're acting, to amp it up, and to really help your personality come through.

And I think that's the same in these sorts of scenarios. That you do have to raise your energy levels a little bit. And posture becomes really important, so that you're not slumping in the chair like this and looking like you're tired, which puts you into that bracket as well.

So, it's exhausting. That's why I said at the start, you need to have that hydration, you need to keep yourself energized throughout the whole day, especially if you're doing days of this.

0:49:46.2

Amanda: And we are, we're rolling from one Zoom meeting to another, aren't we? And we're forgetting even to schedule in time for pitstops, so it's so important that we have a drink of water and be able to take a break, stand up.

On that note, there's a couple of questions coming through and I just want to finish off with some tips. Sinead, would you about to drop some of the links in? I've got a roadmap, a personal branding roadmap -- a blueprint, sorry, that I was happy to share. I've got some tips for video as well.

But I just want to bring it back to this video medium. Someone's asked about not looking so serious. And remember, this case study I used with my brother, my poor brother? But he can be very serious when he speaks. And in face to face, that's fine, because you see the whole person. So, in a meeting face to face, that's absolutely fine. But on video, when all you've got is someone's head and shoulders, etc., it just is a bit intense. And it's not helping him persuade as much as he could.

So, the best advice, and I’ve got this advice from an amazing speaker out of the US, Michael Port. And he taught us to speak to the lens as though the lens is your best friend. So, whenever you're on video, and you're trying to make a point, you're trying to come across with credibility, and you want to persuade, you want people to look at you and take your message and do something with it, speak to the lens as though the lens is your best friend.

So, that means having the camera at eye level, it means having your lips just above the midline of the screen, and it means there's something that happens with your eyes, so I'll speak to you now and I'll tell you, you need to do this. And then I'll speak to you now, and I'll tell you, you need to do this. There's something that happens to your eyes when you speak to the lenses though as your best friend. And it's absolutely amazing.

So, I hope that helps everyone. Good. Now, the other thing before anyone needs to log off early, because, Julie and I just got to finish off shortly. There's a survey that we’d love you to fill out. If you need to log off early, there’s a quick survey, quick evaluation, take the time to fill it out. It would just take you two minutes. That would be wonderful.

So, Julie, any final thoughts on mastering this video presence? Like, coming across really well navigating stereotype and bias? Any final thoughts? Is there a story or a case study that you think would help inspire our audience and our listeners?

0:52:14.7

Julie: Oh, look, I think you probably have some amazing stories, Amanda, on some of your clients that are doing exceptionally well on video. I'm more about sort of helping people navigate this whole process of “What do I wear? What colors do I wear? How do I bring myself those sorts of things?”

But it's a great time for you all to think about, “Well, what does my wardrobe look like? Have I got the right things in my wardrobe to wear online? Am I struggling to get those go-to outfits that I need to really project that gravitas that I need in an online meeting?”

So, it's a great time when no one's fully out working yet, we still do have this at home time where you can be going through and working out, “Is this appropriate? Is this not appropriate? Do I need to update? Do I need to inject some new enthusiasm and interest into my wardrobe? Do I really understand what my personality style is? And how I should be coming across on camera?”

Now's the time to actually try and work this all out so that when you are back in full speed or you are going for that really same evolve that you've actually got it all worked out. And now I've got a great free webinar that anyone can tap into, which has downloadable worksheets that you can work through and then jump onto a call with me, and we'll go through those worksheets and see what can be done.

0:53:50.1

Amanda: Thanks, Julie. That's wonderful. Perhaps Sinead can pop your -- there you go, wonderful, wonderful.

One final point. On video, something funny sometimes happen. As soon as you realize you're being videoed, and we're not just talking about a video meeting where you're one of 30 or you're one of 10, your peers, and you're not trying to impress anyone, we're talking about video where you're trying to impress, something happens, and Julie and I talked about it even before the webinar started. We're doing this all day, every day. We're on video all day, every day, and we're doing at least one webinar a week, sometimes four, sometimes five.

Something happens before a video and it triggers some weird behaviors. A bit like going for a job interview really, isn't it? And all of a sudden, verbal tics and physical tics can be amplified because remember, all anyone can see is this part of the screen.

So, I noticed at my last webinar that I ran, all of a sudden, the word fantastic peed in my vocabulary. And if I said it once, I said it 50 times. So, it's really good if you can record your video presence, record a video interview of yourself, just to make sure that you haven't got verbal tics that come out when you're a little bit nervous or the meeting is important and you're trying to impress.

Now, because it is a video medium, physical tics can come out, too. So, things like you might have a second monitor, and you use it as a crutch, so during the presentation, we are trying to have great impact and persuade people to your point of view, and all of a sudden, you're looking like that, and you don't need the other screen, but it's a habit. It's become a bit of a verbal tic.

So, physical tics also impact. So, not just for verbal tics, but physical tics impact. I highly recommend video yourself, have a look at it, video yourself regularly because my “Fantastic” turned up, and I've done lots of webinars, and it turned up strangely last week. And I don't normally say it that much.

But do video yourself and give yourself a roleplay. So that would be my final piece of advice. Okay, everyone.

0:56:11.6

Julie: Good job.

0:56:12.7

Amanda: Yeah. Sinead, thank you so much for joining us online. Thanks, Sinead, for helping out. Julie, wonderful to have you online yet again. We've got so many topics. We could talk about this forever, really. If people would like us to do more of these webinars, if you think -- we just picked different topics out of the questions that you send us, if you think that you'd like us to do more webinars, give us a yes in the chat. Tell us that you'd like us to do more and maybe you know what topics you'd like. And on that note, Julie, I think we're ready to say goodbye.

0:56:47.7

Julie: Yeah, we are. Have a fabulous day, everyone. And good luck with all your video work.

0:56:54.9

Amanda: Wonderful. And thanks, everyone. My name is Amanda Blesing. I'm the founder of The Ambition Revolution Program as you know, and I am passionate about helping women lead and succeed. Even in this new online digital world. If you think you'd like to work with me, reach out and let's make that happen. Let's take your career to the next level, and help you springboard into something better. Bye, everyone. Thanks so much.

0:57:19.1

Julie: Bye.