I was drawn to the title of this book, having read a number of pieces on confidence and also entered quite a few discussions about personal branding and the work we should do, I had a natural curiosity for it’s content.
I always enjoy the personal experiences of an author: Julia Goodman continued to peak my curiosity as her journey begins with an acting career and morphs into a hugely successful coaching career. Through my own business career I have seen how acting skills can affect how we show up at work. There are some magic skills there, it’s why we engage actors sometimes to help develop workshop experiences, it’s fun and challenging.
At first, I wondered if this book was really targeted at those in a leadership role or those looking to increase presence, it focused on presentation skills and story telling. If this not something you do often, then you might initially wonder if this book is for you; I would urge you to read on.
The other tip would be to expect to read parts of the book and go away to do some practical work (for example, recording yourself – like it or not, it’s hugely useful). The book will give you some new and some more familiar frameworks and models to use. I felt that Julia had spent time on how these tools really work. What I mean by this is that, she’s taken a tool and then researched it further with her own lens, essentially she’s upgrading them. It makes them more accessible and impactful. This also means there is a lot to consider as you read this book. You will be essentially on a personal coaching journey as you read it, so be prepared to commit.
I found the chapter of transactional analysis (TA) most useful, I’ve read about TA a lot and used it many times in my workshops. Julia added much more to this and, as her easy, approachable writing style permits, she simplified the more complex situations that erupt in the workplace with multiple views from Eric Berne’s research. That alone is helpful – what made this so relevant to the book and our personal brands is really about how people see and experience you as well as how you react to people, this is essential work for perfecting our interactions and transactions adapting our EQ.
As I mentioned it’s worth knowing this book is the coaching journey, so allow time for the practice. The book is written with a style that makes you feel you are being personally coached by Julia, which is quite special.
Published by Matador
