So how big is this "room"?

- Have you ever watched someone give a killer presentation and thought, "Oh, I wish I could do that"? Or have you ever spoken to someone and felt inspired or motivated by what they said? For me, this has happened during large events, where I am one of thousands of captivated audience members, like seeing a great concert, or during small moments, like a one-on-one conversation, when I walked away feeling absolutely enchanted by a person. It's easy to think that some people are simply born with a natural extroverted personality that makes it so easy for them to waltz in and own the room. But guess what? It's a skill that can be learned. I want to share with you the secrets that these great speakers already know, that you can learn how to own a room with a few key foundations. But, first, what does it mean to really own a room? How big is this room? Does the audience matter? Does my content make a difference? At its core, to own any room is to command attention and get people on your side. Let's break that down a bit. Getting attention and commanding a room are two very different things. You can get your audience's attention by simply making a loud noise or being shocking. However, commanding the room and gaining your audience's respect is a greater skill. Respect is a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something brought about by their qualities, abilities or achievements. Owning a room is not just about you or what your experience is in the room. It's about the audience's experience with you. Respect is what you're going for, not just attention. I remember watching Steve Jobs give infamous demonstrations during Apple's product launches. His expertise and experience as CEO got my intention, but his passionate commitment to excellence earned my respect and got me on his side. So if you have the respect, the size of the room or the audience doesn't really matter. When you own a room, you are leading your audience to a shared goal and getting them on your side. If you're at Thanksgiving dinner, recounting a travel experience you want your family to be riveted by your story. If you're presenting a new marketing strategy, you want your team to adopt your proposal. As a leader, understanding what your goals are is an important part of driving others to inspiration. You are selling them your vision of a shared goal. That's what inspiration is, getting others to adopt your ideas. Whether the goal is to gain a follow-up meeting, close a deal, land that job, or get your team to work together, owning a room is your ability to communicate your vision and inspire others to act on it. Finally, you need to have self-confidence to tie it all together and truly own the room. Self-confidence is a feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities and judgment. When you believe in what you are saying, others will too. So think about a room that you might want to own. Maybe it's an annual sales meeting or maybe it's your monthly book club. By getting familiar with the rooms you want to command, you can better prepare yourself to own it.