Built Not Born

"Your biggest weakness is your lack of self-belief." "It's not. It's actually my biggest superpower."Sophie Lawler is CEO of Total Fitness, where 700 people across the north of England and Wales have helped grow EBITDA more than tenfold on her watch. She tells Maddy Allen why she squirms at the CEO label, how one media trainer's challenge sent her away to write down her values, and the rituals she uses before and after a big stage. If you speak for a living and rarely get time to prepare, this is how you sound like yourself anyway.In this episode:1. Know your values and you can speak off the cuff on almost anything.2. Twenty seconds of courage gets you in; other people's expectations carry you on.3. Stop mimicking the room and own the way you speak.4. For a high-stakes talk, script it, then tighten it until it's tight.5. Your nervous system can't tell a keynote from a camera-on Zoom, so look after it afterwards.This week's rep: write "I am a good human being" at the top of your notes and read it just before you stand up.Links:Total Fitness: https://www.totalfitness.co.ukThe Female Brain by Louann Brizendine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_Brain_(book)Try it yourself at the free Clubhouse, our monthly speaking session on Zoom: https://thekeynoteclub.com/clubhouseThe Keynote Club: https://thekeynoteclub.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-keynote-club/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekeynoteclub/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033MruR9aYAG1UXuVdAxdx#publicspeaking #leadership #confidence #builtnotborn

In episode two, Max interviews Jeremy Connell-Waite, Global Communications Designer at IBM and author of The 109 Rules of Storytelling.

In episode two, Max sits down with Matthew Lawson, Chief Digital Officer at Ribble Cycles, for a conversation about saying yes to things you don't feel ready for. They dig into what it really means to be yourself at work... your weird and wonderful bits... and why authentic leadership starts with dropping the performance. A candid look at confidence, identity, and why speaking can help us grow. 🌱

In this debut episode of Built Not Born, co-founders and speaker coaches Maddy and Max sit down for an unscripted conversation about the myth of the "natural" speaker and why brilliant public speaking is a skill you build, not something you're born with.