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Secrets From a Coach - Debbie Green & Laura Thomson's Podcast
Secrets From a Coach - Debbie Green & Laura Thomson's Podcast
234. Accessing Your Inner Yoda for Powerful Presence
Welcome to our new 5-part mini-series, where we celebrate Star Wars month by bringing lessons from that galaxy far, far away into our everyday work lives. We’re not travelling too far to discover what the Jedi can teach us about thriving at work.
And this first episode is where we share powerful lessons in handling pressure. Whether you're leading a team, managing conflict, or facing a high-stakes decision, our guest Karl Green (aka The Performance Coach) shares his masterclass inspired by Yoda in staying calm, connected, and in control.
Karl shares practical tips for staying grounded in your inner purpose, even when the pressure's on, and accessing a calm, focused mindset. Starting with taking a breath: think Yoda in the chaos and dial up your emotional intelligence to respond (not react) to others.
Because when you can remain mindful in high-pressure moments, the force will really be with you in how you take the lead with presence and purpose.
"Make the decision, make another. Remake one past, you cannot." Yoda
Secrets from a coach thrive and maximize your potential in the evolving workplace. Your weekly podcast with Debbie Green of Wishfish and Laura Thompson Stavely of Phenomenal Training Debs.
Speaker 2:Law, you're back from New Orleans.
Speaker 1:I'm back from New Orleans. I'll try not to do an American accent, because they kept asking me to do my British accent. Oh really, yeah, half a bit Mary Poppins and the other half bottle of water, which they found very funny.
Speaker 2:Did you give them chocolate as well?
Speaker 1:Chocolate, Chocolate.
Speaker 2:What from the pamphlet or the booklet yeah, the pamphlet and the booklet. Was it fab though?
Speaker 1:Oh, it was amazing, so much learning and yeah, I'll reference some of the bits in next week's episode.
Speaker 1:But what's even more exciting, debs, is you know, when you have those moments of pinch me have we created a job that actually you probably couldn't write in the job description but it kind of brings in a bit of life and a bit of laughter.
Speaker 1:And it is with great delight that this is the first of our five part current focus, that is, in celebration of all things Star Wars, because at the time of recording we're doing this in May and of course Star Wars Day, debs, is May the 4th be with you. So there we go. And of course, from years of hearing people say, oh, star Wars Day, and one of our dear clients, Heathrow, they celebrate that day up on the departures boards and stuff we thought wouldn't it be cool to make a link between what can we transfer from the Death Star and the world of Star Wars into the world of workplace and all things ranging from workplace dynamics dealing with Battlestar, dealing with the Rebel Alliance. So hopefully this is a lighthearted but practical take on five different angles of what it means to be successful and effective and happy and well in the world of work these days, yeah, definitely, and our first one.
Speaker 2:We have a guest with us, don't we? We've got Carl with us. That's talking about accessing your inner Yoda for powerful presence. So we had a really good chat with him, didn't we, Laurel? So should we have a listen to what?
Speaker 1:he had to say yes. But, debs, what I'm really looking forward to is, every now and then I'll hear you doing little impressions of Yoda, because that is actually how you've been described by some of your clients I know over the years, and all I say is she channels the spirit of Yoda, but with much better skin.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I'll take that law Brilliant.
Speaker 2:Let's listen in and see what he has to say. I don't know if he'd have the same input, but let's see. But let's see. Welcome to our series that we're going to run through the month of May and, as always, laura and I wanted to just put a little bit of a theme around this, because we like a little bit of a metaphor. As you know, whenever you listen to Laura, she has a metaphor for most things. So we thought we'd tap into May the 4th Be With you and link it into the Star Wars themes, because there are many lessons that we can learn from the beauty of being in the Star Wars, but what we want to do is turn it into something that was looking at how do we make this work for us? In the way of work and you can see I'm joined by Carl today, who's going to give us his take on the first in our five-part series on episode 234, where we're going to explore this whole notion of being able to access your inner Yoda for powerful presence.
Speaker 2:I love Yoda's quotes. I've always been a fan of listening to his wisdom and thinking about how he presents himself in the world of the movies and stuff like that, but also how it sort of spun off into different things. So, carl's going to use that experience as well about channeling your inner Yoda, because I just love it. There's a quote here that I'm going to share with you before we start to get us in that frame of mind. So, if you're ready, here's my thought for you from Yoda, and he says breathe deeply, you will. Presence begins in the breath Centered you become. So we're going to add a few more of them in as we go, so we wanted to sort of start there. So, first of all, welcome, carl. Thank you for spending time with us. Give our listeners a little bit of a background as to who you are, what you are doing and what you previously did, as to why this topic is so important for you.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much, and thank you very much for having me. So hello to all the listeners out there. My name is Carl and I have been working alongside Secrets from a Coach Wishfish and also for myself in the world of learning and development now for over a decade. But I transitioned into this as like a full-time job about four years ago because previously to all of this, performing was my life. It's what I did. I was a dancer and musical theatre artist and I began working at the age of 16 and sadly retired due to hip injuries at the age of 29. It sounds so bizarre to say you're retired at the age of 29 from something, but what I do now is I bring that element of performing into the world of work, because we all are kind of performing in this big show and we've all got to work together to really make sure that what we're putting out into the world is just pure magic.
Speaker 3:I'm also going to open with a bit of a Yoda quote for you, debs.
Speaker 3:This almost feels quite Shakespearean to me, but I really quite enjoy it, and when we think about us as individuals, this just kind of links really beautifully to that and it's luminous beings, are we Not this crude matter that just kind of hits the nail on top of the head really to go. When we think about how we show up in the world of work and think about who we are, who we want to be, who we're expected to be, there's a kind of mindset shift that I really believe begins to happen. And for me I call that a performance mindset, and that's where what we'll kind of discuss and I'm sure what we'll uncover is where actually the performer in us and then the actual present being within us they kind of meet and it allows us to kind of tap into almost two worlds, if you like, at the same time of going. Yes, I can show up in this way, but I can still be really true to who I am in the moment as well, and that is just. It's just luminous. The luminous beings are we.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God, that's so cool Because you're right, no-transcript. What lessons you've learned along the way, what your position is. All of that stuff? Because it transcends all of that, doesn't it? So how important is that in today's world?
Speaker 3:Well, you've kind of just got me thinking in that in the world of Star Wars, you know, we've got our Jedis and we've obviously got Yoda, who is he's a master, right, he's a master Jedi, and it's sometimes almost linking or maybe versing across both of these things where we think about, maybe the mask that we sometimes wear, so the master of our own thoughts at the same time as well. I always like to think of that kind of performer mindset. If I go back for a moment, I remember it always was very external. Everything was always very, very external. How do I look? Do I fit in? Am I right in this role? Am I showing up in the best way that I possibly can?
Speaker 3:It teaches you so much in terms of walking into, let's say, an audition room, and if I put the work lens on this, we could call the audition room the boardroom. Let's say you are being faced with a panel of judges in the world of work. It could be the board, it could be a group of peers, it could be a group of senior managers. There is always an element of us that will go oh okay, I've got to put that mask on. How do I look? Do I look okay, do I sound professional? All of that kind of internal dialogue that plays around in our minds will probably begin to show up for us, and I think there's a moment in that space where we go, I can show up in the way that I want to show up and be the mask, if you like. Yeah, but actually I know that internally I'm the master. Yeah, we do a lot of that kind of internal work in a workshop that's very, very close to both of our hearts. That we've delivered now. God all over, all over the UK.
Speaker 2:Our speaker, stagecraft one.
Speaker 3:It's so funny because people come onto it and they don't think they really expect it to be what it actually is. Everyone kind of thinks we're going to go in and we're going to say, you know, don't do this, stand like this, this have 24.
Speaker 2:PowerPoint slides.
Speaker 3:Never have 24 PowerPoint slides.
Speaker 2:Never do that, never do that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, never do that, never do that, yeah, what we actually do is we allow the master within us to be at one with the mask, if you like. So when we think about showing up in those moments and really owning who we are within that space, the question first is who am I being right now? That's the first thing that I probably ask myself. Who am I being right now? Am I being that internal dialogue in my mind that's going I don't know what I'm about to deliver or I can't present to these people. Or actually, am I showing up in a way that allows me to go?
Speaker 3:I hear that voice, but I'm the expert, I am the internal master. Now I'm going to put the mask on for half an hour, 20 minutes an hour to really prove that, because I think when we go into that real strict mode of performing, it doesn't feel very genuine. Yes, because we're not being who we're meant to be. I mean, you know, you always talk about our purpose and values. If actually we're showing up completely opposite to what that is, we're never going to really be showing us as who we are. So I really like to bring that element of it's less about the external and it's more about the internal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that, because when you think about it that way, you're right. We're never our true, true, true, true selves I don't think we ever are sometimes, you know. So that ability to be able to recognize it and to be in that moment and choosing who I want to be, so you're intentional in the way that you are being, rather than just on autopilot, it also gives you a chance to navigate through different scenarios you might be faced with and and think on the spot sometimes, cause I know, certainly as your world of a performer, sometimes you have to think on the spot, especially if your mind goes blank and you go, oh, is that the left foot or the right foot? Am I saying this or am I saying that?
Speaker 2:But that ability to have, I suppose, a level of stillness to some extent and I know that's something that we pick up when we're looking at Yoda is that stillness in power and you just think, wow, how often are we actually still, and just in that moment, in that present moment, because that's where the power sits. So how do we create that sense of stillness? Sometimes, because our hearts could be bang, bang, banging out of our chests and we can probably hear it in our voices right. Whenever we do a speaker, stagecraft workshop, people always say they can hear their wobble in their voice or they can feel that they're talking random. So how do we create that power in the stillness? How would you do that? What would you recommend?
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's a really big word that actually comes up for me here, which is, I suppose, the element of stillness, in a way, being the new spotlight, let's say, and the word that sprung to mind just listening to you then was the word trust. You have to trust the process, you have to trust yourself, you have to be your biggest cheerleader in moments like that, because no one else does what you do like you. No one else is you, and that is your power. It's so funny, because when I now talk about the elements of performance mindset and how we choose to show up in the world of work today as a performer, the idea of presenting something and no one laughing, no one applauding, no one going, that was great, I'm like. Silence is awful, like, imagine if you've just given your heart and soul to an hour and a half of being on stage and not one single person in the audience gives a round of applause. Going back, though, to the external validation war, then comes in that inner critic that goes that was rubbish, you didn't do very good. Whereas actually, if we, if we look at the world of yoda, yoda lives in silence, it's true, he lives in trust, the force, let's say he trusts the force around him, that he's going to be safe, that he's got what he needs if he needs to move a droid. You're looking for what I always share with even individual clients, even when we go and run workshops with larger groups. It is about trusting the pauses that you feel are right, so you ever go.
Speaker 3:I'm. I'm getting into a maybe a really chunky piece of presentation here. How do I best set myself up to deliver that? Do Do I go? It's all happening and I'm just going to deliver it and blah, blah, blah, and then we've lost the words, the breathing's gone. You know, our body might all of a sudden be really frantically moving around. Actually, how often do we go? Still take the breath, trust yourself in that moment, because no one else is you, you know your stuff, breathe, and then you go into it with much more of that stillness in mind, rather than I'm frantically waving around my lightsaber hoping that I might hit something. Yeah, the force around us, if you like, and I think it becomes about.
Speaker 3:This is something that a lot of my contemporary teachers used to say to me doing less actually means doing more, right, okay, which I always find really interesting from a kind of kinesthetic, physical place. I think there's so many nuances with different dance styles. And if I bring that into the world of work, there's so many nuances within different job roles. Yeah, true, yeah, if you go into every job role, every room, every team, if you have a conversation with every person going at the same speed, hitting all the same beats, you know, going at everything with such full power that you're going what we call full out. That might not work for every person, every dance style. It doesn't always work.
Speaker 3:So when we enter that state of, it's almost like a state of flow really, where you kind of let go of that tension, invite that stillness and you're allowed to do less while still making the same amount of impact. This is where I find dance and I think you already like this, debs. This is a real mind, body, soul connection. That happens because we have to be in tune with what we're saying to ourselves up here. We have to be in tune with how we're saying to ourselves up here. We have to be in tune with how we're feeling about that. Ultimately, that's then going to project outwardly. If you imagine Yoda sat there on his rock chatting to Luke Skywalker and he's got frantic thoughts and he's all over the place and he's erratic. He's not going to teach Luke the ways of the Jedi in the best way possible, very true. So Yoda invites the stillness, he invites it in so he's better equipped to manage, present, be part of the team, whatever it is. In that world of work, it's that stillness is the new spotlight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that. Stillness is the spotlight. But also, I suppose what you're saying there is links to you know, I say the topic close to how. About emotional intelligence? Right? How intelligent are you emotionally? And you could argue that Yoda is super intelligent beyond anything you can ever imagine.
Speaker 2:But when you're thinking about how you can master your mind, what you're saying is that fear overflow, right? So if you're churning up inside of you and your mind is racing and it's telling you can't and you're rubbish, and then that isn't going to help you, you're not going to master your mind, are you? So, I suppose, when we're thinking about it from an emotional intelligence point of view, how do we even begin to think about? How do I master my mind? Because, you're right, our thoughts drive our feelings, drive our behaviors, and it's depending on what are the behaviours that we want people to see right in front of them. And, as you said, you know we've all been where you go. Oh, that was a bit of a rubbish performance, because they obviously had so much mind chatter going on that they weren't their true selves, as you said. So how can we, how can we, even start to begin to understand how we do that?
Speaker 3:Oh, I really love the element of you mentioned just then fear to focus, yeah which was like, really it's a really beautiful way of kind of packaging it up really into this really wonderful thing. It's removing the fear, because actually, what is driving that fear? I suppose it's for me and I'll share, because it is something I'm very happy to share. The fear for me was always what if they don't like me? I'm so fearful of that. So you're always looking for the applause, and if I'm always looking for that external validation for someone maybe, let's say, my managers asked me to present something back to the team and if I'm looking for that manager to go, you did a really good job clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap there's the applause. That's what I've got because I've gone. Thank god, they like me, they like what I've done. Oh, thank god. However, if we were to take the word focus and bring that into the world of performing, it would almost come a. I would use the word alignment, right, yeah?
Speaker 2:okay your alignment?
Speaker 3:yeah, because if we take away the element of, I'm looking for the external validation of, because if we take away the element of I'm looking for the external validation of the applause If we take that away, what are we left with? We're left with us. We have to be able to go. I did a really good job. Yeah, I presented that in the best way possible. I did that really well. I did this really well. We have to be the applause we're looking for. So many times we fill our cup up with stuff that we haven't done, didn't do that and I didn't do that. And then, if we think about the element of but I'm looking for the applause, the audience in my head, who are telling me well, you didn't do that and you didn't do that and you didn't do that, they're not clapping.
Speaker 3:They're booing it's not good, it's almost. Oh, here's a good star wars link for you. Go on, that's almost the dark side. Oh, creeping in, I suppose. Right, it's like that's your darth vader. Yeah, your inner critic, yeah, your critic is your biggest darth vader, and if we're always looking for an applause from darth vader, you're going to get it.
Speaker 2:That's not going to help you, is it?
Speaker 3:Not going to help you. So it's totally thinking about kind of going back to what we've already covered in terms of bringing it to self. It's a really bizarre thing because when we talk about performing, we're performing for someone, we're performing for an audience, we're projecting outwardly, we're doing the thing externally, but actually what needs to happen in order for us to engage our performance mindset is to begin internally, start with self, exactly, and then okay, well, actually I don't need the applause from the room because I know what I did was bloody brilliant and I loved it and I was incredible. Yeah, do you see like how voices flip?
Speaker 2:you can see the difference, can't you? When you're listening to the voice. Which voice are you listening to really? Is it that one full of wisdom or is it that one full of ego? Because, um, one will drive or both will drive very different behaviors.
Speaker 2:Yet we know that you know Yoda is full of wisdom and that's enough to be able to, I suppose, suppose, tune into your intuition as well. That has a massive part to play. Believing in self, as you said, that whole self-awareness is going to be key Knowing what I am, who I am, what I can do, not what I can't do, where my gaps are, I think there's also, you know, knowing where you're great, knowing where you might need to do a little bit more work. So that whole self-awareness piece is where it starts, I suppose, to master your mind but channel it in a way that is good for you. It speaks from a place of compassion and kindness and courage and bravery and all those things we do. But a lot of us don't do that, for we live in fear. So if we were to think about how do we access our inner Yoda, how would you access it so you could use it in inverted commas to be able to perform and have a great presence. How would you do that Do?
Speaker 3:you know what You've taken me back to, when I was at uni and I did my dissertation yeah, and my dissertation was all about kinesthetic awareness and emotional intelligence, because we've spoken a lot about the internal messaging and the internal kind of script, let's say, in the world of theatre. You know we're running off here. Yeah, there's a really big part of the physical, external stuff that plays a part in that as well, and I think it's going from a place of embodying that wisdom and letting the body lead you. What's really really incredible is obviously the work of Daniel Goleman, I believe, really resonates in terms of that kind of 4D essence as well, because we are so aware, we are very aware as human beings it's one of our greatest things that the droids may never do and the stormtroopers oh, I know laura's going to talk about the tech whiz and where the droids play a part but it really makes me think about actually, if you are feeling panicked, your body is going to respond in a way that encourages your mind to go.
Speaker 3:I'm panicked and then we get tense and then everything else kind of hunches up and then we're not in the best place to calm our mind, calm our thoughts. So sometimes the external stuff that's happening for us has to feed into the internal stuff. I know for me when I was training, we're trained to move our bodies. When I did my dance and musical theatre life, we were trained to make the shape. We were trained to be the character. You were trained to move in a particular way that resonated with the story and the message and what we were getting across the audience, whereas the contemporary work that came in was actually allowing kind of a real easy breezy let the body lead you. Um, it's a totally, it's a total flip. Yeah, what I think I've really kind of made the link between at the moment now is actually how can I use the musical theatre world of why I know the shapes I need to make? Yes, how can I do that from a place of letting the body flow through it?
Speaker 3:yeah and it allows for that external space for me to be the performer, but also to be who I am in that sense as well because we can't be doing a tap dance down the bouldering table, can we?
Speaker 2:Sadly, we can't that would be lovely.
Speaker 3:yeah, I mean we've done it where we've had senior leadership teams doing some contemporary lyrical jazz country. Country. We've had ballet, we've had hip hop, we've done, we've had film and acting. There is room for dance within the world of work I think there is, yeah I think it's practicing the body presence. Yes, that's a good point to go. Our mind is a really incredible thing, but so is our body. Yes, if my brain is telling me one thing, let me just actually take it out of my head and put it on my body.
Speaker 2:Yeah, feel it, sense it yeah.
Speaker 3:In my shoulders, is it actually in my elbow, is it in my neck? Is it in you know where? Am I feeling that If we can change that feeling and shift our body to go well, actually I don't want to have that feeling in my shoulders. So I'm going to embrace the stillness for a moment. Take that breath, channel something different, remove it from me physically, and it's incredible to see how quickly the mind then follows.
Speaker 3:I've always said if we can't change something in our mind mentally, change your physical state yes, good point. Our mind mentally. Change your physical state yes, good point. The moment you change your physical state, your mind will then kind of reboot and be like oh okay, this is what we're doing now. Yeah, that's true. So it's a really wonderful thing because it doesn't become performative. No, becomes who you are. It becomes who you are.
Speaker 3:I know, on on our speaker stagecraft, we always set a bit of a challenge towards the end of the day, where we use a choreographic tool called verbatim, where we add almost like a gestural movement to every word that we're saying. This is maybe, perhaps a really good exercise for those who maybe like to be a little bit more task focused, maybe sit more in that kind of introverted space, aren't the natural presenters? This is something really good that they could actually like. Try at home is if you've got to deliver something, just for fun, just try and put a little gesture to each word that you're trying to say. Oh, I know this is going to go up on YouTube, so I will do it okay, you'll do a physical one.
Speaker 3:Picture this everyone channel your inner Yoda okay, the my sentence is cup of tea. I would physically create a cup of tea and drink it. You know, yeah, making the, making the saucer, holding the cup, bringing it out to my lips and sipping it back. But I'm going to do that movement whilst also saying the words. So it's more performative, it allows my body to be a little bit more freer. I'm not holding any tension and all I'm simply saying is yeah, it's a cup of tea and it just becomes so. It's like that wisdom is now embodied.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's freedom, isn't it?
Speaker 2:As well, yeah, a sense of freedom. Oh, my God, I love it. I know this is such an important topic for so many people. So if you were to, I suppose you've given us a call to action to practice verbatim, so you know, actually just for fun, and then obviously, when you're in it for real time, you'll sort of lessen that a little bit, but you'll get the flow and therefore your body's flowing, moving with the action and the words, which is so powerful, but not to the point where you're giving a full out. You know Michael Flatley Irish dance performance, because that's mad and it's just so wow in your face. So it's finding the middle ground between it. But what would you, you know, what would you advise people to consider as they step into that world of, as you said, with that powerful presence, whether it's in a meeting, whether it's in a boardroom, whether it's a presentation, whether it's a team meet, whether it's a client meet? What one thing would you suggest as a takeaway, a call to action for people to consider?
Speaker 3:So the big thing, I suppose that's kind of come to mind here is kind of letting go of the script, and I know Lindsay does a lot of yeah, she does around scripts and our drivers.
Speaker 3:And what's really interesting is actually coming from the world of performance. The script is your, the script is the script you, yeah, you know if you deviate away from the script, yeah, something might go wrong, something might never work out. And I think there's a real element of when we enter that mindset of, well, I can't deviate from my notes, yes, I can't, I can't miss that slide, I can't maybe jump ahead and then jump back because I can't let go of the script. And I think, as performers, because we all do it, we all put the mask on.
Speaker 3:Sometimes, as performers, we crave certainty. Right, we know this from being coaches and also from being human beings. We crave the certainty because we like to know. We like to know what's happening. Whereas if we look into the world of yoda, yoda teaches so much more about the world of the unknown, and what I love to think about when I think of the word unknown coming from that performance life into the world of learning and development is the wonderful world of improvisation yeah we're doing it now yes, we are right now I don't know.
Speaker 3:I don't know your script no, I don't know yours, yeah we don't know really where this conversation was going to take us at all. We've gone with the flow, we've trusted it, we've shifted our body, we've done we've tuned into it. We've tuned in, we've listened, we've improvised.
Speaker 3:Yes, we've allowed a freedom to enter the script yeah yeah, and we've been able to let go of some of that. Well, I must talk about this, or we must tick off those boxes, or you know, I must make sure that I get all of these points across. I must stick to my notes. We've, in a way, let go of that and we've allowed one. Ultimately, a little bit of fun. Yes, improv is fun. We do this a lot in speeches. Uh, speaker stagecraft, we do. Uh, we do. Yes, let's, yeah, we do. For anyone that's been on it and is listening in, you know what?
Speaker 2:yes, let's is.
Speaker 3:And for those of you who don't know what it is or you'd like to find out more, you know where to find us yes, come and play come and play but it's just so much more based on that intuition yeah and we all know that, if we look at the force that yoda wields so well, it's all about his intuition, his sensing, what he's telling himself. His external body is just. You know, this whole wonderful thing owning your space, yeah, I mean, flip it into, let's say, the world of george lucas yes because we're in the world of.
Speaker 3:It's just. You know this whole wonderful thing Owning your space. Yeah, I mean, flip it into, let's say, the world of George Lucas. Yes, because we're in the world of Star Wars. You're not just the star. You're not just the star, you are the director, so you have the ability to change your physical state. You have the ability to change what you're saying to yourself. I suppose it sounds quite brutal, doesn't it? No one else is going to do that for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly it's true, though they're not.
Speaker 3:And you have to go. You know what? If I want to play in the world of souls and if I want to be a little bit more Yoda and really harness my powerful presence whilst presenting or whilst delivering or whatever it is we're doing in the world of work, remind yourself that you are in charge.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly, I am in charge of myself yeah, exactly, it's really, it's free, it's really refreshing and freeing as well, isn't it to know that? But to have the confidence to say that, I think, is super, super important, which yeah I think, is that you know when you're thinking about what.
Speaker 2:Was it? Luminous, to be luminous, I love that. To light up and be luminous, that's you know. Shine from within, but you have to know all of the other stuff. You have to master your mind, as we said, you have to deep listen to what's going on. You have to speak softly, but the impact is loud. We have to fear, to focus, to flow and going from there, and I think, when we're thinking about owning your space, because it is your space in that moment, it can only help you be who you want to be. Who am I being right now? And it always reminds me, I suppose, of that ability.
Speaker 2:To have that powerful presence is to be able to access. We all have the ability to access our inner Yodas, right? So I would definitely encourage people to just stop and think about the things that we've talked about, carl around that, because I think it's so valuable and the worlds cross over beautifully into what we're doing, and I suppose I always have this quote that I've used for years on workshops, which is Yoda's famous quote, which is which is do or do not, there is no try. So one last thing to go away with carlos before we wrap up this episode, because this is a real interesting topic to explore and I know it will sort of fit into the other topics we're talking about, when you know we're looking at combating death star workplace dynamics, for instance.
Speaker 2:And we're looking at a rebel alliance approach to performance appraisals, and Laura is going to talk a lot about the droids. Keep you safe, but engaging teams with new technology, and the force is in you. So looking at that self-belief during workplace lows. So what would be one takeaway that you would share with us?
Speaker 3:oh gosh, the showman in me goes. I've actually had like. I've had like three come to mind okay, give us three.
Speaker 3:Then Laura loves the three, so you're gonna she give us it in three then no, we've already kind of we've already spoken about one, which is you're not just the star, you're the director. I think there's another lesson in here about unlearning the applause loop Nice. So actually, if you get off that ride of going, I'm always looking for external validation. Get off that, get off the ride, get off the applause loop, yeah, and I think, integrating the performer and the presence to become at one with the force oh my god, I love that mic drop moment.
Speaker 2:Oh my god, carl, it's been absolute pleasure to talk about this. I know this is a topic so close to your heart, but it's been a real pleasure to to share the stage with you and to be able to channel um a powerful presence. And yes, go with the flow and do it, don't not do it. So thank you for your time thank you very much. The pleasure has been all mine okay, may the force be with you be with you too.
Speaker 3:It's a joy, and I will see you very soon all right then.
Speaker 2:Love you lots. So, Laure, what did you think?
Speaker 1:That was just brilliant. I tell you what. I don't know how other listeners felt, but I'd started to listen to that conversation. I was feeling a bit hit up and a bit keyed up. Lots of things to do and my head was all over the place and I actually found my body and my mind relaxing as the conversation went on. So I'm going to recommend that as a listen for anyone that's feeling a bit keyed up, because when you're stressed you're unable to access that stuff. So I found that a really enjoyable, practical but also relaxing listen. So thanks to both of you, thanks Carl.
Speaker 2:It was a good one, good conversation, and, yeah, we sort of got a bit carried away with some of the references really, but I think, as you said at the beginning, you know being able to transfer from one world into another world and you love a metaphor. So being able to maybe use that as a bit of a way to start a conversation or enable people to see it differently or to look at it from a different angle, can only help right.
Speaker 1:And if you tap into people's imagination and creativity, then that's what we want to do right and being able to take I mean that ability to transfer from one world to another is distinctly human to be able to make that link. And I've often thought that, if ever I've experienced feelings of anxiety, worrying about something, just thinking, well, if I can be there while I'm here, I can be here while I'm there.
Speaker 1:Oh, very profound, laura Well if I'm sitting here on my sofa worrying about a presentation I'm doing tomorrow, well, equally, I could be there at the presentation tomorrow channeling that calm, safe Yoda state. So I just found that a really useful reminder of where your mind takes you. You know, that's really useful reminder of where your mind takes you. That's the starting point of it.
Speaker 2:Definitely, so what would be your share the secret on this one, laura?
Speaker 1:Well, loved your call to action because, as ever, that gives us something as practical to take away. My share. The secret would be, if you've got a friend or a colleague who is currently feeling a bit stressed out and the opposite of Yoda, and feeling like everything's really tricky and complicated, get them to listen to this, to take some time out, depending on what the weather like is, where this is a great one to put on to headphones and go and get some fresh air and just remind yourself of that bigger picture. So that would be my share the secret. You've got a stressed out colleague, get them to listen to this and it can just help those levels come back down a bit.
Speaker 2:Oh, I love that and it was such a great one. But next week we've got an interesting one, haven't we as well? Go on, tell us what we're doing next week, lor Well.
Speaker 1:Debs, it was sparked by a conversation with my husband who is an avid Star Wars fan and one of the Star Wars is on, and I just said, in moments where I was allowed to speak, I said, oh, the droids are really cute, aren't they? Are they just there as a bit of entertainment? And he looked at me with a sheer look of horror on his face and death star look and he said what he said it's all about the droids, it's all about the droids. The whole storyline is about the droids. They are the one constant and I thought, oh, there's a podcast episode in this. What role technology in our future? You know, sort of life at work. So, yeah, so looking forward to that conversation.
Speaker 2:Debs. I think it'll be hilarious as well. It will be brilliant. I'm looking forward to it. But in the meantime, have a very peaceful and calm week, Laura, and I'll see you next week.
Speaker 1:I will aim to do that I will Yay week Laura and I'll see you next week.
Speaker 2:I will aim to do that. I will.
Speaker 1:Wise one Are there any copyright infringements when you do an impression? Yeah, I'm not sure. That's what we're hoping we can get away with.
Speaker 2:I know we won't get a comedy award act, that's for sure, or an impression act on Britain's Got Talent or something like that. Not going to happen, but hey, we're channeling it anyway, we're channeling it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:See you next week. Laura, see you next week. Love you, love you Bye.
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