RESPECT. How a single word made a hall erupt
Three days before the InnovateHer Summit in Sardinia, Alfredo asked whether I would represent Austria on a panel. In English. I said yes, and inside it immediately grew loud. This story tells how my inner roles wrestled for the right word and how, in the end, a single word made an entire hall erupt.
How a single word made a hall erupt
Sometimes leadership does not begin on stage, but in the room before it. The inner one. What is put in order there carries to the outside.
The starting point
Three days before the congress, Alfredo wrote to ask whether I would represent Austria on a panel. In English, in front of an international audience. I said yes. And inside, it immediately grew loud.
- Three days' notice, no buffer
- English, not my mother tongue
- Far outside my comfort zone
- A topic too important to me to make it small
What spoke inside me:
The feeling of pure pride
Afterward, people came up to me about my appearance and celebrated it. Everyone knew me. One keynote speaker even mentioned me in her talk afterward.
- Anything is possible
- I actually pulled it off
- "Actually" it wasn't so bad after all
- Preparation matters (even for an improv lover like me)
Inner roles I drew on:
Suddenly, all the roles were there
The Critic first: your English isn't good enough.
The Perfectionist wanted to control every word. In my notes I even wrote Wymen, so I'd really pronounce Women correctly.
After a few deep breaths, calm returned, and I stepped into the role of the Director, consciously choosing which voice would speak now. And after a really short preparation time, that voice really did take the microphone. Self-determined, with a very large dose of nervousness, I sat down on the panel. And everything went wonderfully.
Until.....
When the master of ceremonies, Shannon, went off script and asked me what women entrepreneurs need as support in the Austrian economy, a pause set in.
From the outside it looked like thinking. In truth, I was searching desperately for the right English words.
Then I said it, loud, at the top of my lungs: RESPECT. We want respect. The whole hall erupted in thunderous applause. It wasn't my perfect English that spoke. What spoke was what lay beneath it: clear, unmistakable, and true.
While preparing, I spoke with a Mexican entrepreneur friend, and he said to me: don't worry, you women are more resilient and tenacious than we men could ever be.
Three insights from a single word
What I took home from Cagliari was not a new thought. It was a confirmation.
The inner dialogue decides first
Whoever knows their inner roles is not led by them.
- Character is the Director
- It chooses which voice speaks
- Fear may be in the room, just not at the microphone
Courage is not the absence of nervousness
I was nervous. And I stood up anyway, and jumped out of my comfort zone.
- Nervousness gives you enough adrenaline
- Your notes, your safety
- Alessa applauded like a proud football mum
Need support?
Your outer voice is only as clear as your inner dialogue.
- Role workshop
- 1:1 coaching
- Communication temple
Still have questions?
Around inner dialogue, inner roles and public appearances, the same questions come up again and again. Here you will find the most common answers. And if something stays open, just write to us.
Your outer voice is only as clear as your inner dialogue.
Let us put your inner roles in order before the next stage calls.
Impressions from the event
Together with many international female leaders and investors, we gathered plenty of impressions and captured them for you.
