Extraordinary leaders will make an extraordinary impact. You will know when they are around. You will spot the congruence and alignment between their words, thinking and their action. You will see it through the way that they sit, stand, walk, make eye contact and shake your hand. Being extraordinary requires you to adopt the right posture to get the best outcome.

For many years we have been bombarded by various experts on both the covert and overt rules of body language; the ability to understand exactly what the twitching left eye means every time someone says the word harpoon …

’Hmmmmm, I noticed that his left eye twitches whenever he says the word harpoon … I wonder what that could mean …?’

What it means is this: NOTHING! He happens to say harpoon a lot and has an unfortunate twitch in his left eye. Now start paying attention to the nuances of body language and voice that tell you something useful!

You can tell I’m not a fan. Having an understanding of body language and being able to determine what the subtle messages might mean is certainly useful. However, there are massive generalizations at play and this is where we all need to take extra care. Applying a set of rules to everyone we meet and expecting those subtle messages to fit in a box is a waste of your time. I do absolutely believe that when you have a deep level of rapport with someone it is easier to spot the patterns of their non-verbal cues and that, at best, offers you an opportunity to question and seek greater understanding if the verbal and non-verbal cues appear not to be in harmony with the overall message. However, be careful not to see this as a free ticket that permits you to make an assumption about their motives and their thinking.

As you will have worked out already, this Jolt is not going to offer you the perfect body language formula of extraordinary folks. Firstly, it would be almost impossible to create that blue print, as there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach for being extraordinary. Secondly, being extraordinary needs both THINKING and ACTION that keeps you nimble and flexible: your ability to adapt depending on your outcome and your audience. In my eyes, this renders a body language rule book useless.

I regularly speak on the conference circuit, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to see some of the world’s most extraordinary speakers and thinkers strut their stuff. I have been lucky enough to witness the likes of Graeme Codrington, Nancy Duarte, Matthew Syed, Geoff Ramm and Tony Robbins, amongst others. All of them so different and each one extraordinary. They are all able to form a unique and personal connection with every audience member, seducing them to listen to their message. Now, the thing is, do they all have some similar funny walks I can share with you? Do they have a funny head twitch that separates them from the ordinary? Is their posture a cloned version of each other’s? No, no, no.

So then, what is it that marks them out from the other, more magnolia, speakers?

They share many qualities but what pervades most when they are on stage is their belief in themselves and their message. They are authentic – they are true to what they stand for. If you go back to the Performance model that we looked at earlier in the book, and shoot right to the top, you will find IDENTITY and THINK. I talked to you about the requirement in delivering anything extraordinary is to turn it from a task, at ACTION level, into something that you are, at IDENTITY level. What differentiates these speakers from the other ordinary speakers is not simply their ability, knowledge, skill and experience, it is that at IDENTITY level, they are speakers and communicators – remember, an IDENTITY statement will ripple down though every other level in the model. The messages that they share are delivered with strength and they are more definite in their delivery style. They present with courage and certainty. They deliver with conviction. No fluff. No buffers. No woolly padding around the edges. Just commitment to their thinking, their message and the impact that it will have on you, their audience.

Let me ask you a few questions about your IDENTITY then:

• Are you a leader?
• Are you a speaker?
• Are you an entrepreneur?
• Are you a catalyst for change?
• … who are you?

I hear you asking: what has this to do with body language and adopting the posture? The answer is: everything!

The reality is that for every extraordinary speaker I have watched on stage, I have seen many that, at best, dabble with ordinary. The sad thing is, many of them seem to have great ideas, have had awe-inspiring experiences and do actually have a decent story to tell. They could easily ignite audiences and give them a Jolt, but it just doesn’t happen.

So, what’s missing? Conviction, commitment, courage and hunger to dare themselves. This leaks out through their tone of voice and the way they hold themselves – their posture. Because it’s disconnected from their message, they lose their power and the audience never truly engages.

What can you do then to adopt the posture of someone that is extraordinary and make it a true fit for you?

You can begin by creating a movie in your mind of someone who is extraordinary and start bringing that movie to life.

Find somewhere comfy. Make sure you are in a frame of mind to be receptive and open to new ideas. Flick on the cinema in your mind and take your premium seat. On the screen in front of you, start playing the trailer for ‘ME’, the movie. This movie is full to the brim of all your extraordinary life moments – some you will have already lived out, others are just on the horizon! As it starts to roll, pay attention to:

• The way you stand when you are grounded.
• The way you move with purpose.
• How you hold an extended moment of silence …
• The way you look with intention and conviction.
• The way you take your place, centre stage.
• How you stand, move and sit when you tackle the uncomfortable stuff.
• How you physiologically change when moving from ‘It’s not what happens to you …’ to ‘choosing to react in the most appropriate way …’

Deep in the roots of the Artful approach is the ability to make a vision real inside your mind before it can become a part of your THINKING and ACTION. This is about forming something in your mind that is so clear, so bright and so very compelling. This takes constant rehearsal, tweaking and reviewing. There is no speedy route to bypass the work involved in this. Fortunately, within the power of your own mind is the biggest and fastest hard drive – you can record onto it, edit and delete.

Have you ever watched a really rubbish film? I mean REALLY rubbish? Perhaps one that you have switched off in the first five minutes? I have, lots! Would you ever then go back and watch it again and again and again? It’s unlikely, right? I wonder how many terrible movies you run in your own mind that you do play over and over and over again? You know, the ones where you screwed up, looked a fool, tripped over, forgot your words … you will have a vast collection I’m sure. Why store them? Why not replace them with something that enables you rather than disables you?

Once you begin to get your movie running that shows you at your most extraordinary, your THINKING and ACTION will start to follow suit, allowing your extraordinary posture to enhance your messages.

One of the realities of being human is that we are not going to be constantly on form. We have off days and extraordinarily super smashing great days. The difference between the ordinary moments and extraordinary ones is where you work hard to build in some additional super smashing great days! Perhaps you could start to T-D-A a bit more:

THINK … DECIDE … and then ACT!