Transcript
Speaker: Imagine stepping into any situation feeling completely authentic and effortlessly you. This isn't about faking it till you make it. It is about intentionally crafting your everyday presence.
Speaker: In this episode, I share some of the secrets to cultivating an aura that enhances every interaction and leaves a lasting positive impression. In today's fast-paced world, the way you present yourself can have a profound impact on both professional and personal interactions.
Speaker: Nurturing a magnetic portable presence involves consciously curating the energy, demeanor and image you project to the world. Welcome to the Life by Design podcast. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Marie Nicole Meunier. I have established and run businesses for both online and physical bricks and mortar spaces over the last 25 plus years as a creative professional.
Speaker: My first business was as a portrait photographer and then I transitioned out of that to start my own artisanal brand, hand crafting items that add magic to our everyday living experiences, selling at markets, festivals and through other people's retail stores.
Speaker: Eventually I opened and operated out of my own commercial space for six years and it was not just a retail store, it was also a creative co-working space where I hosted workshops and events and established my own coaching practice there. And in that space, I sold on behalf of 20 plus makers and designers, some of whom incubated their brand through the space with me as their mentor.
Speaker: My focus in that space was fostering a supportive community for creatives, establishing their brand and connecting consumers to the maker of these locally crafted wares.
Speaker: The interactions and learning through all of my businesses have really brought to light the importance of our personal aura. In this episode, I will help you decode, craft and sustain a presence that resonates with your true self and aligns with your aspirations.
Speaker: Understanding your innate radiance is the first step in curating your everyday aura. Your aura is not just a mystical concept. It is your energetic signature, the silent story that you tell before you speak.
Speaker: What is an aura beyond the mystical? Your aura is a combination of your energy, personality and presence. It is a unique signature that you project to the world, influencing how others perceive you.
Speaker: which starts with self-awareness. Now I invite you to take a moment to assess your current default presence. Is it aligned with your personal and professional aspirations?
Speaker: Reflect on how you feel about yourself and how you believe others perceive you. Now you might like to journal on this at some point, but for now let's keep exploring together.
Speaker: The impact of subconscious cues, for example, by paying attention to subtle body language, vocal tone, and even scent, these subconscious cues significantly shape initial perceptions and can either enhance or detract from the aura you wish to project.
Speaker: So how do you go about crafting your intentional persona? Once you understand your innate radiance, you can begin crafting an intentional persona that reflects your true self and aligns with your goals.
Speaker: You can start by vision boarding your ideal presence. Define the adjectives and feelings you wish to evoke in others. Now, this makes up the basis of your personal brand, creating a vision board that captures the essence of the presence you want to embody.
Speaker: Let me give you an example from my own personal journey. I turned 50 this year and have been contemplating the concept of ageing with gratitude. I do not see myself as old, but as a single woman and a mother in her 50s, I don't wish to be perceived as mutton dressed up as lamb.
Speaker: Even though I feel youthful and I am constantly told that I do not look my age, I am still conscious of not wishing to look like I am trying to appear younger than I am. So I have curated my wardrobe in a way that aligns with the presence I wish to embody as a mature age woman who still lives with vitality and spark.
Speaker: I also choose to engage in activities that support my physical and mental health and well-being, rather than focusing on my age as a potential obstacle for sustaining vitality.
Speaker: But as you can probably imagine, this is not necessarily how the mainstream of people in their 50s think or operate. Which brings me to my next point about mindful mirroring.
Speaker: The power of mindful mirroring. Learning to observe and adapt to different social contexts without losing authenticity. Mindful mirroring involves reflecting the behaviour and energy of those around you to build rapport.
Speaker: This can be tricky if you're in a situation where you really feel out of place. This is not about being a chameleon. It's not about responding to the culture of the people you are engaging with by trying to become that.
Speaker: Sometimes this can mean using different sets of words to respond to the questions to suit the language of the people you are with. Now, if we look at this in terms of ageing, you can imagine that when I am in the presence of people in my age group who are sharing their physical ailments and challenges, I don't want to come across as arrogant because I don't have those same physical ailments and challenges, but I have found a way of maintaining my youthfulness and so I'm very careful in what I say and I let my presence speak for me instead.
Speaker: This doesn't just need to relate to physical fitness and health. It could also have something to do with spirituality and the words used in relation to different modalities that some people may have no idea about. It's much like other people speaking in industry jargon that you just don't understand.
Speaker: So practicing mirroring in accordance with the present company can help leave a more positive impression. But of course, you don't want to change who you are in order to be accepted.
Speaker: It is more about being authentic to who you are in their presence in a way that aligns with how you present yourself elsewhere, everywhere, anywhere, like curating a digital footprint and maintaining consistency in your self-representation across platforms.
Speaker: Your online presence should reflect your intentional persona and support your overall aura. Relating this back to what you wear is a great example. If you speak about sustainability and all things eco-friendly online and then in person there is a misalignment with the way you behave, shopping based on price, disregarding the environmental impact of the product you are purchasing, it can be difficult for others to see you as genuine.
Speaker: And this is not about being perfect or even being judgmental, it's just about awareness. You yourself will feel the contraction in your body if you choose to do something that doesn't align with your personal ethos out of peer pressure or of an out of an attempt to fit in.
Speaker: Staying true to your values does not have to mean preaching your message to convert others, but operating from your truth has more power than operating out of alignment.
Speaker: So how do you develop some tactical tools to ensure that your everyday aura is impactful and memorable? Making an impactful first and lasting impression.
Speaker: Consider how you enter and exit a room. As these moments set the tone for interactions and leave lasting impressions, your presence speaks before you even open your mouth to express your values.
Speaker: And if you're like me and you don't desire to announce your entrance, but you know that your presence is important because we all have our unique thread to contribute to the collective tapestry.
Speaker: So keeping this in mind, consider not trying to hide, but instead enter and approach a few key people to connect with and do the same upon exiting.
Speaker: You don't need to make a big entrance or exit in order to leave a positive impression. Now let's look at voice modulation and active listening. Commanding attention and building rapport through vocal delivery and engagement.
Speaker: Practicing adjusting your vocal tone and actively listening to others to foster meaningful connections. Look, honestly, this is something that I am still working on myself, but I am very much aware of the need to.
Speaker: The excitement I feel when I'm in the presence of someone that I feel aligned with trying to hold back on saying too much, speaking too quickly, cutting them off so that I can share with them my thoughts, which I'm sure aligns with theirs.
Speaker: And then the opposite, feeling misaligned with the present company and struggling to speak at all, desiring not to express myself or my truth out of fear of being misunderstood or perceived as having a weird perspective that is not as common as theirs.
Speaker: But learning through many uncomfortable interactions, the importance of sharing a different perspective and the positive impact that this can have. Now let's look at signature non-verbals.
Speaker: Developing your own posture, gestures and eye contact to convey confidence and approachability. Nonverbal cues are powerful tools in expressing your presence.
Speaker: For me, leaning in when something really intrigues me or I don't quite understand and I really wish to or having a slight smile on my face and nodding my head when I concur with what is being said.
Speaker: and I'm trying really hard not to interrupt and express this. Leaning back on one side with one elbow up across the top of a chair when I'm opening myself up to understanding a new perspective or something that I've not considered myself.
Speaker: These are postures I've developed so I don't close myself off to listening and learning. I encourage you to develop your own. Postures and interactions and nonverbal communications that actually support you in what you desire to achieve and the impression you desire to leave.
Speaker: Now, maintaining a vibrant aura requires protecting your energy from external drains. So identifying and neutralizing energy vampires, learning strategies to maintain composure in challenging interactions, recognizing individuals or situations that drain your energy and develop techniques to protect yourself.
Speaker: This has been such a valuable lesson to learn over my many years in business because I see the importance of connecting with others who can support my vision or introduce me to concepts that I had not yet considered.
Speaker: But I also have experienced the opposite and need to become aware of situations that I know are just not helpful to my personal development, sometimes confidence-crushing, other times energy-draining.
Speaker: But this is not just relevant to business. Interactions with others in our personal lives can also be energetically draining and confidence-crushing, which is where establishing healthy boundaries, limiting the accesses people have to you and their negative impact is imperative.
Speaker: We do not need to suffer through interactions with others in order to keep the peace. This might look like wearing a crystal that protects you from negative energy. And even if you believe that this is a placebo effect, better that than suffering in silence.
Speaker: Or it could look like graciously discontinuing a conversation with someone who drains your energy and finding someone you know who energises or aligns with you. Interacting with them instead.
Speaker: It could also look like taking yourself out of the space heading outside to recenter yourself. The important thing is to develop ways of self-protecting.
Speaker: Now this can be said for in-person interactions and online influencers. A digital detox, minimizing screen time and information overload to preserve mental clarity.
Speaker: Regular digital detoxes can enhance your focus and contribute to a brighter aura. Now, I'm a content creator and a digital guide, so I am not saying here that we should stay offline altogether.
Speaker: I am just saying that you can curate your experience online to support your thriving and in turn, your contribution to the collective. as well as develop self-awareness around when you are taking in too much of that which has a negative impact on you through being constantly connected in the online space, as well as remembering the importance of physical interactions, both pleasant and unpleasant.
Speaker: Experiencing the realness of life, having those uncomfortable conversations rather than avoiding discomfort, or creating space for long, magical, immersive experiences rather than just looking for a quick fix of excitement.
Speaker: Now incorporating daily practices into your everyday living experience like meditation, for me feminine movement practices, what nature walks or journaling to replenish energetic reserves,
Speaker: These rituals help preserve your presence and enhance your overall wellbeing. It is up to us to take care of our needs in the same way that we maintain our car in order to get us from a to We also need to tune in to what serves and what doesn't in terms of our human vehicle.
Speaker: Our bodies are amazing at letting us know what is not supporting our thriving, which is why creating rituals and practices that sustain our health and wellbeing is just as important as servicing our car and keeping an ear and eye out for signs that something is not quite right in between.
Speaker: Now I'm going to bring into this dressing for success, not in terms of power dressing, but rather em empower dressing, understanding your unique energy system, what supports you in moving through your days effortlessly,
Speaker: Feeling confident to step out into your day and do what you're really here to do to serve the collective with is something I'm extremely passionate about supporting, which is why I wrote an ebook called The Empower Dressing Guidebook.
Speaker: And in that I share insights and information that can help you select fabrics that elevate your frequency and take you through the process of culling and curating your unique capsule wardrobe to support you in your daily activities, feeling your best and looking your best.
Speaker: Now, I've also put together a tutorial series on how to create three essential items for your capsule wardrobe that will serve you all year round. Links to both of these offerings can be found in the show notes if you're interested.
Speaker: Now, sustaining your portable presence not only requires self-awareness and maintenance, but continuous reflection and adaptation. And this is where we look at the feedback loop.
Speaker: Seeking constructive criticism and observing how others react to your evolving presence. Using this feedback loop to refine and enhance your aura. If you notice you are confronted with the same in-person challenges in different scenarios and circumstances, this is a good indication that you are attracting these experiences into your field in order to resolve something internally at a subconscious level.
Speaker: that needs to be addressed in order for a shift to really take place. And on the other hand, if you curate a wardrobe that enables you to relax into your being and operate from an empowered place, you will also notice that you attract comments and compliments not based on you wearing the latest trend, but because you feel amazing in what you are wearing and your radiance emits a vibe of confidence and you'll look amazing too.
Speaker: I have had this feedback numerous times over the years from various customers, from all walks of life with all sorts of body shapes and lifestyles. Feeling good in what you wear is not something to overlook as impactful on your personal aura.
Speaker: And also understanding that your aura can change and adapt as you grow and change and adapt. It is not a rigid construct, but a dynamic expression of your evolving self.
Speaker: When I was a child, I was described as fiery and feisty. And yet in my later adult life, I have been described as grounded and centred. That has not just happened.
Speaker: That has evolved through self-awareness around my triggers. And I continue to monitor this. Life is a journey of growth and expansion. It's not a once-and-done event. So integrating these practices that I've shared with you into your daily life for a genuinely authentic and compelling everyday aura is a long-term cultivation practice.
Speaker: Consistency in your efforts will ensure a lasting impact and awareness This is a continual journey, being gentle with yourself, not expecting perfection, but being open to continuing to see a need as it arises and address it when it does.
Speaker: By decoding your innate radiance, crafting an intentional persona and protecting your energy, you can curate a portable presence that resonates with authenticity and aligns with your aspirations.
Speaker: Embrace this journey of self-discovery, and continuous growth to cultivate an aura that leaves a lasting impression. If you found this episode helpful, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone you think who would benefit from the information shared.
Speaker: And remember, there are links to offerings in the show notes that can support you further. And I wish you a magical rest of your day and look forward to supporting you here again in the next episode.
