Today we launch into a new format. Instead of producing 3 X 5 minute podcasts each week, we are going to now produce one 25-30-minute episode a week. In addition to making each episode more content rich, we are also going to enter the ‘guest interviewing’ arena, inviting seasoned professionals to come and share their wisdom, knowledge, and expertise.
In this way we are able to learn through their experience and expand our relentless focus on helping you become platform masters.

Today, we are switching it up and switching it on as we take Epic Thought of The Day to a new level of engagement in your development of the mindset of the platform master.

I look forward to your feedback. If you like what we are doing here, spread the word. Share the podcast amongst your colleagues.

Okay, let’s get into Episode #71, The Pygmalion Effect in Platform Presence.

Have you heard of the Pygmalion Effect?
For those of you who have heard of it before, you are probably asking, “What’s it got to do with business pitching and presenting, or public speaking?”

That’s the question I’m going to answer today. But before I got there, let me quickly provide context for those that aren’t familiar with the Pygmalion Effect.

In the story told by the Roman poet Ovid, Pygmalion is a sculptor who falls in love with a statue he has created. In time, Aphrodite's festival day came, and Pygmalion made offerings at the altar of Aphrodite. There, too scared to admit his desire, he quietly wished for a bride who would be "the living likeness of my ivory girl."

When he returned home, he kissed his ivory statue, and found that its lips felt warm. He kissed it again, and found that the ivory had lost its hardness. Aphrodite had granted Pygmalion's wish.

So, what does all of this have do with being a platform master?

One word, Expectation.

We’ve been engaging in a conversation around the question, “What does it take to be a compelling platform master?” In the last episode, we talked about how to become a compelling platform master through creating anticipation with your audience using inductive language, as opposed to deductive language.

Today, we look at the second element of being a compelling speaker, which is – How to Create Expectation…. Or the Pygmalion Effect in Platform Presence and Mastery.
Let me set the scene for you.
A compelling speaker ‘expects’ the audience to engage with them and as a result, they carry themselves differently.

They walk with a confidence and an authority.

Their belief system acts like a catalyst, a propulsion channel for your confidence and presence.

The audience expects you to engage with them.

They expect you to be warm, inviting, comfortable in your skin, confident in your capability.

They believe the speaker is attractive because the speaker believes they are attractive.

This is the Pygmalion Effect in action.

 
Now, let me fill in some of the gaps.
A psychologist by the name of Robert Rosenthal and school principal by the name of Lenore Jacobson coined the term Pygmalion Effect to describe the striking results of an experiment they carried out in a California school in 1965. Students took a test that was said to be able to identify “bloomers,” or those who were poised to make strides academically.

Teachers were given the names of pupils who were about to bloom intellectually — and sure enough,