How to Show Up as a Confident Leader with Award-Winning Author and Speaker, Bridgett McGowen

Jenn DeWall:

Hi everyone, it’s Jenn DeWall. And on this week’s episode of The Leadership Habit podcast, I sat down with Bridgett McGowen. Have you ever experienced someone’s energy that made you move to the edge of your seat, or you had to stand to your feet? What about the excitement that stayed with you and had you talking about it long after an event ended? That is the best way to describe Bridgett McGowen- an award-winning author, an award-winning publisher, an award-winning international professional speaker who is known to be both comical and memorable. She will not just energize you but inspire you not to let anyone or anything get in the way of you being the most unforgettable person in the room! Today, Bridgett is here to discuss what the most confident leaders do. Enjoy!

Meet Bridgett McGowen, Award-Winning Author, Publisher and Speaker

Jenn DeWall:

Hi everyone, it’s Jenn DeWall. And right now, I am sitting down with Bridgett McGowen. She is a professional speaker, and Bridgett and I are going to be talking about what the most confident leaders say and do. Bridgett, I love this topic because confidence is something I think we all need more of, and we’re gonna be talking about your book today. But before we, you know, I feel like I’m kind of jumping the gun here. Could you just go ahead and introduce yourself to our audience, talk about who you are, what you do, who you even speak to as a professional speaker!

Bridgett McGowen:

Right! Absolutely. First off, thanks a ton, Jenn, for even having me on the show. And then, probably more importantly, thank you to the listeners. Thank you to the viewers for even tuning in really excited to be here. So my name is Bridgett McGowen, and I help professionals be the most engaging, dynamic, incredible communicators ever. And sometimes people feel like because they don’t have a leadership title like they don’t have a C-suite title or VP title. Then they’re not a leader. Everybody is a leader, no matter where they are positioned in a company. So what I do as a professional speaker is help people find those voices. So they show up as the most confident, the most powerful, most unforgettable people in the room. I do that via workshops, via keynotes, via conferences, via podcast interviews, right? And via writing books and publishing them and getting them out to the world.

Jenn DeWall:

I love that, Bridgett. And I think you also, you know, know. I love that you opened with the reminder that we all need to hear that regardless of your title, you are a leader! And your presence is going to be important to how you communicate and whether or not your message has the intended impact. And today, we’re gonna be talking about what the most confident leaders say and do. Out of curiosity, how did you even become interested in helping people develop this skill set?

Bridgett McGowen:

Right. You know, my goodness, I’ve never had that question posed to me. How did I become interested? I need to find a reader’s digest version answer to this! Because I could go all the way back to being Sunday school secretary <laugh> when I was like 10, 12 years old in this really small town called Livingston, Texas, actually it was on the outskirts of Livingston. It’s a really small community called Swartwout. And Swartwout was actually going to be the county seat of Polk County. But I am digressing, Livingston became the county seat, but maybe that’s where it started. I don’t know because as, as that Sunday school secretary, I had to stand up in front of not a large crowd, but enough of a crowd and deliver my little report every morning or every Sunday morning. And then, you know, you go off to school, and you have to do speeches and whatever we’re called upon to do, and you go off to college and so on and so forth.

And I guess throughout life. I’ve observed people. I’ve observed myself, and I’ve stepped back, and I’ve said, what made people effective? What made people sit up and take notice? What made people want to lean in and listen to my little report every Sunday morning. What made people or my classmates want to lean in and see what I had to say when I gave my speech, or what have you in whatever class? What made people want to lean in and pay attention to me when I went out into corporate America or when I started my own business? So I think it was just observing and paying attention to what was the most engaging dynamic, incredible people do—and then making sure that I pass it on to others. Because life is too short to be mediocre, maybe that’s it. Jenn, just, just having myself in different scenarios and thinking, how do I make sure that I consistently show up and shine, then how do I take what I’m learning and pass it on to others. So they’re consistently showing up, showing out and showing the world what rock stars they are.

Jenn DeWall:

Heck Yes! I love, I mean, I hope that our listeners can heal your enthusiasm right now. And I love the curiosity that you just had from a young age to think about what makes a message stick. What makes things effective of what makes people want to do something as a result of a message we’re gonna be talking today about, you know, a little bit about your book. Can you tell us about your newest book, the re-release that you’re working on right now? Because I love the title. I think it’s so inspiring and motivating, and I think it’s perfect for starting the new year.

Show Up and Show Out as a Confident Leader

Bridgett McGowen:

Yes. Yes. I fell in love with the idea of the book on a plane trip back in like 2020. Wow. Wow. That was probably one of my last plane trips before the pandemic. But again, I digress. I go off on tangents, everybody. I used to teach, and I had to always make sure I had an agenda either on the chalkboard. Yes. I’m telling my age, or as time progressed in my PowerPoint or in my notes, I always have to have an agenda. So I remember I was on this plane trip going out to Kansas. It was mid-January, and it just came to me in detail. How do you show up and show out? And I said you know what? I probably need to define exactly what that is too, but I’m on this plane ride. And I said, you know, can I come up with maybe three ideas, you know, one per month or maybe, you know, I dunno, maybe let’s do 52 ideas for the year, one per week.

And so, with Show Up and Show Out, the subtitle is 52 Communication Habits to Make you Even More Unforgettable, with this being the second edition. So with that, each week, you get a strategy, a habit, a tip, a practice. Something that I personally use is where you get that habit, you read it on Monday, and then you commit to engaging in using that tool, using that strategy, incorporating it into everything you do that week. And then come Friday, you stop, and you assess just how good of a job you did with incorporating that new habit into your everyday interactions, be it on the job or at home. And I, you know, I shouldn’t say new habit because there’s nothing new under the sun, right? But it is given from my personal perspective of again, being from this small-town population of 5,019, and going out into this big world and just trying to find my way.

And I provide those intangibles that we weren’t necessarily taught in high school or in college or in B-school. We, there was no curriculum. There was no class. And I think about what I just had to figure out on my own by bumbling, stumbling, falling, and then getting back up, right? So the book really focuses on helping you understand how to show up. Where you’re not only physically present, but you’re also mentally and emotionally present. Everything about you demonstrates for everybody watching that, you know, you are somebody and everybody had better recognize you are indeed somebody. And then to “show out” means, as you are mentally, physically and emotionally present, you are performing. You are behaving and interacting with others in a way that is extraordinary. It is uncharacteristically impressive. You are quote-unquote “on” at all the right times, which makes you unforgettable. You can’t get mad at somebody who doesn’t remember you if you didn’t do anything memorable! You know how to blend in. I love that. You know how to blend in when it’s time to blend in, and you know how to uplift others while you are simultaneously standing out for yourself.

Jenn DeWall:

My gosh, I love that. Because there’s a little bit of that adaptive leadership quality within that, knowing when it’s appropriate the right opportunity to show up or whether you want to sit back and observe, but show like, I think the title of your book is so commanding, right? Show Up and Show Out! It’s all on essentially your leadership presence. Like I think that this book is fantastic, and I dive a little bit more into it. So your book has four sections. Tell us about those four sections.

Four Ways to Show Up as a Confident Leader

Bridgett McGowen:

Sure. So with the, so the four sections are how you look, how you sound, what you say and how you say it. And I strongly believe those are the four pillars of how everybody, how they show up in the world and that you have to pay close attention to each of those four areas. If you really are going to totally shine and just totally be again unforgettable. So the first section deals with how you look. This one focuses on improving your image and your nonverbal communication because sometimes, you may never get a chance to open your mouth and say anything. You may just be in the room, but if you know how to enter a room, you know how to move about, you know, how to have the right poise and the right stance and what to wear and so on and so forth. Then you want to focus on the how you look section of the book—the next section, how you sound.

1. How You Look

Jenn DeWall:

Can I ask the question about “how you look,” because I, I know that this is so important, right? Perception is reality. How you enter a room, whether it’s fair or not, people will make assumptions. And I know I want to ask more about this because sometimes I think- I know we teach a leadership presence class at Crestcom, and one of the things that I received kind of like a curiosity point or maybe a frustration point, and I know that this is out there with leaders. Some people hate the fact that you have to pay attention to how you look. And it’s not necessarily a vanity game. I don’t want to say that, but it understands that depending on, you know, the culture that you’re in, the industry that you are in, there may be norms and expectations of what professional looks like. And it’s not to say that everyone needs to look the same, but we do need to pay attention to appearance. And so I guess my question to you is what would you say to the people that are maybe like, well, asking me to think about how I look is just a vain thing, and that shouldn’t count down anyways, you know? Because I’m sure, you hear that too. People are a little resistant to wanting to talk about that. How do you navigate those conversations with people?

Bridgett McGowen:

Right. It’s tough. I get it! Before we started recording, you and I were talking about how we revel in the opportunity to have on the sweats, no makeup, no lip gloss, no nothing. Right? We love that. And especially during the pandemic, when so many of us were working from home, we were working virtually, and you know, we’re in the sweats and conducting meetings from, you know, coffee shops and so on and so forth, behind the will of our cars while we’re sitting in parking, lots, making transitions and so on and so forth. And so I get it, and I hear you, but let me tell you something. Within a short amount of time, different sources will say seven seconds, 10 seconds, 12 seconds or what have you. In a short amount of time, people form an opinion of you fairly or unfairly justly or unjustly, accurately or inaccurately. You want to control as much as possible. The perception that people are forming of you.

Now I’ll be the first one to say you can have someone who is suited and booted. I’m talking about— they have on the nicest outfit, the flyest shoes, the most expensive leather attaché case. And really seems to have it going on. But they have nothing in their brain. OK? The résumé says nothing. It screams, I do not know anything. Right? I get it. You have some of those people where they are dressed to the nines, and they look like they have their act together, but guess what? That is the perception that we have of that person. That person has controlled the perception that people have of him or her. And it’s not until he or she opens the mouth that maybe we are forming a different perception. It’s tough. OK? It’s tough. It’s a. It’s frustrating where you feel like you have to quote-unquote dress up for whatever the case may be. But if it’s important to you, the impression you are giving of yourself, your personal brand, the company you’re representing, if it’s important that people have the most positive perception of you and your business, then it’s incumbent upon you to do as best as you can to control the look that or the message that your look sends to others.

Jenn DeWall:

Yes. I thank you so much for answering that. And yeah, absolutely. I know that there are pieces that I dislike, but to look for the opportunities where you maybe don’t have to play it up, right when you and I did our pre-call, I was in a sweatshirt just enjoying the day, right? The days that we don’t have to, you know, get all polished, but we know that if we’re gonna go in front of people, then we have to take a different approach. And I wonder, like, you know if just people would depersonalize that and understand that it’s not necessarily about you, it’s kind of just that perception in is reality. And that your brain is doing all this stuff very quickly to form these opinions, judgments whether fairly or unfairly. I love that you said that. And just, you know, it’s not necessarily a personal attack against you. It’s just kind of understanding these norms that have been laid down of what that looks like. And I’m, I just really appreciate you answering that. Because I know, sometimes people struggle with that one.

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2. How You Sound

Jenn DeWall:

OK, let’s talk about how you sound. Oh my gosh, I love this. And I feel like if you can help everyone and how they sound, Zoom meetings will be that much more entertaining, meetings will be more engaging! What does how you sound mean?

Bridgett McGowen:

Right? And this is a tough one because I do understand that sometimes people do have these Hmm, slightly different sounds to their voices. I am very respectful of that, being from Texas myself, and as the years pass, I get lazier and lazier with controlling the accent that I have. I used to work very hard to sound like I was from the Midwest, but you know, once you get old like I am and tired. So I respect that sometimes this can be a tough one. But with paying attention to how you sound, it’s really because more aware of the quality of your voice regarding your pitch, your tone, your speed, and some other factors to put in place and some other habits to put in place those, those practices that are going to have you sounding as confident as possible. So it can be something as small as working on reducing the number of filler words that you use.

So here, we’re not necessarily talking about pitch or talking about tone, but just the quality of the delivery of your message. If everything you say, or every sentence you say is littered with, “um, well, so, like, you know, well, kind of,” that if you’re using them every three words, it diminishes the quality of your message and it makes you sound less confident. So that’s one strategy that I have in the book. And I will tell you exactly how to reduce your use of filler words. Notice, I didn’t say eliminate your use of filler words, but reduce your use of filler words because using some filler words makes you sound human, right? But if you never use right, if you never use filler words, you almost sound robotic. You almost sound like you’re not even a human, and it comes off as being almost too perfect. And nobody wants to be around someone who’s quote-unquote, too. Perfect. Something else that I encourage everyone to do is to find their ideal speaking voice. This one is really,

Jenn DeWall:

What’s an ideal speaking voice? I love that!

Bridgett McGowen:

Your ideal speaking voice is the one that has people hearing the authority in your voice—hearing you speak with confidence that makes them sit up and take notice. It doesn’t sound unsure. It doesn’t sound too hyper. It doesn’t sound bored. Your ideal speaking voice is just the right intonation where it has you just sounding like a leader. And this is how you find your ideal speaking voice—you hum the happy birthday song!

Jenn DeWall:

<humming the tune to happy birthday> Mm-Hmm mm-hmm mm-hmm …so then you grab that one.

Bridgett McGowen:

That tone— the tone that you hear when you’re humming happy birthday—is your ideal speaking voice.

Jenn DeWall:

Oh, so interesting. And I like that it’s a way to – I don’t know. Because I feel like you, it sounds almost higher, right? It sounds higher than that natural voice. So it adds energy to it, which then I imagine adds like, you know, that engagement principle. I have to know this because now I know that I worked really hard, and I think the way that I really worked on eliminating filler words was just through practice and continuously getting feedback on my speaking. And obviously, I get feedback all the time whether I want it or not <laugh>, but I’ll take that feedback. And so I get a lot of practice. And so then that does help to eliminate those filler words. But what would be advice for someone that maybe is really afraid of public speaking still doesn’t know? Where do you even begin to start to eliminate those filler words?

Bridgett McGowen:

Absolutely. The first thing you need to do is even identify what your filler words are that you use and make a note of those. But here is absolutely my favorite strategy. And it’s to pause and say nothing. When you feel yourself about to say or like, or, you know, pause, don’t even let it come out and then move on with the next thought. It doesn’t even catch anyone’s attention. See just now. Did you notice how I said it doesn’t even <pause> catch anyone’s attention? I was getting ready to say before I said catch that the reason filler words happen is that you’re trying to think of your next thought. So you pause and say nothing. So you can think of what is that next word I want to say? And it comes off as a contemplative pause. So it’s not even range or noticeable. So whenever you catch me during this interview, during this conversation taking one of those pauses and you’ve noticed it probably pretty regularly right now, it’s because I’m stopping myself from using a filler word. And instead of using that time and that energy to pull up, whatever is the word that I want to say next. Pause and say nothing and try to figure out what is that word that I’m searching for as opposed to “um.” “Um” doesn’t get you any closer to the word that you want. <Laugh>

Jenn DeWall:

Yes. I love that—the pause. Embrace the power of the pause if you’re looking to eliminate your filler words. I think I have different filler words now, as I’ve tried to weed out the ums and likes. I think I have new replacement ones that I don’t even realize, but embracing the power of the pause! Because you’re right. It’s not awkward. If anything, I’m still engaged in the conversation, and I’m not noticing any type of big break, and it just allows the conversation to feel a lot smoother. And that’s such a great pro tip!

Bridgett McGowen:

<Laugh> and, and, and when you slow down, and you insert those pauses here and there, slower speech, you don’t wanna be too slow, sounded like dry eyes, clear eyes, right? But slower speech is also synonymous with confidence. It’s also synonymous with how a leader looks and sounds because a leader doesn’t talk like this all the time, and it just kind of keeps running worse together. No. So slow things down, and inserting pauses makes you sound more deliberate and more sure about your message. Oh

Jenn DeWall:

My gosh. And you’re right, and people can actually have time to process what you’re saying. <Laugh>

Bridgett McGowen:

Right. Exactly. Exactly. Because although you have all of the thoughts together in your head, it may not sound like rocket science to you. However, your listener is hearing it for the first time, from your perspective. So you’re spot on, Jenn. It gives everybody a chance to hear and process what you’re saying.

3. What You Say

Jenn DeWall:

Yes. OK. So we covered are the first two sections, which are understanding how you look and then understanding how you sound. The third one is what you say. I love this, please. I think you’re gonna help a lot of employees by making sure and giving pro tips on this one. What does it mean in terms of showing up and showing out and how it, I guess, the impact that you have to, what you say?

Bridgett McGowen:

It’s about being more cognizant of the impact of your words on others, as well as the impact of your words on your image. So you are always showing up in a positive way. One of my favorite habits in the book in this section is THIINK before you speak, but think is spelled with two i’s. I use it as an acronym. So before you speak, ask yourself if what you are about to say is thoughtful, helpful, important, inclusive, necessary, kind, thoughtful, helpful, important, inclusive, necessary and kind. Now prior to 2020, I didn’t have that second eye. I didn’t have inclusive. Now, did it just strike me in 2020 that language needed to be more inclusive? No. Especially as a black woman that didn’t just come to light for me when we started to see the racial unrest, if you will, in the United States.

So with this re-release of the book, I thought it would be, I would be remiss if I didn’t include inclusive in there now, am I saying that every single time you speak, you need to make sure it’s politically correct and then no, one’s going to be offended. And because it’s like walking on an eggshell. No, I’m not saying that because that is hard work. I’m saying just turn up the dial, just heighten your awareness of what you say. Sometimes, even something that’s innocent is addressing a group like you guys. Who has not done that? However, women may be offended by being addressed as you guys. It’s innocent enough, but because guys have a masculine connotation to it, some women may feel- it may be off-putting to them because it’s like, well, I’m, I’m not a guy, but OK. So then do you address everybody as, Hey gals? Right? So <laugh>, I’m not saying what you should say or shouldn’t say, but I am saying be more aware of your language and ensure that it’s thoughtful, that it’s helpful, that it’s important, inclusive, necessary and kind. And I talk, of course, more about each of those in that section.

Jenn DeWall:

And I think that is important. And I know it’s tough right now. There, there’s a level where I think it’s interesting, even when you watch maybe TV programs from 10 years ago on things that there’s no way that would air today. There’s no way. And I get that. It can feel like a little bit of a battle in some regards to make sure that you’re not alienating or hurting anyone, but it is just thinking about the filter. What would your audience feel? How could they feel? And inclusive language, I think this is still new, you know, I don’t necessarily know if they ever really taught, like, I, I don’t think about in the last 10 years, if they were like, let’s talk about how you can use inclusive language. And so, give yourself permission to know that this might be newer for you. And it’s OK that you might just be learning different ways to address a group. How to communicate with someone, because why does inclusive language matter? If you’re trying to show up and show out? Like, why does inclusive language matter? <Laugh>

Bridgett McGowen:

You have to think about it before I say something and, and, and I know listeners are gonna say, Bridgett, that is absolutely impossible to run through the list of everybody in the world. Before I say something to determine if what I’m about to voice is going to be offensive to them, that’s where I’m kind of going with it. You have to ask yourself if what I’m about to be about to say would it be offensive or uncomfortable, or just taken the wrong way by someone who doesn’t look like me? And I’m not just talking about physical characteristics. I’m talking about someone who doesn’t have the same level of the education level of socioeconomic status. Someone who doesn’t live in the same neighborhood you live in, work in the same industry you work in, who doesn’t, you know, any, anything, any physical characteristics, anything. So it’s not so much about physical characteristics as it is just everything.

I, when you, when you stop and ask with someone who just does not quote, unquote, look like me is not in the same circumstance does not have the same set of circumstances does not have the same experiences doesn’t come from the same background. Would this bother him or her? And it’s important as a leader because it shows you care. It shows compassion. You see leadership. It isn’t just about being able to have fantastic ideas and move a team forward and be on leaderboards and have sales skyrocketing through the roof and wonderful customer bases and all of those things that we love as business owners. We could go on down the line, right? In spreadsheets and dollars and cents. It’s not that leadership. It isn’t just about that. And being able to lead teams to victory, but it’s being able to understand, there are some things underneath the surface, underneath the spreadsheets, underneath the data points, underneath the marketing tools, there are other pieces that are important to connect to humans.

See when you can connect to humans on personal levels when you can respect our differences and be cool with them. I’m OK that you are. You are not exactly like me. I’m OK with it. As a matter of fact, I love it. When you are able to demonstrate that you’re cool, comfortable, collected. You know, cool as a pickle in December, then you show that you care, and you show that you respect people for who they are and for what they bring to the table. And you know that your company, it couldn’t be what it is without each one of these incredibly talented members of your team, your company, couldn’t be where it is unless they were there. And when you show that you care and that you recognize what everybody brings to the table and not only what they bring to the table, but that you always want them to feel respected and honored on some level. When you show that, you have people showing up in the most impressive ways for your team.

4. How You Say It

Jenn DeWall:

Right? And it’s so important, that piece is so important. Just being able to communicate in a way that makes people feel seen. And I think if we haven’t maybe hit the nail on the, or directly on the head with this, this is emotional intelligence. This is your ability to observe what’s going on. Be mindful of the environment of the relationships Of how you’re showing up. This is emotional intelligence. You’ve got to slow down to speed up. So let’s go into your fourth piece. It’s not about what now? It’s not about what you say. It’s about how you say it.

Bridgett McGowen:

Mom taught us that, right. Mom taught us. It’s not what you say. It’s how you bad, but we’re taking it another level where in this section of the book, I have you examining and improving the entire packaging of your message, where you are thinking about how is this going to impact me, my company, others, everybody, and understanding that, how do I put it? It’s, you know, the loudest one in the room. It isn’t the fiercest one in the room. And it is knowing that you can command attention and be commanding without even saying a word. And it’s understanding that when you show up and show out, you, you, you can be comfortable with silence.

When you show up and show out, you treat every day like it’s the most critical day of your company’s life or your team’s life. It’s game day. When, when you show up and show out, you fully understand how to be the very best version of yourself. You know that you don’t have to be on 24/7, but that you are on when it matters. And that you can totally turn it off. Whenever you are alone, you’re quiet. You have a moment, but you know that when it matters, when all eyes are on you, that it’s time to be on. You know that it’s important that you. Wow, just think about everything. Every move that you make, every word that you say you and, oh my goodness, I could, I could just go on and on. When you show up and show out, your words are matching your actions.

Your actions are matching your words. You’re one of those people where you keep pressing the accelerator when everybody else is putting on the brakes, and you don’t feel the need to be anyone but yourself; you’re not intimidated by anybody or anything. When you show up, and you show out, you always find value in others and appreciation for others. You don’t have to be the one where the spotlight is always shining on you. When you show up, and you show out while everybody else is hitting the emergency button, the panic button, you, you moved on. You’re looking for a solution to address the emergency. See, it’s just about thinking about every move you make. And every word you say, think about what message does it send. You, you move in silence, and you, wow. The crowd, you don’t worry about what went wrong. You don’t worry about the competition. You, you look at it, and you pay attention to what’s going on. You look at the competition and make some adjustments about what you’ll do differently, but you don’t stress too much about it. You learn from the past, you learn from others, you focus on what you want to achieve and keep moving forward. You know, oh, I love that section of the book because I just really talk about just, just the entire packaging of how you show up.

Jenn DeWall:

Yeah. It sounds like it’s a mindset. If we’re talking about, you know, what confident leaders do and say, and how you can show up confidently, you have to have the mindset that you are worthy, valuable and have something meaningful to say. And I think that’s important because it goes with it. It just puts intentionality within your communication that all of the communication can be that much more impactful if you set some intention with it. Have a mindset going into the meeting or before you send the email because that’s how you say it. People can tell if you are-

Bridgett McGowen:

BS-ing is what we’re going to call it.

Jenn DeWall:

Yes. People can absolutely tell they may not call you on it. Actually, that is just a funny thing, because I think most people, you know, I, this is a quote that a participant shared with me once, and I really like it- empty wagons rattle. And just essentially that people don’t have, you know, you can tell when someone doesn’t have something going on. And I love that. And you know, I think to those that think that, oh, I don’t really need to think of it, or I can just wing it. People can tell, people can tell, and they may not say anything to you, but they can tell, like, I’m curious what you think to the people that are like, oh, I don’t need to do this. It’s fine. It’s fine. I don’t need to slow down. I’m sure my communication is fine. And they think they might be pulling one over. What’s the, I guess, what is the cautionary tale of doing that?

Bridgett McGowen:

Right. Well, I’ll tell you this. If you like where you are, you don’t wanna move. You’re perfectly fine with the status quo. You’re not concerned with self-improvement, professional development, upward mobility, then completely ignore everything I’ve said! You know, the goal should be each day to wake up and use the 24 hours in front of you to put yourself and others in better positions than they were before the day started. You’ve got to look back over the week, over the month, over the year and say, am I better? Have I made others better in this past 24 hours, in this past week, in this past month, in this past year, be selfish and work on you, but at the same time, spread it to others. So the cautionary tale is- if you are fine with where you are, pay me no mind. You keep doing what you do.

But if you really want to show up as the most incredible person that you already know that you are, you just need to put it on display a little bit better. You just need to turn it up a couple of notches. And if you want to get in a position where you feel comfortable uplifting others. And I encourage you- and you just want, you just want more. You want more for yourself. You want more for your company, more for your team, more for your family. Then, showing up and showing out and really establishing yourself as somebody who cares, who’s confident, who’s a commanding leader. It only can bode well for you professionally and personally,

Connect with Bridgett to Become a More Confident Leader

Jenn DeWall:

I got it starts with that choice. Bridgett, how can our listeners get in touch with you? We have been talking about Bridgett’s book, Show Up and Show Out: 52 Communication Habits to Make You Even More Unforgettable. How can they connect with you after the podcast?

Bridgett McGowen:

Sure. Please visit connectwithb.com. That’s connectwithb.com, and I have some special offers for you there. As a matter of fact, you can get the book to show up and show out. You can get that and enter the coupon code: PODCAST at checkout. So you can get free shipping on the book. So connectwithb.com and enter the coupon code: PODCAST at checkout. When you check out to get free shipping on the book, and if you would love for me to do a session with your team on confidence, what the most confident leaders do and say, how do you show up? How do you command a room? How do you make engaging presentations? I’d love to have a presentation, a shop, a webinar, a breakout with your team. And all you have to do is mention this show, and you’ll get 10% off the cost of that session. So connectwithb.com. Both of those options are there! Book a workshop, get 10% off, buy your book, get free shipping using PODCAST as the coupon code when you check out!

Jenn DeWall:

Holy cow! Those are a ton of offers. And thank you so much for offering them to our audience. Bridgett, I really enjoyed our conversation today. Thank you for giving the techniques and talking about your book. Show up and show out what a great way to start the year. Let’s see what 20 can be if we all show up and show out. Thank you so much for joining us, Bridgett.

Bridgett McGowen:

Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much, Jenn. Thank you, Crestcom. Thank you to the listeners. Don’t forget to visit connectwithb.com. I can’t wait to see you there.

Jenn DeWall:

Thank you so much for listening to this week’s episode of The Leadership Habit podcast. It was so great to sit down with Bridgett and talk all about what confident leaders say and do. If you want to connect or book Bridgett to come into your organization, you can mention this podcast after going to connectwithb.com to get 10% off! Or you can go to connectwithb.com to purchase your autographed copy of Show Up and Show Out and get free shipping by using the promo code: PODCAST. If you notice someone that could benefit from this episode, please share. And don’t forget to leave us a review on your favorite podcast streaming platform. If you’re looking to improve your communication style, or you want to up-level yourself as a leader, head on over to Crestcom.com and request a complimentary two-hour leadership skills workshop for you and your team.