August 13, 2025 • 34 mins
First impressions form in just seven seconds, where our brains make up to 11 decisions about others, shaping the trajectory of our interactions and opportunities. These split-second judgments serve as powerful starting points that our brains continuously seek to validate through unconscious biases, making intentional perception management essential for personal and professional success.
• Sylvie Di Giusto spent 20 years in HR before focusing on how perception influences decision-making
• First impressions are starting points, but last impressions determine if people return
• Our brains actively seek confirmation of initial judgments through unconscious biases
• People become less self-aware as they become more successful ("CEO Disease")
• Surrounding yourself with opposing viewpoints increases self-awareness
• When facing crisis, look where others aren't looking for innovation opportunities
• Sylvie developed revolutionary 3D holographic keynote presentations over four years
• True success comes from doing something nobody else is doing
• Perception management isn't about changing who you are, but becoming more of who you are
Thanks for listening & being part of the Mindset Cafe Community.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, it's Mindset Cafe.
We all about that mindset.
Gotta stay focused.
Now go settle for the last.
It's all in your head how youthink you manifest.
So get ready to rise, cause weabout to be the best.
Gotta switch it up.
Gotta break the old habits.
Get your mind right.
Turn your dreams into habits.
No negative vibes, onlypositive thoughts.
(00:20):
What is up, guys?
Welcome to another episode ofthe Mindset Cafe podcast.
It's your boy, devin Gonzalez,and today we have a special
guest, sylvie DiGiusto.
She is a honestly, she's thefirst of what I hope to be many,
because it sounds really coolwhat she does.
But what she does isessentially she's a keynote
(00:41):
speaker, talks about somethingthat I really value, which is
perception, and she does it in areally interesting way.
Right, I don't want to give toomuch into it.
I want her to explain it,because it's always feel best,
you know, coming from the personthemselves.
But you know without furtherado, sylvie, thank you so much
for taking the time out of yourday to you know, some drop some
knowledge for the Mindset Cafe.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Hi Devin and everybody listening in.
I'm so excited to be with you.
Thank you very much for havingme on your most fantastic
podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Thank you for coming.
So I mean, I want to divestraight in, because the topic
that, you know, we were talkingabout beforehand and the reason,
you know, I really wanted tobring you on to the mindset cafe
too, is how you illuminateperception right, because
perceptions really, in myopinion, like they shape our
lives, right, they influence youknow, whether it's a customer
decision, whether it's you know,your, your friends, like
(01:32):
everything that you do in theperception that you create is
it's how you shape your life,it's how you shape your
relationships and it's how youshape how the world sees you,
right, so what?
Right?
So what got you interested inperception?
Like what was the start of yourjourney?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, first of all, I'm very impressed by your
viewpoint.
You could give my keynote ifI'm not available one day, so
thank you very much forpresenting that topic so
wonderful.
You know, I spent 20 years incorporate.
I was in human resources,talent development, leadership
development and I was always sofascinated why we hire specific
(02:14):
people who walk into aninterview room and they look
exactly the way we want them tolook.
They behave exactly the way wewant them to behave.
They say all the right things,behave exactly the way we want
them to behave.
They say all the right things.
And then, years later, I had tofire them because of a total
lack of performance or differentreasons, and I wondered what is
wrong with us.
Why do we believe certainthings about people instantly
(02:38):
while they have nothing to dowith reality?
And, on the other hand, why didwe have so many young and
ambitious leaders in our ownorganization and they didn't
stand out to us.
We didn't perceive them aspotential candidates.
And so, just for my owninterest, I started to explore
and study everything related tofirst impressions, perception,
(03:02):
image, how you show up, how youpresent yourself, and when I
moved to the United States andled 20 years of corporate career
behind.
I combined this experience withmy knowledge and have the
pleasure since more than 15years to speak to audience
members, no matter if they areleaders in organizations or
(03:22):
entrepreneurs business owners tohelp them understand how they
are perceived by the world andwhat impact this has on a
customer decision-making process, for example.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
No, definitely.
It's interesting becausesometimes you do take away a
lesson or you take away athought, Because I've thought
about that same thing.
I've hired people and they gavethis initial first impression
or this initial perception ofthemselves and their abilities,
and then you know, a few monthsinto it, realizing that they
don't.
They're a good interviewer, youknow or interviewee.
(03:55):
But then you know the lack ofactual skills, so they were
they're a great, you know,perception creator essentially.
So how important is firstimpression?
Because they say, firstimpression is everything.
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yes and no.
It's a starting point.
You know it's like a race whenyou have a great starting point,
your chances are just higher towin that race.
But of course you need to racethe entire route right, and so
there is a lot of scienceactually that proves what
happens in those first micromoments.
(04:31):
I use a study that says inseven seconds we make 11
decisions, or up to 11 decisions, but I don't want you to get
hung on those numbers, becausethere are other studies.
They they say 13 seconds,others say milliseconds, others
say it's happened online in thisway and in person in this way,
but what they all have in commonis the fact that it happens
(04:51):
automatically and it has nothingto do with the fact if you are
a good human being or not.
People walk into a room and inthe first moments you think you
know something about them, andthe reality is that most of the
day we run on autopilot, right?
We don't think reallyconsciously about what we do,
what we say, how we behave, howwe appear, and so if you don't
(05:16):
craft those first momentsintentionally, you are losing a
huge opportunity.
And here's why A firstimpression unfortunately has to
fight against unconscious biasesafterwards, because our brain
is built in a way that we wantto be right.
We are looking for proof.
Humans don't want to be wrong,right.
(05:38):
They don't want to be proventhe opposite.
We want to have proof that wewere right with our initial
first opinion about somebody.
So the brain constantly looksfor proof subconsciously to
confirm what you already thoughtabout this person.
So when you, on the other side,craft these first moments
(05:59):
exactly how you want to beperceived, you want to be
perceived as powerful, some ascreative, some as kind, others
as strong.
So each of us wants to beperceived for something else.
But when you craft those firstmicro moments in an interaction,
purposefully and intentionallythe way you want them to be,
(06:20):
those unconscious biases areworking for you, because then
people will find proofsubconsciously that you are
really that creative person orthat you are really that strong
leader or that powerfulcommunicator or whatever you
would like to imprint on us no,I think it is so true, and I
(06:41):
mean as unfortunate as it is allright, because there's like the
two sides.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
One one side says you know, don't judge a book by its
cover, and then the other sideis the you know automated side
of your brain.
It's like sometimes it justhappens that you immediately
start thinking of you know andyou don't.
You don't try to write.
But I mean, let's say, someonecomes in, you know, their hair
is a mess, right, you know, theylook like they just were
(07:06):
partying all night.
Like immediately you think thisperson either doesn't care
about themselves or is, you know, lazy, or you know, all of a
sudden, all these things justfire off in your brain.
But at the same time you don'tknow the backstory.
But the perception that wascreated from that individual
gives them a disadvantage rightwhen they walk in the door.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yes, yes, we say we don't want to charge a book by
its cover, and we do it everysingle day.
When we go to the supermarket,when we shop online, even when
we go on Amazon and look at bookcovers, how often are we
influenced by just the cover ofthe book?
But the reality is, you know,the cover is just the beginning
of the journey, and then youneed a good first chapter, a
good second chapter, a goodthird chapter, because here's
(07:47):
the reality.
As I said, the first impressionis the starting point and you
can craft it intentionally.
But, devon, if I would give younow a list of, let's say, 30
things, 30 items to memorize, alist of 30 terms, and in 20
minutes I would ask you which ofthem do you still remember?
(08:10):
What do you think?
Which one people usuallyremember out of that list of 30?
Speaker 1 (08:17):
probably the ones that are more related to them.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
More related to them, but in terms of the order, the
first one.
And.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
The last one.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yes, and this is psychologically proven, and that
our brain is always very awareat the beginning and then it
starts resting because it wantsto save energy.
I'm not saying that the middlepart is not important, but the
brain is just not as focused asit is at the beginning and at
(08:50):
the end.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
and I always say your first impression opens the door
and your last impression willdetermine if they come back
through that door definitely, Imean, yeah, I, I definitely see
that because you, let's say, youhave interactions with
customers or just with people,right, you know friends, you
(09:11):
know colleagues, whatever.
You don't necessarily alwaysremember every conversation
about the day, but you doremember how you felt when you
left that person right andthat's like.
It's like the lasting impression, you know, is it's truly that,
so like, even though it's almostlike I'll take it to the
fitness side of it.
It's like people will have acheat meal, right, and then they
(09:33):
will be like oh, I had a cheatmeal, now I can't eat healthy
for the rest of the day.
It's like, no, you could stillsave the rest of the day and end
on a high note.
Same thing with, like you know,communication perception.
It's like you could have alittle scuffle right, a little
mishap, and still continue onthe right track and end on a
high note, and that's whatthey're going to remember
exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
And since you, uh uh, talked about the fitness space,
you know the fitness space is avery visual driven space to be
in, and when I look into mymodel, how to impact those first
milliseconds, I use a model, aframework A, b, c, d, e the A
(10:15):
stands for your appearance, andusually people who are in the
fitness space are very visualdriven people and surround
themselves with such like, and Iwant you to know that this is a
huge advantage for you, becausehumans are visual creatures.
80% of information our braintransmits in a visual way, so we
(10:38):
just look at people and thinkwe know something about them.
Are they tall, are they short,are they overweight, are they
underweight?
Do they take care of their bodyand care?
You know, taking care ofyourself is so important because
there is, in terms ofleadership, for example, a very
simple principle If you don'ttake care of yourself, people
(11:02):
don't assume that you have thecapability to take care of them
too, and so I always say themost important part of how you
present yourself isn't thinkingabout the others first, it's
thinking about yourself, whatyou stand for and taking care of
yourself, so that yousubconsciously transmit the
(11:24):
message that you also, in whatshape or form have the ability
to take care of others too?
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yes, I mean, I definitely agree with that.
And that's where, even fromfitness, or even you know, when
you tell yourself you're goingto do something and you tell
someone else, let's say I'mgoing to do this after work, I'm
gonna go work out, right, andthen you, then they ask the next
day oh, would you work out?
Why did I didn't?
I didn't really feel like itright, so immediately, like when
that happens, it's like thisperson can't even hold a promise
(11:55):
or, you know, stay true to whatthey say to themselves.
How they're going to stay truewhen they tell me they promise
they're going to do something?
Speaker 2 (12:01):
You're saying this while I'm sitting here drinking
celery juice, which is the worstof the worst of the worst, and
every time I think I shouldn'tdo this, I should find an excuse
, but then I just assume thatit's healthy for me and that I
have to be disciplined andcontinue.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
I mean, everyone has their, everyone has their right.
I mean I will say you know,drinking an energy drink, I'm
not drinking the most healthydrink either, but you know, it's
one of those things where,again it's, it's more so in the
sense of the net positive right.
You know, if you're, if you'renet positive, you're net doing
everything right.
It's like no one's a hundredpercent perfect.
And if you tried to create aperception that you're 100
(12:41):
perfect or 100 genuine or 100whatever, it's like people,
people see through that.
It's almost like I actually Ijust came back, I told you I was
on a flight and I just cameback from the opening of one of
our new franchise locations um,and he we were talking about
google business and and so forthand he was like I was setting
(13:01):
up his account with him and Iwas like, yeah, you know, I have
4.9 stars.
I was like I have one batteryrating and it was you know from.
And I gave him the example and Iwas like and there's nothing I
could do, I can't dispute it.
And he's like you know, Iwouldn't want you, you shouldn't
want to have five stars.
And I was like what do you mean?
And it gave me a, a rethink.
And he was like, when you seethat the perfect score, you
(13:24):
think is this real, you know?
And he's like so having thatgenuine, you know 4.9, it's a
lot more authentic and that'slike almost like a true five
star.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Well, two things come together here with this
fantastic example that you justshared.
First of all, it's not aboutperfection.
It's about intention, beingbeing intentional, not running
on autopilot.
Perfection is a goal that isnot sustainable and that also
doesn't work in your favor,because you easily come off as
(13:56):
fake.
Then right.
And the second thing isn't itfascinating that in between all
those positive reviews, youfocus on the one that is
negative?
It's called somethingnegativity bias.
We all humans have that.
We rather see the things thatare wrong before we see the
things that are right.
So in both ways, it works inyour favor, because it sounds
(14:17):
more authentic if you have 4.9.
But I also want you to be awarethe same happens to you.
People always see the thingsthat are wrong first, then those
that are right.
Right, it's in the tiny detailsthat very often shape our
perception.
And I often get asked isperception reality?
Is it really the reality?
(14:38):
And I always say yes and no.
It might not be true toyourself, but it's always real
to the others, because theythink that they are right and
that they are correct.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I love what you just said, because I actually say
something similar and I want tosee what your thoughts are on it
.
Because they say for truth,right, there's your truth,
there's my truth, and thenthere's the truth.
Yeah, right Now I almost liketo say that there's the same
thing for reality.
In my opinion, reality is justperception.
(15:12):
Your reality is different thanmy reality and your reality is
shaped from all your lifechoices, all your life
experiences, and that's whatstarts to shape your reality.
Not saying you can't changeyour reality, but that's what
you know.
In my opinion, reality is isjust your perception, and you
(15:32):
can start to change it by howthey say.
You know, walk in someoneelse's shoes if you can view the
world from their standpoint itallows you to open up your
reality absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
But on top of this Devon I also have.
So I agree, totally, perfectlysaid.
And then I'm adding anadditional layer, some bad news.
When it comes to our own truthand to our own reality.
We all believe that we are veryself-aware, that we know our
truth and our reality, but thereality is the older we become,
(16:10):
the more successful we become,and the higher we climb, for
example, on a career ladder, theless self-aware we become.
I call it the CEO disease fortwo reasons.
First of all, we have donethings for years and years and
years and this somehow seemed towork, so we must be right.
And second, the more people aredependent on you so, for
(16:35):
example, you lead a fitnessstudio or you are the CEO in a
company the less they willreflect the truth back to you,
because they are in some way,shape or form, dependent on you.
So unfortunately, it's reallysad to say, the older we become,
the more successful we become,the less self-aware we actually
(16:58):
are.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
I definitely see that .
I could definitely see that,and why do you think that is,
though?
Why do you think that it comesfrom whether it's age or age in
a certain title, right?
Why do you think that we startto lose that self-awareness?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
It's the same powerful source which is
unconscious biases.
There is confirmation bias.
We just look for proofourselves too.
When we reflect on somethingthat we did, we are first
looking into the ways why we didit and confirm subconsciously
why it was right.
And then there is anchoringbias.
(17:43):
Anchoring bias makes sure thatthe thought is anchored in your
brain and you cannot let go ofit because it's the first
initial anchor of your actionsand you just continue to believe
it.
The only way to break this isto constantly question yourself,
(18:06):
but not just with what youbelieve, but also what you might
not believe, and to surroundyourself with people with
opposite opinions constantly.
Your environment is veryimportant and usually we have a
tendency to surround ourselveswith like-minded people, which
(18:27):
is amazing because we feel sowarm and cozy and confirmed.
But if you want to increaseyour self-awareness, you do the
opposite.
You consciously surroundyourself also with people with
opposite point of views andopposite opinions, so that you
become more self-aware.
(18:49):
I always give this examplebecause everybody is into it.
We are so excited aboutartificial intelligence, we are
so excited about what chat GPTcan deliver us in a blink of an
eye, and then we just copy pasteit.
A blink of an eye, and then wejust copy paste it.
(19:11):
But how often do you, after aprompt, ask chat gpt to now give
you the counterpoints?
What's wrong about thisapproach?
How could somebody else seethis?
We just take the the firstpiece of advice and think that's
the way to go, because it comesout of a piece of software
that's fed by other humans, soit must be right.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
I haven't even thought about that.
And that is huge Because I meanit allows.
And then, if you do know thecounterparts, the counterpoints
essentially, then you can expandon your idea or start to
reshape your own idea.
Because, then people,especially right now, right now
with you, know politics, it's so.
(19:48):
You know right or left, it'sthat I've always tried to view
myself as like a blend.
It's like I like some of this,I like some of that, and it's
like that's you know how you gotto kind of think of your, your
reality.
Or when you're typing a judge VT, like you know that you know
you're getting all of one side.
(20:08):
It's like, well, maybe youmight see some valid points on
the other side and you can mixand match to make your own
masterpiece.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, you know, I use artificial intelligence as well
.
It makes me way more effectiveand I love using it, but I had
to learn that whenever I promptsomething and I think I'm done
at the very end, my last promptis always now, please prove me
wrong.
And it is amazing of the pointsthat I find that I didn't
(20:33):
consider, because the softwarejust delivers me what it has
learned about me and what thesoftware believes to be true to
me.
And you should do the same withhuman beings, with human beings
no, I mean it definitely makessense.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I've got no rebuttal on that, like um.
So I mean I do want to kind oftransition too, because I don't
want to, you know, oversee this,because you do keynote speak as
well on these topics, but youdo it in a unique way, right?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
so let's let's dive into how your keynote speeches
go and why you started to gothat route so if you have ever
been at a conference, which Iassume all of you have, then I
bet you went through pretty muchthe same format at every single
conference.
There is an introducer readsoff a bio, then there comes a
keynote speaker, shows a fewslides, tells stories, then adds
(21:28):
a few facts and figures, alittle bit humor, and then
repeat again and again, andagain and again.
And I just putting myself intothe audience seat from time to
time, I realized being theaudience member is the hardest
job at a conference.
It it's not being the organizer, it's not being the speaker,
it's sitting there for hours and, you know, keeping attention.
(21:51):
And so I was always driven bythe idea to do something totally
different, to stand out fromthe crowd, and the pandemic
gifted me with the fact that, Ihave to admit, presenting
virtually was a torture for me.
I didn't see people on theother side, it was not like a
(22:14):
Zoom meeting.
As a keynoter, you just have acamera lens, nothing else and a
microphone, so you talk into ablack hole.
I don't hear them laugh, Idon't hear them cough, I don't
even hear a chair move.
And after my first keynote, theone that I gave virtually, when
the pandemic hit, I cried, Itruly cried, and said if that is
my future, I can't do this.
(22:35):
And one of my friends you know,here we are Mindset that I
called afterwards gave me a verypowerful advice.
She said if that is not yourfuture, why don't you create
your own one?
A very powerful advice and soout.
I went and explored holographictechnology and, while other
(22:58):
speakers use it to beamthemselves somewhere, that
wasn't my goal.
I always wanted to be at theconference, so I create a
three-dimensional immersiveenvironment around me and the
audience.
So, rather than just talkingabout a brain, for example, and
showing you a brain on a slidedeck, I create a 3D brain in the
(23:22):
room where I walk in to thebrain and can show people which
parts are engaged during adecision-making process.
This project took four yearsuntil it was finalized and it is
launched, and I'm so gratefulthat the market is reacting very
well on it, because it'ssomething so unique nobody else
(23:46):
offers, and if there is onepiece of advice I can give you
or learning from that journey isin my business.
I have always been good if I sawsomething somewhere else and
just did it a little bit better.
So, meaning you, look at yourcompetitors fitness centers and
(24:09):
you see something that inspiresyou and you think, oh yeah, I
can do this, but I can do thisbetter and it was kind of good.
But I was always great when Idid something nobody else did.
That made me stand out and thatmade me truly successful.
And for that you might want tolook into different industries.
I looked into not justholographic, but also medicine,
(24:33):
3d imaging how organs are shownon screens when we go to the
doctor and I looked intocircuses, cirque du Soleil, who
uses holograms.
I looked into all places otherthan the speaking industry
because I wanted to do something.
Nobody else and my learning isin crisis.
(24:54):
For example, like the pandemic,if everybody looks to the right
, because they were all you know, I bring up their virtual
studios, bought cameras andmicrophones and lights and green
screens.
I looked to the left and on theleft there was this beautiful
empty space of innovation anddisruption and I was the only
(25:15):
one on that playground.
And so if you want to dosomething outstanding, don't
look what others are doing,don't look to the right.
Look to the left and you'regoing to find something where in
the beginning, people mighttell you oh, that's not possible
, oh no, we have never done thisbefore.
And then, when you prove themwrong, you become the new
(25:38):
benchmark.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
I love that.
That's so true.
So I mean you said it was fouryears in the making.
What was the journey likewithin that?
I mean most people can't can'twait four months, let alone four
years, to get somethinglaunched.
So you know what was thatmental up and down roller
coaster that you were on duringthat four years.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Well, the first year was pretty much driven by the
technology, developing thetechnology, because holographic
technology is always flat, it'salways two-dimensional, and I
really wanted to have this 3Deffect.
I wanted to be in it.
And then the second year waspretty much focused on going
(26:21):
back to square one and rewritingmy keynotes, because you can't
just take a regular keynote intothis format.
It's more of a production andexperience.
You have to rethink your ownway of presenting and then also
getting ready with providing itin a way that it's feasible for
my clients, that it's easy toperform something like that at a
(26:44):
conference.
I didn't want this to become anadditional technology pain.
And then, when it came to theproviders working with you know
I make mistakes too I found aprovider where at the beginning
I thought this is the perfectprovider.
After one year we figured itjust doesn't work.
So I had to switch providers.
(27:05):
So After a while, after threeyears, I was ready.
And then I stepped the firsttime onto stage.
And what you don't know is Idon't see anything when I'm on
stage, in darkness, in betweenthose holograms.
I don't see the audience.
I don't see the animations, I'mjust in the black and I
(27:26):
realized, oh my God, there isalso a new way of presenting.
So for one year, every singlemonth, I flew from Florida to
Germany Once per month, rented astudio, built up the technology
, rehearsed for seven, eighthours and took the next plane
home.
Because I wanted it to not beperfect, but I wanted to make
(27:49):
sure that I have practicedenough that I can walk out there
in the darkness with fullconfidence and deliver a quality
that my clients and my audiencemembers deserve.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
I mean, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah, it's never easy , but it's always adventurous
and exciting when you dosomething new.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Yeah, yeah, it is exciting.
But it's always adventurous andexciting when you do something
new.
Yeah it is exciting, but thatexcitement can start to waver,
especially in four years andonce a month of flying from
Florida to Germany that can getdraining.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
But there was something beautiful at the end
of the tunnel and you know Icannot tell you how many people.
Well, no, don't say how many,because I didn't share it with a
lot of people.
I kept it a secret.
But I talked to people in mycircle of trust and I listened
to their concerns, but the mainconcerns, or the main worries,
(28:56):
were all related to the eventindustry not being ready for it,
the clients not being ready forit, the audience not being
ready for it.
And now, looking back, I'm soglad that I didn't listen to
that, but rather focused on well, how can I prepare it that the
market is ready for it?
How can I design it that theaudience has this wow moment?
(29:19):
So, mindset wise.
We all know how critics work.
Learn to use that energy ofcritic to turn it into a product
that is even better and silencethe critics.
And now, as I said, firstpeople tell you it's not
(29:42):
possible and then you become abenchmark no, that's awesome,
that honestly, that I commendyou for that.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
That is so cool, and I mean being the first you know
in a space is never an easy easyjourney right, because you try
to explain it to people.
You try to, you know, let's,you know, give the example of
why you should do.
You know you should be the oneof the keynote speakers and
they're like, yeah, but I don'tget it.
What do you mean?
There's three D's and it's animmersive and it's this and it's
(30:10):
that.
So I commend you for taking that, that uncommon path and being
the first thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Thank you very much, uh, and you know, if you plan
something similar, uh, go for it, do it.
If you don't try, you willnever find out.
If you don't fall, you won't beable to stand up wider and
taller and try it again.
And it was one of the mostamazing journeys that I went on
(30:41):
and I'm truly proud of what Iand, of course, a team have
achieved there.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
No, and as you should , you definitely should be proud
of yourself for taking thatjourney.
Now, before we wrap up, I'dlike to ask one more question,
though.
Yeah, right, and this questionis the legacy wall question,
right?
So, on Sylvie's legacy wall,right?
What is the one lasting messagethat you've learned along your
life's journey, whether it wasthrough corporate, whether it
(31:07):
was through taking this, youknow, four year journey to
launch this new, immersivekeynote speaking?
But what would the one messagebe, essentially for the
up-and-coming generations?
Speaker 2 (31:19):
My message on my legacy war.
Wow, what a deep question.
You should have prepared me forthat, no way.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Yeah, it has to be the first thing that comes to
mind.
So the reason I like to preparepeople for this question is
because it's that first thingthat comes to mind.
So the reason I like to preparefor people for this question is
because it's that first thingthat comes to mind is usually
the thing that means most.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
I wanted to say she had fun, she enjoyed and she did
the best she could.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Okay, definitely.
I mean, where can peopleconnect with you and see more
that you got going on with yourkeynote speaks, with your topics
of perception?
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Well, if you type in my name that is a very unique
name on the internet chances arehigh that you find all my
social media accounts, that youfind my website, that you find
my videos, that you find the 12books that I have written at
this point, but what I reallyencourage you is to go on my
(32:19):
website and look for aperception audit.
It's a free 15 minute auditwhere I ask you a variety of
questions that I encourage youto answer truthfully, because at
the very end, I will reflectback to you what people think of
you when they think of you.
So you will get, as a result, apersonal report about your
(32:42):
perception and, again, thatdoesn't mean that it's correct
that you are this way, but whatit reflects you back is what
other people think about you andhow they perceive you.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
No, that's awesome, yeah, and if you know that
information, then you can adjustcertain parts so that you can
be perceived as you want to beperceived.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Exactly, exactly.
It is not about changing of whoyou are, it is about becoming
more of who you are.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Oh, I love that.
I love that.
I love that.
Well, thank you so much forcoming on taking the time out of
your day to hop on the MindsetCafe.
Guys, make sure you check herout.
I'll put her links to her, someof her social medias and the
audit in the show notes.
So make sure you guys do dothat, because if you think
you're being perceived one way,who knows what others actually
do think about you in firstimpression or last impression?
(33:31):
So, sylvie, thank you so muchagain for taking the time out of
your day to hop on the MindsetCafe.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Thank you very much for having me and Devin, thank
you for all you do to keep thiswonderful audience engaged and
informed, and it was a truepleasure to be with you.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
It was my pleasure, thank you.
Yeah, it's Mindset Cafe.
We all about that mindset.
Gotta stay focused.
Now go settle for the last.
It's all in your head how youthink you manifest.
So get ready to rise, cause weabout to be the best.
Gotta switch it up.
Gotta break the old habits.
Get your mind right.
Turn your dreams into habits.
No negative vibes, onlypositive thoughts.
(00:20):
What is up, guys?
Welcome to another episode ofthe Mindset Cafe podcast.
It's your boy, devin Gonzalez,and today we have a special
guest, sylvie DiGiusto.
She is a honestly, she's thefirst of what I hope to be many,
because it sounds really coolwhat she does.
But what she does isessentially she's a keynote
(00:41):
speaker, talks about somethingthat I really value, which is
perception, and she does it in areally interesting way.
Right, I don't want to give toomuch into it.
I want her to explain it,because it's always feel best,
you know, coming from the personthemselves.
But you know without furtherado, sylvie, thank you so much
for taking the time out of yourday to you know, some drop some
knowledge for the Mindset Cafe.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Hi Devin and everybody listening in.
I'm so excited to be with you.
Thank you very much for havingme on your most fantastic
podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Thank you for coming.
So I mean, I want to divestraight in, because the topic
that, you know, we were talkingabout beforehand and the reason,
you know, I really wanted tobring you on to the mindset cafe
too, is how you illuminateperception right, because
perceptions really, in myopinion, like they shape our
lives, right, they influence youknow, whether it's a customer
decision, whether it's you know,your, your friends, like
(01:32):
everything that you do in theperception that you create is
it's how you shape your life,it's how you shape your
relationships and it's how youshape how the world sees you,
right, so what?
Right?
So what got you interested inperception?
Like what was the start of yourjourney?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, first of all, I'm very impressed by your
viewpoint.
You could give my keynote ifI'm not available one day, so
thank you very much forpresenting that topic so
wonderful.
You know, I spent 20 years incorporate.
I was in human resources,talent development, leadership
development and I was always sofascinated why we hire specific
(02:14):
people who walk into aninterview room and they look
exactly the way we want them tolook.
They behave exactly the way wewant them to behave.
They say all the right things,behave exactly the way we want
them to behave.
They say all the right things.
And then, years later, I had tofire them because of a total
lack of performance or differentreasons, and I wondered what is
wrong with us.
Why do we believe certainthings about people instantly
(02:38):
while they have nothing to dowith reality?
And, on the other hand, why didwe have so many young and
ambitious leaders in our ownorganization and they didn't
stand out to us.
We didn't perceive them aspotential candidates.
And so, just for my owninterest, I started to explore
and study everything related tofirst impressions, perception,
(03:02):
image, how you show up, how youpresent yourself, and when I
moved to the United States andled 20 years of corporate career
behind.
I combined this experience withmy knowledge and have the
pleasure since more than 15years to speak to audience
members, no matter if they areleaders in organizations or
(03:22):
entrepreneurs business owners tohelp them understand how they
are perceived by the world andwhat impact this has on a
customer decision-making process, for example.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
No, definitely.
It's interesting becausesometimes you do take away a
lesson or you take away athought, Because I've thought
about that same thing.
I've hired people and they gavethis initial first impression
or this initial perception ofthemselves and their abilities,
and then you know, a few monthsinto it, realizing that they
don't.
They're a good interviewer, youknow or interviewee.
(03:55):
But then you know the lack ofactual skills, so they were
they're a great, you know,perception creator essentially.
So how important is firstimpression?
Because they say, firstimpression is everything.
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yes and no.
It's a starting point.
You know it's like a race whenyou have a great starting point,
your chances are just higher towin that race.
But of course you need to racethe entire route right, and so
there is a lot of scienceactually that proves what
happens in those first micromoments.
(04:31):
I use a study that says inseven seconds we make 11
decisions, or up to 11 decisions, but I don't want you to get
hung on those numbers, becausethere are other studies.
They they say 13 seconds,others say milliseconds, others
say it's happened online in thisway and in person in this way,
but what they all have in commonis the fact that it happens
(04:51):
automatically and it has nothingto do with the fact if you are
a good human being or not.
People walk into a room and inthe first moments you think you
know something about them, andthe reality is that most of the
day we run on autopilot, right?
We don't think reallyconsciously about what we do,
what we say, how we behave, howwe appear, and so if you don't
(05:16):
craft those first momentsintentionally, you are losing a
huge opportunity.
And here's why A firstimpression unfortunately has to
fight against unconscious biasesafterwards, because our brain
is built in a way that we wantto be right.
We are looking for proof.
Humans don't want to be wrong,right.
(05:38):
They don't want to be proventhe opposite.
We want to have proof that wewere right with our initial
first opinion about somebody.
So the brain constantly looksfor proof subconsciously to
confirm what you already thoughtabout this person.
So when you, on the other side,craft these first moments
(05:59):
exactly how you want to beperceived, you want to be
perceived as powerful, some ascreative, some as kind, others
as strong.
So each of us wants to beperceived for something else.
But when you craft those firstmicro moments in an interaction,
purposefully and intentionallythe way you want them to be,
(06:20):
those unconscious biases areworking for you, because then
people will find proofsubconsciously that you are
really that creative person orthat you are really that strong
leader or that powerfulcommunicator or whatever you
would like to imprint on us no,I think it is so true, and I
(06:41):
mean as unfortunate as it is allright, because there's like the
two sides.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
One one side says you know, don't judge a book by its
cover, and then the other sideis the you know automated side
of your brain.
It's like sometimes it justhappens that you immediately
start thinking of you know andyou don't.
You don't try to write.
But I mean, let's say, someonecomes in, you know, their hair
is a mess, right, you know, theylook like they just were
(07:06):
partying all night.
Like immediately you think thisperson either doesn't care
about themselves or is, you know, lazy, or you know, all of a
sudden, all these things justfire off in your brain.
But at the same time you don'tknow the backstory.
But the perception that wascreated from that individual
gives them a disadvantage rightwhen they walk in the door.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yes, yes, we say we don't want to charge a book by
its cover, and we do it everysingle day.
When we go to the supermarket,when we shop online, even when
we go on Amazon and look at bookcovers, how often are we
influenced by just the cover ofthe book?
But the reality is, you know,the cover is just the beginning
of the journey, and then youneed a good first chapter, a
good second chapter, a goodthird chapter, because here's
(07:47):
the reality.
As I said, the first impressionis the starting point and you
can craft it intentionally.
But, devon, if I would give younow a list of, let's say, 30
things, 30 items to memorize, alist of 30 terms, and in 20
minutes I would ask you which ofthem do you still remember?
(08:10):
What do you think?
Which one people usuallyremember out of that list of 30?
Speaker 1 (08:17):
probably the ones that are more related to them.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
More related to them, but in terms of the order, the
first one.
And.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
The last one.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yes, and this is psychologically proven, and that
our brain is always very awareat the beginning and then it
starts resting because it wantsto save energy.
I'm not saying that the middlepart is not important, but the
brain is just not as focused asit is at the beginning and at
(08:50):
the end.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
and I always say your first impression opens the door
and your last impression willdetermine if they come back
through that door definitely, Imean, yeah, I, I definitely see
that because you, let's say, youhave interactions with
customers or just with people,right, you know friends, you
(09:11):
know colleagues, whatever.
You don't necessarily alwaysremember every conversation
about the day, but you doremember how you felt when you
left that person right andthat's like.
It's like the lasting impression, you know, is it's truly that,
so like, even though it's almostlike I'll take it to the
fitness side of it.
It's like people will have acheat meal, right, and then they
(09:33):
will be like oh, I had a cheatmeal, now I can't eat healthy
for the rest of the day.
It's like, no, you could stillsave the rest of the day and end
on a high note.
Same thing with, like you know,communication perception.
It's like you could have alittle scuffle right, a little
mishap, and still continue onthe right track and end on a
high note, and that's whatthey're going to remember
exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
And since you, uh uh, talked about the fitness space,
you know the fitness space is avery visual driven space to be
in, and when I look into mymodel, how to impact those first
milliseconds, I use a model, aframework A, b, c, d, e the A
(10:15):
stands for your appearance, andusually people who are in the
fitness space are very visualdriven people and surround
themselves with such like, and Iwant you to know that this is a
huge advantage for you, becausehumans are visual creatures.
80% of information our braintransmits in a visual way, so we
(10:38):
just look at people and thinkwe know something about them.
Are they tall, are they short,are they overweight, are they
underweight?
Do they take care of their bodyand care?
You know, taking care ofyourself is so important because
there is, in terms ofleadership, for example, a very
simple principle If you don'ttake care of yourself, people
(11:02):
don't assume that you have thecapability to take care of them
too, and so I always say themost important part of how you
present yourself isn't thinkingabout the others first, it's
thinking about yourself, whatyou stand for and taking care of
yourself, so that yousubconsciously transmit the
(11:24):
message that you also, in whatshape or form have the ability
to take care of others too?
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yes, I mean, I definitely agree with that.
And that's where, even fromfitness, or even you know, when
you tell yourself you're goingto do something and you tell
someone else, let's say I'mgoing to do this after work, I'm
gonna go work out, right, andthen you, then they ask the next
day oh, would you work out?
Why did I didn't?
I didn't really feel like itright, so immediately, like when
that happens, it's like thisperson can't even hold a promise
(11:55):
or, you know, stay true to whatthey say to themselves.
How they're going to stay truewhen they tell me they promise
they're going to do something?
Speaker 2 (12:01):
You're saying this while I'm sitting here drinking
celery juice, which is the worstof the worst of the worst, and
every time I think I shouldn'tdo this, I should find an excuse
, but then I just assume thatit's healthy for me and that I
have to be disciplined andcontinue.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
I mean, everyone has their, everyone has their right.
I mean I will say you know,drinking an energy drink, I'm
not drinking the most healthydrink either, but you know, it's
one of those things where,again it's, it's more so in the
sense of the net positive right.
You know, if you're, if you'renet positive, you're net doing
everything right.
It's like no one's a hundredpercent perfect.
And if you tried to create aperception that you're 100
(12:41):
perfect or 100 genuine or 100whatever, it's like people,
people see through that.
It's almost like I actually Ijust came back, I told you I was
on a flight and I just cameback from the opening of one of
our new franchise locations um,and he we were talking about
google business and and so forthand he was like I was setting
(13:01):
up his account with him and Iwas like, yeah, you know, I have
4.9 stars.
I was like I have one batteryrating and it was you know from.
And I gave him the example and Iwas like and there's nothing I
could do, I can't dispute it.
And he's like you know, Iwouldn't want you, you shouldn't
want to have five stars.
And I was like what do you mean?
And it gave me a, a rethink.
And he was like, when you seethat the perfect score, you
(13:24):
think is this real, you know?
And he's like so having thatgenuine, you know 4.9, it's a
lot more authentic and that'slike almost like a true five
star.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Well, two things come together here with this
fantastic example that you justshared.
First of all, it's not aboutperfection.
It's about intention, beingbeing intentional, not running
on autopilot.
Perfection is a goal that isnot sustainable and that also
doesn't work in your favor,because you easily come off as
(13:56):
fake.
Then right.
And the second thing isn't itfascinating that in between all
those positive reviews, youfocus on the one that is
negative?
It's called somethingnegativity bias.
We all humans have that.
We rather see the things thatare wrong before we see the
things that are right.
So in both ways, it works inyour favor, because it sounds
(14:17):
more authentic if you have 4.9.
But I also want you to be awarethe same happens to you.
People always see the thingsthat are wrong first, then those
that are right.
Right, it's in the tiny detailsthat very often shape our
perception.
And I often get asked isperception reality?
Is it really the reality?
(14:38):
And I always say yes and no.
It might not be true toyourself, but it's always real
to the others, because theythink that they are right and
that they are correct.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I love what you just said, because I actually say
something similar and I want tosee what your thoughts are on it
.
Because they say for truth,right, there's your truth,
there's my truth, and thenthere's the truth.
Yeah, right Now I almost liketo say that there's the same
thing for reality.
In my opinion, reality is justperception.
(15:12):
Your reality is different thanmy reality and your reality is
shaped from all your lifechoices, all your life
experiences, and that's whatstarts to shape your reality.
Not saying you can't changeyour reality, but that's what
you know.
In my opinion, reality is isjust your perception, and you
(15:32):
can start to change it by howthey say.
You know, walk in someoneelse's shoes if you can view the
world from their standpoint itallows you to open up your
reality absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
But on top of this Devon I also have.
So I agree, totally, perfectlysaid.
And then I'm adding anadditional layer, some bad news.
When it comes to our own truthand to our own reality.
We all believe that we are veryself-aware, that we know our
truth and our reality, but thereality is the older we become,
(16:10):
the more successful we become,and the higher we climb, for
example, on a career ladder, theless self-aware we become.
I call it the CEO disease fortwo reasons.
First of all, we have donethings for years and years and
years and this somehow seemed towork, so we must be right.
And second, the more people aredependent on you so, for
(16:35):
example, you lead a fitnessstudio or you are the CEO in a
company the less they willreflect the truth back to you,
because they are in some way,shape or form, dependent on you.
So unfortunately, it's reallysad to say, the older we become,
the more successful we become,the less self-aware we actually
(16:58):
are.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
I definitely see that .
I could definitely see that,and why do you think that is,
though?
Why do you think that it comesfrom whether it's age or age in
a certain title, right?
Why do you think that we startto lose that self-awareness?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
It's the same powerful source which is
unconscious biases.
There is confirmation bias.
We just look for proofourselves too.
When we reflect on somethingthat we did, we are first
looking into the ways why we didit and confirm subconsciously
why it was right.
And then there is anchoringbias.
(17:43):
Anchoring bias makes sure thatthe thought is anchored in your
brain and you cannot let go ofit because it's the first
initial anchor of your actionsand you just continue to believe
it.
The only way to break this isto constantly question yourself,
(18:06):
but not just with what youbelieve, but also what you might
not believe, and to surroundyourself with people with
opposite opinions constantly.
Your environment is veryimportant and usually we have a
tendency to surround ourselveswith like-minded people, which
(18:27):
is amazing because we feel sowarm and cozy and confirmed.
But if you want to increaseyour self-awareness, you do the
opposite.
You consciously surroundyourself also with people with
opposite point of views andopposite opinions, so that you
become more self-aware.
(18:49):
I always give this examplebecause everybody is into it.
We are so excited aboutartificial intelligence, we are
so excited about what chat GPTcan deliver us in a blink of an
eye, and then we just copy pasteit.
A blink of an eye, and then wejust copy paste it.
(19:11):
But how often do you, after aprompt, ask chat gpt to now give
you the counterpoints?
What's wrong about thisapproach?
How could somebody else seethis?
We just take the the firstpiece of advice and think that's
the way to go, because it comesout of a piece of software
that's fed by other humans, soit must be right.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
I haven't even thought about that.
And that is huge Because I meanit allows.
And then, if you do know thecounterparts, the counterpoints
essentially, then you can expandon your idea or start to
reshape your own idea.
Because, then people,especially right now, right now
with you, know politics, it's so.
(19:48):
You know right or left, it'sthat I've always tried to view
myself as like a blend.
It's like I like some of this,I like some of that, and it's
like that's you know how you gotto kind of think of your, your
reality.
Or when you're typing a judge VT, like you know that you know
you're getting all of one side.
(20:08):
It's like, well, maybe youmight see some valid points on
the other side and you can mixand match to make your own
masterpiece.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, you know, I use artificial intelligence as well
.
It makes me way more effectiveand I love using it, but I had
to learn that whenever I promptsomething and I think I'm done
at the very end, my last promptis always now, please prove me
wrong.
And it is amazing of the pointsthat I find that I didn't
(20:33):
consider, because the softwarejust delivers me what it has
learned about me and what thesoftware believes to be true to
me.
And you should do the same withhuman beings, with human beings
no, I mean it definitely makessense.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I've got no rebuttal on that, like um.
So I mean I do want to kind oftransition too, because I don't
want to, you know, oversee this,because you do keynote speak as
well on these topics, but youdo it in a unique way, right?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
so let's let's dive into how your keynote speeches
go and why you started to gothat route so if you have ever
been at a conference, which Iassume all of you have, then I
bet you went through pretty muchthe same format at every single
conference.
There is an introducer readsoff a bio, then there comes a
keynote speaker, shows a fewslides, tells stories, then adds
(21:28):
a few facts and figures, alittle bit humor, and then
repeat again and again, andagain and again.
And I just putting myself intothe audience seat from time to
time, I realized being theaudience member is the hardest
job at a conference.
It it's not being the organizer, it's not being the speaker,
it's sitting there for hours and, you know, keeping attention.
(21:51):
And so I was always driven bythe idea to do something totally
different, to stand out fromthe crowd, and the pandemic
gifted me with the fact that, Ihave to admit, presenting
virtually was a torture for me.
I didn't see people on theother side, it was not like a
(22:14):
Zoom meeting.
As a keynoter, you just have acamera lens, nothing else and a
microphone, so you talk into ablack hole.
I don't hear them laugh, Idon't hear them cough, I don't
even hear a chair move.
And after my first keynote, theone that I gave virtually, when
the pandemic hit, I cried, Itruly cried, and said if that is
my future, I can't do this.
(22:35):
And one of my friends you know,here we are Mindset that I
called afterwards gave me a verypowerful advice.
She said if that is not yourfuture, why don't you create
your own one?
A very powerful advice and soout.
I went and explored holographictechnology and, while other
(22:58):
speakers use it to beamthemselves somewhere, that
wasn't my goal.
I always wanted to be at theconference, so I create a
three-dimensional immersiveenvironment around me and the
audience.
So, rather than just talkingabout a brain, for example, and
showing you a brain on a slidedeck, I create a 3D brain in the
(23:22):
room where I walk in to thebrain and can show people which
parts are engaged during adecision-making process.
This project took four yearsuntil it was finalized and it is
launched, and I'm so gratefulthat the market is reacting very
well on it, because it'ssomething so unique nobody else
(23:46):
offers, and if there is onepiece of advice I can give you
or learning from that journey isin my business.
I have always been good if I sawsomething somewhere else and
just did it a little bit better.
So, meaning you, look at yourcompetitors fitness centers and
(24:09):
you see something that inspiresyou and you think, oh yeah, I
can do this, but I can do thisbetter and it was kind of good.
But I was always great when Idid something nobody else did.
That made me stand out and thatmade me truly successful.
And for that you might want tolook into different industries.
I looked into not justholographic, but also medicine,
(24:33):
3d imaging how organs are shownon screens when we go to the
doctor and I looked intocircuses, cirque du Soleil, who
uses holograms.
I looked into all places otherthan the speaking industry
because I wanted to do something.
Nobody else and my learning isin crisis.
(24:54):
For example, like the pandemic,if everybody looks to the right
, because they were all you know, I bring up their virtual
studios, bought cameras andmicrophones and lights and green
screens.
I looked to the left and on theleft there was this beautiful
empty space of innovation anddisruption and I was the only
(25:15):
one on that playground.
And so if you want to dosomething outstanding, don't
look what others are doing,don't look to the right.
Look to the left and you'regoing to find something where in
the beginning, people mighttell you oh, that's not possible
, oh no, we have never done thisbefore.
And then, when you prove themwrong, you become the new
(25:38):
benchmark.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
I love that.
That's so true.
So I mean you said it was fouryears in the making.
What was the journey likewithin that?
I mean most people can't can'twait four months, let alone four
years, to get somethinglaunched.
So you know what was thatmental up and down roller
coaster that you were on duringthat four years.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Well, the first year was pretty much driven by the
technology, developing thetechnology, because holographic
technology is always flat, it'salways two-dimensional, and I
really wanted to have this 3Deffect.
I wanted to be in it.
And then the second year waspretty much focused on going
(26:21):
back to square one and rewritingmy keynotes, because you can't
just take a regular keynote intothis format.
It's more of a production andexperience.
You have to rethink your ownway of presenting and then also
getting ready with providing itin a way that it's feasible for
my clients, that it's easy toperform something like that at a
(26:44):
conference.
I didn't want this to become anadditional technology pain.
And then, when it came to theproviders working with you know
I make mistakes too I found aprovider where at the beginning
I thought this is the perfectprovider.
After one year we figured itjust doesn't work.
So I had to switch providers.
(27:05):
So After a while, after threeyears, I was ready.
And then I stepped the firsttime onto stage.
And what you don't know is Idon't see anything when I'm on
stage, in darkness, in betweenthose holograms.
I don't see the audience.
I don't see the animations, I'mjust in the black and I
(27:26):
realized, oh my God, there isalso a new way of presenting.
So for one year, every singlemonth, I flew from Florida to
Germany Once per month, rented astudio, built up the technology
, rehearsed for seven, eighthours and took the next plane
home.
Because I wanted it to not beperfect, but I wanted to make
(27:49):
sure that I have practicedenough that I can walk out there
in the darkness with fullconfidence and deliver a quality
that my clients and my audiencemembers deserve.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
I mean, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah, it's never easy , but it's always adventurous
and exciting when you dosomething new.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Yeah, yeah, it is exciting.
But it's always adventurous andexciting when you do something
new.
Yeah it is exciting, but thatexcitement can start to waver,
especially in four years andonce a month of flying from
Florida to Germany that can getdraining.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
But there was something beautiful at the end
of the tunnel and you know Icannot tell you how many people.
Well, no, don't say how many,because I didn't share it with a
lot of people.
I kept it a secret.
But I talked to people in mycircle of trust and I listened
to their concerns, but the mainconcerns, or the main worries,
(28:56):
were all related to the eventindustry not being ready for it,
the clients not being ready forit, the audience not being
ready for it.
And now, looking back, I'm soglad that I didn't listen to
that, but rather focused on well, how can I prepare it that the
market is ready for it?
How can I design it that theaudience has this wow moment?
(29:19):
So, mindset wise.
We all know how critics work.
Learn to use that energy ofcritic to turn it into a product
that is even better and silencethe critics.
And now, as I said, firstpeople tell you it's not
(29:42):
possible and then you become abenchmark no, that's awesome,
that honestly, that I commendyou for that.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
That is so cool, and I mean being the first you know
in a space is never an easy easyjourney right, because you try
to explain it to people.
You try to, you know, let's,you know, give the example of
why you should do.
You know you should be the oneof the keynote speakers and
they're like, yeah, but I don'tget it.
What do you mean?
There's three D's and it's animmersive and it's this and it's
(30:10):
that.
So I commend you for taking that, that uncommon path and being
the first thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Thank you very much, uh, and you know, if you plan
something similar, uh, go for it, do it.
If you don't try, you willnever find out.
If you don't fall, you won't beable to stand up wider and
taller and try it again.
And it was one of the mostamazing journeys that I went on
(30:41):
and I'm truly proud of what Iand, of course, a team have
achieved there.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
No, and as you should , you definitely should be proud
of yourself for taking thatjourney.
Now, before we wrap up, I'dlike to ask one more question,
though.
Yeah, right, and this questionis the legacy wall question,
right?
So, on Sylvie's legacy wall,right?
What is the one lasting messagethat you've learned along your
life's journey, whether it wasthrough corporate, whether it
(31:07):
was through taking this, youknow, four year journey to
launch this new, immersivekeynote speaking?
But what would the one messagebe, essentially for the
up-and-coming generations?
Speaker 2 (31:19):
My message on my legacy war.
Wow, what a deep question.
You should have prepared me forthat, no way.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Yeah, it has to be the first thing that comes to
mind.
So the reason I like to preparepeople for this question is
because it's that first thingthat comes to mind.
So the reason I like to preparefor people for this question is
because it's that first thingthat comes to mind is usually
the thing that means most.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
I wanted to say she had fun, she enjoyed and she did
the best she could.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Okay, definitely.
I mean, where can peopleconnect with you and see more
that you got going on with yourkeynote speaks, with your topics
of perception?
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Well, if you type in my name that is a very unique
name on the internet chances arehigh that you find all my
social media accounts, that youfind my website, that you find
my videos, that you find the 12books that I have written at
this point, but what I reallyencourage you is to go on my
(32:19):
website and look for aperception audit.
It's a free 15 minute auditwhere I ask you a variety of
questions that I encourage youto answer truthfully, because at
the very end, I will reflectback to you what people think of
you when they think of you.
So you will get, as a result, apersonal report about your
(32:42):
perception and, again, thatdoesn't mean that it's correct
that you are this way, but whatit reflects you back is what
other people think about you andhow they perceive you.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
No, that's awesome, yeah, and if you know that
information, then you can adjustcertain parts so that you can
be perceived as you want to beperceived.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Exactly, exactly.
It is not about changing of whoyou are, it is about becoming
more of who you are.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Oh, I love that.
I love that.
I love that.
Well, thank you so much forcoming on taking the time out of
your day to hop on the MindsetCafe.
Guys, make sure you check herout.
I'll put her links to her, someof her social medias and the
audit in the show notes.
So make sure you guys do dothat, because if you think
you're being perceived one way,who knows what others actually
do think about you in firstimpression or last impression?
(33:31):
So, sylvie, thank you so muchagain for taking the time out of
your day to hop on the MindsetCafe.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Thank you very much for having me and Devin, thank
you for all you do to keep thiswonderful audience engaged and
informed, and it was a truepleasure to be with you.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
It was my pleasure, thank you.
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