093: Why Attention Pays with Neen James

How intriguing would it be to find out that the 'tallest voice' in the room is coming from the lady who's 4ft10inches or as she likes to put it: 4ft 10.5inches? 

Meet Neen James. 

She is a U.S acclaimed speaker and writer of Australian decent. Her books; ‘Folding Time™' and ‘Attention Pays™' are among the best sellers available at bookstores around the world. 

Over the past two decades, Neen has been advising different companies in the world including Viacom, Comcast, Paramount Pictures, and even the FBI, on how to improve their strategic planning, communication, and leadership development. 

When she is not speaking on stage, you might find her on the back of a Harley Davidson (yeah, the back is just for her!). 

What to do to become a great speaker like Neen

Neen says it all starts by having a single image on and off the stage because your audience isn’t only those in the room when you speak. It is about coming across as the same fantastic person on the street or at other informal engagements. 

For Neen, being a great speaker is not so much about what you say on stage but who you are on and off the stage. 

“It’s not just about putting your most fabulous suit on and going on stage; it’s about all the interactions you have with your clients and your audience,” Neen says.

And oh, she says it doesn’t matter whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, you can do what she does. 

“My belief is that introverts and extroverts can do what I do.” 

She says while extroverts recover with people, introverts recover alone and regardless can become great speakers.

Indeed Neen should know. She’s been researching communication strategies. Neen says “What I’ve learned in my attention research is that there are so many different ways to pay attention and we have to be able to appeal to multiple ways.”

Early Career Lessons

When Neen started speaking, she had a mentor in Matt Church. He later became her business partner and friend. Watching him as an aspiring speaker helped immensely in her development.

“The things we talk about need to be memorable, repeatable and retweetable,” she says.

Neen recalls trying to get Matt Church to mentor her for about six months, during which time he regularly told her that she wasn’t ready.

“He helped me think differently, and also helped me understand the good, the bad and sometimes ugly days of the profession that I was choosing,” Neen says.

Thoughts on Leadership

You could be quite surprised that Neen doesn’t think there’s so much to being a leader. In fact she believes that leadership is rather intuitive. 

“Leadership is sometimes whatever drives you crazy in the world, it is also a good indicator of what you call leadership,” Neen reflects.

“When you reflect on the things that make you crazy in the world or you reflect on the lessons you’ve been learning over and over again, it may point you to your view of leadership.”

Idea Shaping

Neen has a habit of pulling out members of the audience and instantly helping them arrive at quick realizations about themselves. She calls this Idea shaping.

“Idea shaping is the ability to articulate your ideas, your intellectual property in a visual model” Neen says.

More information on this concept is detailed on her website www.neenjames.com. 

Neen is so brilliant that while you speak to her about what you plan to do, she just naturally acts out a bit of idea shaping on those plans.

Time and again she has amazed her audiences using this concept.

Resources

Neen James can be found on all social media pretty easy, by her names only. Her website is www.neenjames.com