Natalie Nixon - Exercising Courage as a Speaker

Journey To Paid Speaking Gigs with Charles Clark

Natalie Nixon is a creativity strategist, author, and speaker. At her core, she considers herself a dreamer and creator. She comes from a background in cultural anthropology, fashion, design thinking, and dance. Using all her unique experiences and expertise, she helps leaders transform their business models and leadership styles by applying creativity and foresight. She is a big proponent of practicing courage and being flexible. Natalie's firm Figure 8 Thinking, was named among the top 20 women-led innovation firms by Core 77 in 2021. She was also named one of Real Leaders' "Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the World for 2022."

Key Takeaways

• Learn about how Natalie got creative with her book release and promotion during the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Creativity can be an incredibly powerful tool. Natalie believes speakers can exercise it through the three I's: inquiry, improvisation, and intuition.
• Natalie's biggest goals on stage are to inspire and leave people with practical tips and takeaways.
• Natalie is a big proponent of having courage in all endeavors. This means following your heart, being open to experimentation, and being able to admit ignorance.
• Pulling from past experiences that are not directly linked to presenting or giving talks can still help you develop speaking skills. For instance, Natalie's experience in dance taught her applicable lessons like the importance of discipline, working with others, and performance.

Memorable Quotes

• "I think of creativity as toggling between wonder and rigor to solve problems." - Natalie Nixon
• "I'm a firm believer in embodying what we feel, what we think." - Natalie Nixon
• "If you are 50% terrified and 50% exhilarated, then leap...because the terror anchors you...and the exhilaration keeps you optimistic, and buoyant, and dreaming, and hopeful." - Natalie Nixon
• "The more you practice courage, the stronger you get to handle something of a much larger magnitude." - Charles Clark
• "Your tribe sets your vibe." - Charles Clark

Episode Resources & Links

Natalie Nixon

Website: https://www.figure8thinking.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalienixonphd/

Facebook + Instagram + Twitter: @natwnixon

Charles Clark

Website: https://thecharlesclark.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesclarkusa/

Instagram + Facebook: @thecharlesclark

To get access to all our episodes, visit our podcast page!

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