How People Perceive You Is Out of Your Control

I was recently reflecting about how some of my professional speeches go well, and others don’t go so well.

I would do the same speech to different audiences. Some would love it, some would hate it.

The reaction to my speech depended more on the audience member’s frame of reference than the content I was delivering.

Don’t get me wrong — there are always things I can tweak and improve to make my speeches better. With that said, I realized something profound: people will perceive you based on their own frame of reference, and their biases are usually completely out of your control.

How people treat you says more about them than it does about you. The way people receive your content depends most on the attitude and mindset they choose to show up with.

Some people will love you. Some people will hate you. Most of it is out of your control.

Focus on what you can control. Prepare. Do your best. Be kind. The rest is out of your hands.

Jeff Davis is an award-winning author and authentic leadership expert. To take your leadership prowess to the next level, check out his book The Power of Authentic Leadership: Activating the 13 Keys to Achieving Prosperity Through Authenticity.