What does it mean to really OWN your Space?

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend of mine who was at a launch event of a prominent artist. She was completely star struck and eventually plucked up the courage to go and greet him, well that was after her friend forced her and did the introductions on her behalf. She nervously greeted him and felt she stumbled and made a fool of herself.My immediate reaction was she was not owning her space. My friend failed to see herself as the professional architect she is with her own accomplishments; but placed herself beneath him because of his acclaim. She never gave herself permission to be his equal.So, what does it really mean to OWN YOUR SPACE? Do you feel that you always own yours? In the Executive Presence and personal branding workshops my co-author, Nadia Bilchik and I facilitate, we define OWNING YOUR SPACE as giving yourself full permission to be the person presenting the information; it means coming across with confidence, ease and polish. OWNING YOUR SPACE means understanding the power of both your verbal and non-verbal tools to convey authority and authenticity.Do you hesitate to speak up in a meeting because you are not sure your contribution is valid? How often do you use filler words rather than a powerful pause while you are transitioning from one thought to another? Do you inadvertently fiddle with a pen, put your hands in your pockets, or fidget with your ring while you are speaking? If you answered YES to any of these questions, you are not fully OWNING YOUR SPACE.So, how do we begin to change that? Simply by becoming more aware, one can eliminate nervous gestures, but to fully OWN YOUR SPACE, we all need to understand the messages we send ourselves.In the future, before a presentation, a meeting with a higher up, a job interview or simply a hallway conversation, check in with yourself and say the following: "I deserve to be here, I have a right to be here and I have something valuable to contribute."Once you have shifted your mind-set, show it through your actions – head up straight, shoulders back, good eye contact and a genuine smile. This is the first step to really OWNING YOUR SPACE.All the best,Lori & Nadia