“I have no idea how you did it. I have never seen them so enthusiastic about anything.”

Todd, the CEO, had asked me to give a presentation to 11 of his executive leadership team. He told me they were “very skeptical”.

Normally, that would make you imagine a very skeptical audience, right? Even before you meet them.

It was a virtual meeting. Most people think the word “virtual” means “Far away; using technology” and definitely “not as good as in person.” (I hear this all the time.)

However, if you look up the word “virtual” in a good dictionary, you’ll see that it means “Creating the power of real without actually being real”. I want to let that sink in.

Virtual has a very powerful derivation, it comes from Virtus, the Latin word which means “Strength, virtue and integrity.” These are strong words.

In other words, virtual reality is different than actual reality, BUT when it is done well it has the power of actual reality. In other words, it creates a new reality.

And, if you are the presenter, it’s up to you to create it. How?

It requires imagination. This particular kind of virtual reality is powered by your imagination.

As I mentioned, this was a virtual meeting. It’s always a good idea to ask everyone to turn their cameras on so you can see their faces. It wouldn’t have worked with this group.

They all had their cameras off. They were a mosaic of solid black squares with unfamiliar names on my computer screen.

I couldn’t see even one face. And they were silent as a rock. The CEO introduced me.

I had started imagining them well before the meeting. I didn’t imagine what you might expect.

I imagined that they were all friendly. And when I started talking, I imagined that they were all smiling at me. Big smiles with warm eyes. I imagined they were all really interested in what I was saying. All of them leaning in.

Turns out they weren’t. Not at all. Not at the beginning. They were skeptical and resentful of having to be there.

But I was talking to them as if they WERE interested because I was doing a great job imagining that they were. It was real to me. I was imagining they were all nodding as I made each point and let it sink in.

It turns out that triggered something in them that caused them to become interested as I spoke.

I talked to them as if they were friends and they became friends.

When we got to the Q&A portion of the presentation at the end, their voices and their questions were friendly and very interested. Genuine questions. Genuine interest. Genuinely friendly. It was nice.

Afterward, The CEO said, “I’m amazed! I’ve never seen them so positive about anything. They actually want to go ahead and do this.”

If you imagine a skeptical audience, you will sound DIFFERENT than if you imagine a friendly one. Everything about you will change, for the better or the worse, depending on the audience you think you’re talking to. Interested, bored, skeptical, enthusiastic, detached, leaning in, mildly interested or loving you – each type of audience will bring out a different you.

And that different you will create a different relationship and a different outcome.

People don’t realize how much they’re already imagining. The problem is they’re imagining the worst, which is why they walk around with so much anxiety.

Whatever you do, don’t imagine an audience that makes you feel fear.

What kind of an audience brings out the very best in you? That’s the one to imagine.

Isn’t it funny how imagination creates reality? Reality, the real kind, always starts with imagination. Always. And then, if you have the ability to do so, it travels on the wings of your communication which carries it out into the world and makes it real to others.

When your imagination and ability to communicate are well developed, stable and strong, you stop letting actual reality overwhelm you. With that powerful shift, you move from being a player in reality to a creator of it.

Be the cause!