Inspiring the next generation of women ft. Tanya Meessmann
The next generation of women is growing up in a highly curated, digitised world that skews their reality.
As social media focuses their attention on the filtered highlights of conventionally successful and beautiful people, young girls are less exposed to the vast diversity of the human experience.
In this podcast, Elise Stevens speaks with communications expert and mentor Tanya Meessmann about how all women can inspire the young girls in their life, simply by sharing their own stories.
According to Tanya, the best role models are the ones willing to take the filter off their lived experience and share openly and authentically.
Points raised in this podcast:
- Every one of us has experiences we can draw upon to inspire others.
- Strong, positive role models are not just sports stars or CEOs – they can be ordinary people at all stages of life.
- Good role models are willing to share their life learnings, especially the setbacks and challenges, to help others gain an understanding of how the real world works.
- It’s not possible to anticipate what message a person needs to hear. Being open and authentic is the best way to create a genuine connection.
- Conversations about mistakes and failures are reassuring for young people, who are exposed to a highly curated digital environment that values and promotes perfection.
- Young people generally only think 2-5 years ahead.
- Young people can sense when they are being lectured and will switch off. They are more receptive to non-confrontational and non-demanding conversation.
- Increasing the visibility of women in the workplace and encouraging connection between women will help create opportunities for the next generation.
About Tanya:
Tanya Meessmann, the founder and director of Girl Shaped Flames, is committed to developing the most confident, courageous and self-assured generation of girls the world has ever seen.
The fire she has had in her belly since a teenager has taken her from small-town Yeppoon, Queensland, to topping her degree at Bond University, being poached to work at top-tier Advertising Agencies throughout Sydney and London on cornerstone international brands such as Virgin, MasterCard, Peroni, Nokia, and McDonald’s, then across into a Film Producing career that has seen her produce hundreds of pieces of content and 7 feature films.
Now safely back in her home state, she has worked with over 3000 teenage girls, their parents and educators through powerful mentoring, inspiring events and transformative courses, specialising in confidence development for high-school girls, inspiring unique career pathways, and courageous parenting.
Find out more about Girl Shaped Flames and Uniq You or connect with Tanya on LinkedIn.