Students were invited to the Elaine Langone Center (ELC) Forum on Feb. 29 to discover what makes them fascinating and how to use these qualities to stand out from the crowd. The “Discover Your Fascination Advantage” lecture was led by Peggy Grande, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Founder of the Quiggle Group, an organization that promotes and expands leadership excellence.

Grande attempted to instill a sense of empowerment in her audience members as she helped them learn to navigate the business world.

Grande explained her hope that everyone in attendance would “walk out with a new perspective.” She came prepared with a five-step plan for the audience to engage in: unlearn boredom, discover how you are fascinating, create a personal anthem, learn your valuable role in life, and develop a personal action plan.

The first step involved making the most of first impressions. Grande explained how in the past, “you had 20 minutes to fascinate someone. Now, it’s only eight seconds to capture someone’s attention.” She illustrated how every time we communicate, we are either taking up space or adding value, and she implored her audience to be more than just “spam.”

Grande discussed how “fascination is an intense interest” and the key to adding value is to be fascinating. Fascination activates the same emotions in our brains as falling in love and making irrational decisions.  According to Grande, there are seven ways to communicate and add value: innovation, passion, power, prestige, trust, mystique, and being alert. Everyone possesses one primary and secondary advantage from these seven options. The audience was asked to determine which advantage they enjoyed, and then use it to find their personality archetype, adopting nicknames ranging from “The Catalyst” to “The Beloved” to “The Trendsetter.”

This identity discovery highlighted Grande’s message: everyone has the potential to be fascinating. More importantly, individuals lose this when they choose to be anything less than themselves.

“We often trade in a layer of fascination for a layer of boredom,” Grande said. This leads people to “miss their greatest value: being something different and unique.”

Students shared their new identities and the ways they add value to those around them. They were asked to commit to a plan in which they agree to engage in actions that allow them to “lead, live, and fascinate more effectively.”

The audience was impressed by Grande’s eloquence and the way she grabbed the crowd’s attention from the beginning.

“I feel empowered to be the best person I can possibly be,” Nathand Carter ’19 said. “It was very informative and opened my mind, helping me realize the things that make me stand out.”

The lecture served as inspiration for the student body to strive to be as captivating as possible.

“Without you talking about your perspective, your school will have an incomplete view of the world around them. Your voice is valuable,” Grande said.