How is Your Presence Impacting Your Presentation?

How Executive Presence can make your presentations more engaging.    

Presentation coaching can help you better develop and deliver stronger presentations, but to take your presentations to the next level, it’s helpful to focus on developing your executive presence, too. Executive presence is directly associated with career success and is often considered a differentiator between those who stagnate and those who advance. Continuing to develop your executive presence at each stage of your career will help you be a better presenter.

Make an Impression

We all know the power of first impressions. Before you even utter a word, your audience is assessing you based on how you dress, how confident you appear, how well you make eye contact, whether or not you smile, and your overall body language. These are all elements of executive presence, and the more you can work to up-level your presence, the more receptive your audience will be to your message.

Communicate Clearly

When delivering a presentation, your ability to communicate with clarity, speak confidently, and engage with your listeners can make a measurable difference in the buy-in you receive. Whether you’re presenting at an annual shareholder meeting or delivering to investors an important message that is designed to sway their willingness to fund your company or product, improving your communication skills can have an enormous impact.

Find Your Voice

Emotional intelligence, a significant piece of your overall executive presence, is not just about managing your emotions during heated conversations, but about your overall ability to speak up, listen well, and engage with others. Capturing the “voice of leadership” is less something you’re born with and more something you develop with practice, coaching, and time. When delivering a presentation, emotional intelligence improves your ability to read the room, tell an effective story, and inspire your audience.

Cultural Intelligence

While not often discussed, cultural intelligence is an important part of your executive presence. You can be a polished leader, but if you do not understand the nuances of communicating with different cultures, you diminish your presence and your credibility. Cultural intelligence is necessary for a successful presentation, too. To reach your intended audience effectively, your presentation must be adapted to the culture of the audience.

Your public speaking and presentation skills are your competitive edge in the workplace, and to further your skills, you must also improve your executive presence. Improving your executive presence will allow you to more impactfully engage with and motivate others in every presentation you deliver.