Dear Tony,

My boss told me I need to work on my executive presence.  What the heck is that, and what do I need to do to do it better?

-Presence in Pasadena

Dear Presence,

Executive presence is a fancy way of saying how you show up in your professional dealings at work, especially when all eyes are on you in a meeting or when giving a presentation. 

Executive presence is how much in control you are and how well you communicate with others.  Often times it is a function of how much you prepared, or how well you know your facts and the subject material.  It's also how well you think on your feet, and again, this can be influenced by how well you prepare. 

A key point to keep in mind is that only 7% of our communication is from the verbal words that we use.  Fully 38% of our communication is the tone of our voice and 55% is from body language.  This is why it makes sense to practice critical communications ahead of time in dry runs, and also why it's so important to have your video camera on when communicating remotely to get the body language involved. 

To get better at executive presence, I’d suggest the following: 

1. Do the homework necessary to succeed.  Know your stuff. 
2. Practice your communications – especially presentations or critical conversations.  The practice will make you come off much more relaxed when the time comes. 
3. Pay attention to the details.  Like my father used to tell me, being a good salesman is all about the details.  He used to tell me that polished shoes always made for a great first impression (and of course, it was my job as an 8 year old to polish his shoes!)  Pay attention to your clothes, and dress for success. 
4. Be confident, project your voice, and look people in the eye.  Mean what you say, and be serious about your work. 
5. Speak sparingly, but when you do speak, mean what you say. 
6. Listen to what others have to say intently, and pay attention to the conversation.  No more pecking away at the keyboard ignoring conversations in meetings. Participate, take meetings seriously. 
7. Remember, for every speech there are actually 3 speeches.  The practice one the night before, the actual one, and the perfect one on the way home.  Remember to give yourself some grace and just do your best in the live moments of your life. 
8. Be decisive – figure out ahead of time what your position is.  Debate strongly, engage appropriately.  Be open to better ideas and show you can change your mind. 
9. Keep your mind sharp, and informed about current events.  Stay updated with what is going on in the world, read fresh ideas every day, newsworthy stories, and learn from others as much as possible. 
10. Never overreact or underreact.  Use your reaction wisely to influence others.  It's always best to wait a minute or two before you react quickly to what others are saying.  Be intentional about word choice and remember that it's hard to unring the bell if you say negative or disparaging comments about someone.  Always hold your emotions in check and develop your emotional maturity as a muscle. 

Being in control and coming across with confidence is critical for your executive presence.  Take a look at the above points and put them into use for your career today and you will find out quickly what a difference it makes.

-Tony

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