Five Components to Bring Out Authority and Authenticity
DEFINING EXECUTIVE PRESENCE
I remember the first time I heard about executive presence. Clients would mention it when we discussed their public speaking goals. They’d say things like, “I’d really like to build my executive presence so I can own the room,” or their bosses would send them to my workshops and tell me, “They need to build their executive presence if they want to get promoted in this company.”
There are some terrific books on the subject, from Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success by Sylvia Ann Hewlett to The Power of Presence: Unlock Your Potential to Influence and Engage Others by Kristi Hedges. 
Many of the components of executive presence are actually best practices of public speaking, such as: how to speak with confidence, connect with an audience, and command a room. As a result, I’ve developed my own methodology for teaching executive presence based on how I teach public speaking and based on my experience building stage presence as a performer.
Throughout this book, you have been building your executive presence. You are developing a way of speaking and acting that makes others take notice and listen.
In this chapter, I’ll cover what I believe to be the five components of executive presence, and I’ll point to where you can read in the book to more intentionally build them. You will find that we have covered many of them already.
I discovered the power of stage presence when I was fifteen years old. As a sophomore at Booker High School in the visual and performing arts program in Sarasota, Florida, I once auditioned for a performance troupe that toured through our campus. During the audition, ten of us lined up in front of an auditorium full of students. One by one, we stepped forward and simply stated our name. No explanation, no bio, just our name. When my time came, I walked forward, then paused and breathed. I looked calmly and purposefully around the room and felt a sense of anticipation as the audience waited for me to speak. Then I slowly and clearly stated my name as if it were the most critical piece of information that someone should know about me. I made it into the troupe.
Later on, when explaining why we were chosen, the troupe director would point to my introduction—not my name, but how I had pronounced my name—as the reason I was chosen. At the time, he had no idea that I was an opera singer in training or that I had performed in front of thousands of people. It all came across in those two words.
Think about what gives an opera singer stage presence: it’s the way the soprano walks purposefully out onstage, her passion for the music; it’s the tenor’s confidence in his craft after years of study and practice. It’s the deep connection they both feel to the material, to the music, to why they do what they do. They don’t rush through their arias; they take their time and focus on the experience of their audience. They own the stage and believe in their right to be there.
Now I’d like you to imagine someone with executive presence: perhaps the CEO of your organization, perhaps a member of the board, perhaps one of your colleagues without formal authority or a fancy title. It could be the confident way she walks into the room and starts a meeting. It might be the clear, decisive way he speaks, cutting out the jargon and getting straight to the point. Perhaps it’s the reputation he has within the organization. Maybe it’s in the power of her voice. All those attributes are critical elements of executive presence, and together they command your audience’s attention.
A few years ago, I was preparing to give a keynote on executive presence to a group of banking executives in a Fortune 50 company. Before my program, I interviewed three different leaders in the firm. I asked them why executive presence was important when presenting to clients. Their responses were incredibly illuminating: “Do you look like you deserve to be there? Does what you say make sense? Do you look like you’ll be able to execute the business? Your executive presence does a lot of the talking.”
It’s not about creating a false leadership persona—your audience can see right through that, and it negatively affects your reputation and credibility. Presence requires you to connect authentically with what drives you in your work, and then allows that sense of purpose to infuse your words, your actions, and your energy.
As you’ll see below, the five components of executive presence build off each other—developing one will help develop the others. And conversely, a lack of one will usually diminish the others. They are not talents; they are a selection of skills that you can build and develop over time.
Executive presence does not come from your title; it comes from how you handle yourself. I’ve seen CEOs with no presence, and I’ve seen college students with a powerful presence. You can feel it in person or over the phone.
It’s also highly cultural. My colleague Jeanine Turner, an associate professor at Georgetown University, describes presence as a social construct. That means it’s based on expectations and assumptions of how people should act, and in this chapter we’ll talk about how to balance those expectations with what’s authentic to you.
Much of the research on executive presence has focused on an American business context, but you can observe it in people all over the world. The five components I describe below don’t change according to your culture, but how you use them can change according to cultural norms and expectations.
As you read through each component, make a note of where you are strongest and where you would like to improve; there are tips to help you at the end of each section. The five components of executive presence are:
1. Content
2. Confidence
3. Nonverbal
4. Voice & Tone
5. Interactions with Others
1. CONTENT: KNOW YOUR STUFF
The first component of executive presence is knowing what you’re talking about. If you’re giving a speech or speaking up in a meeting, it’s demonstrating that you know your subject and have a clear point of view.
But it doesn’t simply mean being an expert. Can you think of someone in your organization who knows everything about a subject, but you would never put him or her in front of an audience? This is where technical people have an “a-hah” moment. It’s not about rambling endlessly in technical jargon while your audience is tuning out. It’s about being able to articulate a clear, decisive message without jargon or generic business language. It’s about getting to the point and having the courage to speak up when the stakes are high, keeping your voice calm while others around you are losing their heads.
Imagine sitting in a boardroom while someone in the room proposes a new project. As that person speaks, your emotional intelligence guides you to look around and observe people fidgeting uncomfortably in their chairs and visibly wincing while this person speaks. You know exactly why this project won’t work, and you have the feeling that everyone in the room is thinking the same, but no one has the guts to say it. You don’t have the formal authority to stop the project, but still you believe something has to be said. You pause and breathe, gather your thoughts, and then calmly speak up, suggesting that the speaker solicit feedback from people on the ground before making a decision. You notice the tension in the room dramatically release.
Your ability to influence the course of a meeting is part of your executive presence.
Here are some tips to work on this component:
• Be prepared. You can’t walk into these situations and expect to have an impact. Prepare for every meeting by asking the Three Questions we discussed in Chapter 2 so you come prepared with a point of view. Bring power questions to ask, to keep people on track.
• Get to the point. You’ll remember Chapter 5, where we discussed how critical it is to be concise when you speak. In fact, in many industries, your higher-ups will assess your leadership potential based in part on your ability to speak concisely and deftly lead a conversation. Learn how to make your speech more concise based on techniques in Chapter 5, and practice your impromptu speaking skills from Chapter 10.
• Lose the jargon and fillers. You can’t inspire through jargon; you inspire through descriptive, authentic language. Let yourself use language that’s conversational and genuine to you, and keep out the fillers and overly casual phrases like “you guys.”
• Speak up when others are afraid to do so. Let your sense of conviction guide you to speak up when you know it’s important. If you are nervous about speaking up, review Chapter 7 to help you pause and breathe and find your courage to speak.
• Know when not to speak. Building this component of your executive presence will cause you to speak up more often—which is generally a positive change—but I want to caution you to be judicious about it. Your executive presence doesn’t come from hogging the airtime on a conference call or in a meeting; it comes from being strategic about when you speak up and what you say. It also means deciding when something is better left to a one-on-one conversation than a group debate. As one of my executive clients says, “Sometimes the person who speaks the least in the meeting has the most power.”
2. CONFIDENCE
The confidence component of executive presence is bigger than simply knowing your subject or being prepared. If that were the case, then over-preparing would be the key to confidence.
As we learned from Chapter 7, confidence comes from many factors, only one of which is knowing your subject. In addition, do you truly believe in what you are saying? Do you believe in what you represent? Are you proud of the work you do?
Confidence comes from a belief in yourself, in your subject, and in the value of the work you do. It’s an aura that surrounds what you say and how you say it. It comes across over the phone or in person.
One of my mid-career graduate students was preparing for a job interview for a senior role with one of the biggest technology companies in the world. She confided in me that she still wasn’t sure she would get the job, and she even believed that they were going to give her a verbal rejection during the final in-person interview. But she also stated how strongly she believed that she was the right person for the job and gave me compelling reasons why. As she listed those reasons, her voice strengthened and she sat up tall. She started to own her confidence in herself. We decided that she would visualize the upcoming job interview in advance and then walk in with the mind-set that she was going to get the job. One week later, she emailed me that she got the job.
When you believe in yourself and in what you represent, you give off an energy that others pick up on immediately. It doesn’t have to be loud or brash; it can be a quiet but assured sense of confidence. It’s a sense of conviction in yourself and your abilities. Of all the components of executive presence, I find confidence to be the most powerful, because it breathes life into everything else.
Here are some tips to speaking with confidence:
• Ask yourself Why you? to connect with your sense of purpose. Talk through your Why you? with a friend or colleague to identify what motivates you in your work. If you can’t find it in your job, look for it in your life overall. Use the Core Value Statement exercise in Chapter 7 and speak it out loud before you walk into a room.
• Use mental rehearsal to visualize your success. Visualizing the scenario in your mind is an effective way to build up your confidence in any situation, from a one-on-one difficult conversation to a stressful All Hands meeting.
• Look for allies. Find those people in your work and in your community who build you up and see your potential. Spend time with these people to build up your confidence.
• Do your homework. While preparation is not the only indicator of confidence, it’s a big one. Make time in your day to prepare for those situations.
3. NONVERBAL
When you walk onstage or into a conference room, every part of you is communicating: your eyes, your body, and your attire. All these components have a significant impact on your executive presence. When speaking, it’s important to make sure that everything is saying the same thing.
Many times, people’s body language will betray their nervousness or lack of confidence. Their fidgeting hand gestures will undermine the clear recommendations they’re making. Pacing back and forth will make them look restless and unfocused when they need to be fully present. Chapter 6 taught us techniques to handle this.
At the Harvard Kennedy School, there is a postgraduate fellowship that brings U.S. military officers (and some civilians) to the campus for one year. These senior leaders audit classes, conduct research, and provide a valuable perspective on campus based on their military experience. These fellows do not dress in military uniform, but I can still identify them from across the room. Why? Because of how they carry themselves: their posture, their pace, and, for some, their military haircut. Their executive presence comes across in their nonverbal communication.
Here are a few tips to build your nonverbal presence:
• Pay attention to how you enter a room. Center yourself before you walk into a room to make sure you are purposeful and intentional. When you’re standing, stand tall on two feet and avoid nervous fidgeting. When you’re seated, let yourself take up space as opposed to crossing your arms and shrinking.
• Make eye contact. Eye contact demonstrates your confidence to speak and builds trust with your audience. Especially when you are speaking up about something important, make eye contact with the people you want to take action.
• Use hand gestures that are purposeful, instead of nervous. Nervous fidgeting or pacing will make you look unprepared and detract from your executive presence. Using the techniques we discussed in Chapter 6, practice gestures that match the language you use.
• Be strategic about what you wear. Your attire communicates with your audience in different ways. It can show professionalism or laziness. It can show national pride or a lack of caring. I can’t tell you what to wear, but I can tell you to understand what your attire communicates, and to dress in the way that you’d like to be perceived. A wrinkled shirt, chipped polish on your fingernails, and unbrushed hair can reduce your executive presence because it makes you look like you don’t care.1 It’s not about wearing a suit in every situation, although there is fascinating research that shows the perceived authority that comes with wearing a suit can make you more influential.2 What you wear sends a message, whether it’s choosing or refusing to wear a suit.
4. VOICE & TONE
Does the power of your voice match the power of your words? When you speak, do you sound like you believe in what you are saying? Your tone of voice can stop someone in their tracks or entice them to lean in and listen. That’s important any time you speak in public, and it’s particularly important when you build your executive presence.
Imagine that you’re on an airplane that’s experiencing turbulence. It starts out as just a couple of bumps but soon progresses to such an extent that even the frequent flyers are looking at each other with raised eyebrows. Everyone double-checks their safety belts and then grips their armrests firmly. This is when I practice purposeful breathing. Suddenly, you hear the pilot’s voice over the intercom.
What are you listening for in the pilot’s voice? You’re listening for calm and reassurance. You’re listening for professionalism and competence. For me, all of that comes across in the first three words the pilot says: “Ladies and Gentlemen.” I can hear it in the even pacing of the words and the calm tone of voice that says everything is going to be okay.
We spent a significant amount of time in Chapters 6 and 7 looking at how your voice can convey confidence or doubt. The moment you speak, your tone communicates before the words even sink in. And if there’s a disconnect between the words and the tone, people will believe the tone. When they speak in public, most people focus on the words and assume the tone will happen naturally; it doesn’t necessarily.
Everything you have learned about breathing and voice will enhance your executive presence, and the confidence you built in learning these skills will calm your nerves and let your voice convey the full strength of your conviction.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
• Practice purposeful breathing. Take time to pause and breathe before you speak. It grounds you, gives you time to reflect on your words, and makes you appear (and sound) more thoughtful.
• Speak with a clear, unrushed voice. When you connect with your confidence and conviction in what you do, it comes across in the strength of your voice. It’s not about yelling, it’s about speaking clearly and confidently, without mumbling or rushing.
• Practice the pause. Remember that story I told in the beginning of the chapter about demonstrating executive presence by only stating my name? It wasn’t only my name that commanded attention; it was the pause and eye contact that I used before stating my name, combined with the strength of my voice when I spoke. Taking the time to pause in front of an audience shows that you are comfortable with silence and causes people to lean in and listen.
• Watch out for uptalk and vocal fry. The vocal ticks we discussed in Chapter 6 are particularly harmful to your executive presence, as they can make you sound unsure or lazy. Let your cadence rise and fall naturally.
5. INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS
Throughout this book, I stress that public speaking is a way to build a relationship of trust with your audience. It’s also an integral part of your executive presence. It comprises your relationships with others, your reputation, and your integrity.
Your presence isn’t something you put on and take off like a jacket; it’s something you build with every single interaction. When you walk into a meeting, do others view you as a trustworthy partner? When you walk into a room or pick up a phone, your reputation precedes you. Sometimes you are in the meeting because of your reputation. Sometimes, you are in the meeting despite your reputation.
I’m sure you can think of someone who has a powerful voice, or confident body language, or flawless command of their subject—but you can’t trust them. Or perhaps you don’t trust the organization they represent. If you are all talk but no action, then it reduces your executive presence. Presence is not just about how you speak or act; it’s about how you make others feel.
Here are a few tips for improving those relationships:
• Be physically present with others. When you interact with others, are you focused, or distracted? Put aside your digital device or turn off notifications and be fully present with someone. Make direct eye contact, practice active listening, and focus solely on that person.
• Be accessible. If no one can get on your calendar and you don’t respond to emails, then you build a wall around yourself that prevents you from connecting with others. Make time to walk around and speak with people, and be available when others need to talk.
• Live your values. You set a strong example for others when you live the values you espouse. That’s why the Core Value Statement is such a powerful tool, as it helps you identify those values and think about how you live them with consistency. Recognize that you can serve as a role model every single day.
• Ask for feedback. Soliciting feedback from others—colleagues, managers, or friends—is a powerful way to build relationships and also a valuable way to develop self-awareness. In her book The Power of Presence, Kristi Hedges encourages people to complete a presence audit as a way of soliciting feedback from trusted colleagues3 and friends.
Each of the five components of executive presence calls on skills we have built so far in this book. Each time you speak, you have an opportunity to impact people’s behaviors and influence their actions. By focusing on your executive presence, you ensure that every aspect of your communication delivers the same powerful message.
Read through the five components of executive presence and evaluate yourself on each one on a scale of 1 to 5. Use the Executive Presence Self-Assessment available at www.speakwithimpactbook.com. Look at the lowest-rated categories and read through the tips above to address them.