His question was not atypical. “What can I do to look more confident to my audience?” I get this one a lot in my workshops. I paused for a moment and said, “You’ve got to be more confident.” Of course, I had to say that with a smile and a wink. There’s a big difference […]
Ever wonder what your audience thinks of you? Have you tried your best to read their body language and facial expressions? What do they really think of you? Do they see you as an expert? Do they know you’re not? Can they see you’re nervous? The questions they ask might be your best clue. Here’s […]
“Um, Good morning everyone. I… uh… well, I’m really glad to be here and um… um… really excited to share um, our thoughts on, um, well it’s not just our thoughts really, it’s really um, our vision, um…well, um… let’s get started.” Your speaker for the day begins like this and you’re in the audience. […]
I’m sure you’ve heard the advice from others to grab your audiences’ attention from the very start of your presentation. Then, hang on to it throughout your presentation. That sounds great! The tough part is answering the question… “Now, how do I do that exactly?” Don’t use a joke! I’m sure at some point you’ve […]
You might be surprised, or maybe you wouldn’t. I’ve had the opportunity to coach senior level executives, including the CxO levels, and sometimes it surprises me when I get this question. “I still get nervous before I step out there to speak. What can I do?” It’s not just executives. It’s all of us. I […]
My colleague and friend Cynthia Oelkers is an absolute rock star with communication, so it didn’t surprise me when she published an amazing blog post titled, “How to Rock a Panel.” I was delivering a workshop on Leader Presence this week for a corporate customer and one student asked me, “Do you have any tips […]
I knew it wasn’t going to be your normal conference kickoff keynote when I entered the ballroom and found a bongo at every audience seat. I was in the audience that day with about 400 other attendees. We couldn’t help but pick up the bongo, inspect it and experiment with tapping on it. Then one […]
“How is leader presence any different from normal presence?” My student asked this question immediately after I defined the two elements that make up a first impression; your perceived confidence and your approachability. My student persisted with a follow up question before I could even respond, “I mean, isn’t your presence just these two things, […]
