“Executive Presence” is usually taught like a cross between acting lessons and finishing school. In other words, dressing for the role. Stand up straight. Confidence in the project. Make direct eye contact. Please speak in a low voice. The underlying idea is that if you learn to look and act like a certain kind of leader, people will treat you like one.
Having spent years training executives to communicate effectively, I agree: Dressing nicely and having a good posture certainly helps. But they don’t really help you lead people or companies.
Leadership boils down to consistently demonstrating good judgment, usually through what you say and how you say it. People we perceive as authoritative tend to know what to say before other people. They convey more meaning with fewer words, organize complex ideas in simple ways, and, importantly, seem to know when to stop talking.
These habits make people want to listen to you. Fortunately, these are skills that can be learned rather than personality-based. The two most important starting points are:
1. Don’t say much
Imagine someone in a room full of colleagues asks, “Will the report be completed on Tuesday?” Compare these two answers.
“Well, oh, I mean, do you think it should probably be ready by then? We’re still waiting for some numbers from the finance team, but depending on what happens there, assuming we get those numbers by Monday morning or late Monday before that, I think 3. Then, yes, we should be able to have it ready by Tuesday, hopefully.” “Yes. It should be ready by Tuesday.”
In my experience, the higher the rank, the shorter the answers tend to be.
Young employees are often too self-conscious and don’t realize that their audience doesn’t want to hear them think out loud or prove their intelligence. Overexplaining is one of the quickest ways to undermine your authority.
Therefore, the first big step to increasing your executive presence is to eliminate the extraneous words and phrases that get in your way. Here are some common types of word confusion I would say to get you started editing your speech.
Filler words such as “um” and “um” require more effort from the audience’s ears and brain, but do not contribute to understanding at all. Hedges are words or phrases that weaken what you say without changing the content, such as “I think,” “maybe,” “somehow,” “I just wanted to say…” and “if that makes sense.” Clumsy phrasing and superfluous words will only get in the way. Replace “about 6 or 7” with “7”. Replace “assuming you can get them by Monday morning or by 3pm on the Monday before” with “if you can get them by 3pm on Monday.” Jargon can dull your audience’s attention and make it difficult to understand. Always use the simplest and most direct terminology possible (note that I didn’t say “utilize”). Unrelated explanations, processes, context, and answers that go beyond the scope of the question obscure the point with unnecessary and unhelpful information.
2. Please tell me the answer first
The important thing is to start with every answer…an answer.
If someone asks me when to start a project, I start with “Tuesday.” When asked if you support the proposal, start with “yes.” When asked what happened to the acquisition, start with, “We decided not to proceed.”
Next, make three to five clear supporting points and explain why.
For example, you can say: “We decided not to proceed for three reasons. First, economic conditions have changed. Second, we found regulatory issues during our diligence. And third, we believe there are better uses for the capital.”
Because your thoughts are organized, your answers feel authoritative. People are surprisingly quick to make judgments about speakers. If they don’t know where you’re going within seconds, they may lose focus and wonder if you understand what you’re talking about. But people are more likely to keep listening if you give them the answer first.
Obviously, not all questions lend themselves to completely boilerplate answers. You don’t want to oversimplify or convey a false sense of certainty. The goal is to differentiate between the information your audience needs and the information you happen to know.
The more you learn to speak in concise, declarative language and practice putting your answers first, the easier it will be to stop rambling, get rid of bad language habits, and give responses that feel purposeful and understandable, even when the subject matter is complex.
You’ll probably feel less nervous and more confident. At some point, there is no longer a need to manufacture or “project” authority. I’m sure you’ll get it.
John Bowe is an executive communications and presentation coach, award-winning journalist, and author of I Have Something to Say: Mastering the Art of Public Speaking in the Age of Disconnection. He has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and many other publications.
