The 3 skills behind executive presence

If you’ve been told you lack “executive presence” when you’re delivering a presentation, you know that something about how you’re coming across needs to change. What’s less clear is what, specifically, to work on.

A leader I coached, whom I’ll call Michael, had been told he needed stronger executive presence. He communicated effectively with his team but was less effective with senior executives.

Executive presence has become an umbrella term for effective communication, but what does it mean when you’re told you lack executive presence? Being able to communicate effectively and hold a room’s attention relies on several factors.

As Michael and I did dry runs for upcoming meetings, it became clear the problem wasn’t how he delivered his presentation. There were other gaps such as the information he selected, how he sequenced and organized the content, and how he responded to questions and pushback.

In my executive coaching work and more than a decade of teaching leadership communication at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, I’ve worked with professionals across industries and levels. I’ve identified three key areas to work on to strengthen your executive presence.

1. Assessing your audience’s needs

The first place where leaders often fall down is understanding what information their audience needs.

I coached one VP who was preparing a strategic plan for the C-suite. His draft was essentially a list of initiatives. He was missing the strategic reasoning behind the initiatives: why those priorities, what enterprise problems they addressed, what impact or tradeoffs they involved.

His audience wanted to understand the implications for the organization for each initiative, and the VP wasn’t helping. No matter how well he delivered his message, he was going to lose his audience because he wasn’t meeting their needs.

To address this, understand what your audience cares about. What are they responsible for achieving? What are they measured on? What decisions, risks, or tradeoffs do they need to consider? Tailor your message to their level, their needs, their challenges, and their priorities.

2. Structuring your message

You could have the right judgment about what to include, but fail to structure your message in a way that advances a decision or facilitates alignment.

In Michael’s case, he led with the details rather than the takeaway, both overall and on individual slides. That forced leaders to infer the implication, which his manager said made him come across as less strategic.

When you’re presenting, lead with the main takeaway, recommendation or ask, with supporting evidence in the body. The goal is to build a logical path from analysis to action or decision.

3. Preparing for Q&A

You could have the right content and the right framing in your presentation, but fumble the aftermath.

One senior leader I advised struggled when the board started asking questions. She looked and sounded as if she’d been caught off guard, and she fought to stay composed.

Before presenting, put yourself in the shoes of your audience once again. Anticipate their questions and objections. Prepare crisp, concise responses. Then rehearse in front of a colleague. Watch their facial expressions and body language to detect confusion or disagreement. Ask them to interrupt and ask questions or objections so you can practice responding with vocal and physical composure.

Executive presence rests on extensive preparation

If you’ve been told you need more executive presence, or suspect it yourself, get more specific before deciding what to work on. Identify what’s driving that impression, and focus your efforts there.

Delivery is the most visible part of executive presence, but it is rarely the whole problem.

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