Your ability to project confidence and executive presence is vital to your presentations and your career.

Audiences engage more with speakers who are confident in their material and delivery.

This article suggests three ways to do that.

Use Purposeful Body Language and Vocal Delivery

Confident presenters stand with an open posture, maintain appropriate eye contact, and use deliberate gestures to reinforce their message.

They are excited about their topic but are always in self-control.

Nonverbal behaviors communicate credibility and authority before a single word is spoken.

When you stand up to speak, smile, take five seconds to scan the audience, and notice which audience members are smiling back at you. These are the people you should concentrate on during your delivery.

Your voice also plays a critical role in executive presence. In fact, body language and voice account for most of your communication.

Speaking at a measured pace, varying vocal tone, and pausing strategically emphasize key points and help audiences absorb information.

When you have time, watch Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. This speech is a clinic in using your voice to deliver a powerful speech.

Avoid nervous habits such as fidgeting, pacing aimlessly, or speaking too quickly. It is hard to realize you are doing these things when you are delivering your presentation.

Two ways to determine this are to practice your presentation in front of a mirror and in front of a practice audience.

Deliberate movement and controlled vocal delivery signal that you are comfortable, prepared, and in command of the room.

Another way to signal to your audience your confidence and executive presence is to demonstrate you have mastered your material.

Demonstrate Mastery of Your Material

Executive presence begins with thorough preparation.

When you prepare your slides, use text sparingly. When you do have text, ensure it is in phrases, rather than sentences. Slides are a support for your presentation. They are not the message. You are the message.

Leaders who know their material well can explain complex ideas clearly, answer questions confidently, and adapt when unexpected situations arise.

This mastery will not come on your first attempt to deliver a specific presentation. You will have to deliver it repeatedly to master your material.

Rather than memorizing every word, understand your key messages, supporting evidence, and desired outcomes.

Earl Nightingale said, “Speak ideas, not words.” This approach allows you to speak naturally while maintaining focus on your core message.

Have your personality come out. You will be most credible if you deliver your presentation as if you were naturally having a conversation with another person.

Preparation also reduces anxiety. Think about a test you studied for thoroughly. Then think about a test you crammed for the night before. Which circumstance made you feel the most anxiety? It was the latter.

When presenters are deeply familiar with their content, they project calmness and confidence, even when facing challenging questions or technical difficulties.

Two ways to project confidence and executive presence are to use purposeful body language and vocal variety and demonstrate mastery of your material.

A third way is to communicate with clarity, brevity, and audience focus.

Communication with Clarity, Brevity, and Audience Focus

Executives value concise, audience-centered communication. They don’t have time to wade through detailed material in your presentation.

Knowing your audience is the absolute first step in creating your presentations. What is important to them? What business impacts matter most to them? What is their opinion of what you are presenting?

Strong presenters focus on the most important information and avoid overwhelming listeners with excessive detail. Put detailed slides in your backup and hyperlink to them if necessary.

Frame your message around audience needs, business impact, and actionable recommendations.

Remember, your presentations should be centered on your audience’s wants and needs, not yours.

You may be excited about a particular technology and want to discuss it in detail. Your audience may not. You need to know this before you create a single slide.

When audiences immediately understand why information matters to them, they are more likely to perceive the speaker as a credible leader.

Use simple language, clear structure, and decisive recommendations.

Presenters who communicate with clarity and purpose are often viewed as possessing strong executive presence and leadership potential.

Three ways you can project confidence and executive presence are: (1) use purposeful body language and vocal variety, (2) demonstrate mastery of your material, and (3) communicate with clarity, brevity, and audience focus.

Confidence and executive presence do not come overnight. You must get out there and speak to a variety of audiences to develop this.

Is it worth developing these?

What is a higher salary, leadership positions, and higher esteem from your direct reports, peers, and superiors worth to you?

Call to Action

• When you stand up to speak, smile, take five seconds to scan the audience, and notice which audience members are smiling back at you. These are the people you should concentrate on during your delivery.

• Become deeply familiar with your content to project calmness and confidence, even when facing challenging questions or technical difficulties.

• Frame your message around audience needs, business impact, and actionable recommendations.

References

• Goman, Carol Kinsey. The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help—or Hurt—How You Lead. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2011. Carol Kinsey Goman is an executive coach, leadership consultant, and internationally recognized expert on body language in business.

• Cuddy, Amy. Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2015. Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist, former professor at Harvard Business School, and researcher specializing in nonverbal behavior and presence.

• Duarte, Nancy. Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Nancy Duarte is a communication expert, CEO of Duarte, Inc., and author specializing in presentation design and leadership communication.

• Gallo, Carmine. Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2014. Carmine Gallo is a communication coach, keynote speaker, and bestselling author on leadership communication and presentation skills.

• Morgan, Nick. Power Cues: The Subtle Science of Leading Groups, Persuading Others, and Maximizing Your Personal Impact. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2014. Nick Morgan is a communication theorist, keynote speaker, and founder of Public Words, a communications consulting firm.

• Molinsky, Andy. Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge, and Build Confidence. New York, NY: Avery, 2017. Andy Molinsky is a professor of organizational behavior at Brandeis University and an expert in leadership, confidence, and professional behavior.

Being a confident, engaging, and effective STEM speaker is a vital personal and professional asset. With more than 40 years of engineering experience and more than 30 years of award-winning public speaking experience, I can help you reduce your presentation preparatory time by 50%, overcome your fear of public speaking and be completely at ease, deliver your presentations effectively, develop your personal presence with your audience; and apply an innovative way to handle audience questions deftly.

Working closely with you, I provide a customized protocol employing the critical skills and tools you need to create, practice, and deliver excellent STEM speeches and presentations. Let’s connect and explore how I can help you become the exceptional speaker you were meant to be. Please reach out to me at [email protected] or 703-509-4424 for a complimentary consultation. Schedule a meeting with me at calendly.com/frankdibartolomeospeaks