The Power of Presence: Unlock Your Potential to Influence and Engage Others

As you develop your mental aim, you also need to determine what conversation is currently in your head and how it may need to change. Even when you aren’t paying attention, your internal conversation is always happening.

I took the feedback to heart and literally looked in the mirror. I realized that my most relaxed expression is a frown. In other words, if I’m doing nothing I’m frowning. Not at all the presence I want to convey! So I worked hard to adjust my neutral expression to be upturned, or a slight smile. Now that expression feels natural to me.

One of the overarching messages of this research is that by focusing attention on what’s right rather than what’s wrong, and learning how to be resilient against negativity, we can guard ourselves against protracted setbacks and live a happier, more fulfilling life.

Determine Your Personal Presence Brand

I am routinely asked for the Right Way to stand, talk, gesture, or present. In fact, there is no Right Way. How you should stand, talk, gesture, or present depends on what you want to communicate. Anything else erodes authenticity—and for many people, confidence as well.

a great piece of wisdom: When someone says something unkind to you, it’s more about that person than it is about you.

When I address these top executives, I introduce the concept of the red blinking light. When a leader walks into a room, it’s as though a red blinking light is flashing a message: “This is important!” When the CEO goes into a meeting, the importance of that meeting rises. If he decides to skip a meeting, its importance is reduced. Leaders have to b

it is critical to get your head around what type of presence you want to demonstrate, the values you want to convey, and how that matches up (or doesn’t) with how others currently perceive you.

Having a personal presence brand of accountability is a deeply held core value of mine, which spans across my entire life and career. I’m chronically on time, will do almost anything to meet a deadline, and own up to my commitments probably far beyond what is expected of me. (This has a downside too, which rears its ugly head in my schedule.) When