Heads turn when you walk in the room? How is your personal presence?
Personal presence is often talked about, usually in the context of whether someone has it or not! What does it really mean and how important is it for professional success? Heads turning is a bit extreme and could be slightly unnerving but it is often considered an important aspect of building professional relationships.
From when I was a child, I remember going to one of my Dad’s corporate banking events and him talking about people with ‘presence’. Then, as I reached 6th form at school and led a Young Enterprise company, we talked about how other students had ‘presence’ when they were on stage showcasing their company as part of the competition.
Surely we all have presence?
We do indeed all have a presence, our state of being in a place at a given time. However, what people usually mean is that people with ‘presence’ have a very positive presence and get noticed for positive reasons when at an event and remembered after the event.
Positive presence is certainly important in any situation where you are at the forefront such as being interviewed, hosting an event, presenting or training. It’s important as it communicates credibility and encourages people to engage with what you are saying and respond positively to you. However, it is also significant in other situations where you might not be centre stage but you desire to be memorable and engaging to those that you meet such as at a networking event.
Many people talk about personal presence as if it’s something you have or not, like a magical sense of being. It does seem that some people do have a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ but there are definitely steps you can take to improve your personal presence and in turn people’s response to you and your career success.
Top tips for enhancing your personal presence:
Your posture – think of this from the moment you enter a room. Personally, this is the tip I most have to consider for myself as I am naturally a bit slumped forwards. Try to imagine a string pulling you up from the centre of your head towards the ceiling and remember to keep your shoulders down and pulled back. Great posture is essential for being positively noticed, particularly if you are centre stage presenting.
Loudest isn't always best – whilst it is important to be confident about your personal introduction, make sure you introduce yourself briefly and enable other people to interact with you before going into more detail about yourself. Definitely avoid the worst scenario of thrusting a business card in their direction immediately. It might sound obvious but I see this happen a lot. Trust is more easily built when you have taken time to listen to another person; it then makes picking up the conversation a lot easier and more meaningful later.
Your hands – make sure they are in a comfortable position, not folded across you or fiddling with your bag, your coins or your keys. You want to avoid both negative body language and distracting habits.
Your appearance – looking like you have bothered is key to ensuring you fit into the scenario comfortably. Being appropriately dressed for the time of day, occasion and environment will ensure you feel at ease and others are focused on what you are saying, not what you are wearing.
Be focused – before going into an event think carefully about the objective of your attendance and frame it positively. This will help you remain focused when there, whether presenting or networking and stop your mind from wandering.
Remember it is important to be yourself, if you try and act to be someone you are not that will come across as incongruent to others and you won’t feel confident either. However, you need to be your best self, so think carefully about what you are communicating and how by considering these tips. I hope these have been useful.
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