This month I have been taking a deeper look into executive presence and all of the components that it is comprised of. I started by exploring executive presence in general here and then looked more deeply at the biggest component, gravitas here. If you haven’t read those yet, I highly recommend starting there. This week I’ll be digging into communication and how it can impact how you are perceived as a leader.
I have written about communication before (check out that post here) and discussed how important communication is in order to be effective as a leader. It’s true that being able to communicate effectively will help you lead more effectively, but it’s also true that how you communicate will also impact your authority and credibility. How you communicate can and will impact how people perceive you and your ability to lead.
When it comes to executive presence, communication is not so much what you say, but how you say it. In fact, research has shown that your content is the least important aspect of communication. Everything about how you deliver your message impacts how much your audience takes in and the impression they get of you as a result. So, what impacts your communication the most? Here are three things that can impact the success of your message and how you are perceived in the workplace.
Really great speaking skills.The one thing that impacts your communication the most is your speaking skills. In order to be perceived as a leader you need to have a compelling and concise speaking style. Most of us do have some verbal shortcoming that could impact our credibility. Your volume, pace, tone and inflection all have an impact on how you are perceived. Here are some things that could potentially undermine your executive presence:
- Being inarticulate
- Poor grammar
- An off-putting tone or accent
- Up- talk (making a statement sound like a question)
- Filler words
- Timber & pitch – the sound of your voice matters twice as much as what you are talking about. A 2012 study found that a voice in the lower frequency will encourage others to see you as successful, sociable and smart. A high-pitched voice, especially for women, is a career stunting attribute. This doesn’t mean you need to sound like a man, but humans are wired to tune into lower frequencies.
Helpful tip: Dump the filler words. Words like um, uh or like can get in the way of and detract from your message. You may not even know you use them. Tape yourself speaking and if you find you use them too often, work hard to remove them from your speech.
Read the room. If you want to capture the attention of your audience you have to be able to read that audience first. Sensing the mood and adjusting your language, content and communication style to your audience are crucial to your success as a communicator. If you don’t pay attention to the needs of your audience it may signal that you either don’t care to or can’t adjust your style to meet their needs. This can really damage your credibility and your executive presence.
Helpful tip: Put yourself in their shoes. Put yourself in the audience’s shoes and paint a picture balancing facts and stories depending on what they need. This doesn’t mean you have to give up your viewpoint, you just need to make your audience comfortable so they really hear what you say
Body language matters. Body language and facial expressions say SO much! People pay attention to the way you enter a room, how you sit in a meeting and even how you stand when you speak with them. How you show up in those moments will do a lot to shape the perceptions that people have of you. If you slouch in a meeting, it might signal to others in the room that you’re not paying attention or that the meeting isn’t important to you. If you sit up straight and look alert it will likely signal to others that you are paying attention. It also may give you a boost of self-confidence.
Helpful tip: Be present to project presence. Being present, in meetings, during conversations, even when chatting on the phone will help you boost your EP. When you are interacting with others, limit your distractions and pay attention. Put away your phone away! Checking your phone during meetings or conversations is one of the biggest ways you can damage your EP.
While communication isn’t the most important component of executive presence, it is a factor that can derail how people perceive you. Even if you have all the gravitas in the world, if you can’t communicate your message in a way that people can hear it, you won’t be seen as a leader. How do you think communication impacts executive presence?
