Intro: Executive Presence Transformation
There’s nothing worse than presenting on stage or camera and experiencing that rising feeling of “OMG, I’m boring!” It’s magnified since all eyes are upon you to inspire, lead, and motivate.
A flatness takes over, a loud silence, but pushing past it to light up the room seems impossible, despite how hard you’ve worked on your executive presence.
Executive Presence can seem mysterious and unattainable, but taking the leap that transforms your performance, or pitch from so-so to sensational may be simpler than you thought: stop working so hard!
In this blog:
- My story
- America’s Got Talent! Really?
- Identify what’s holding you back
- Hard work could be sabotaging your executive presence
- Take the risk: If You Aren’t Having Fun, No One Else Is
1 My story
Getting into graduate school for acting is tough. I wasn’t accepted the first time I tried.
For the next round of auditions, I hired an acting coach. We worked hard for months exploring every detail of my audition pieces. I understood the peaks and valleys of my monologues, where to put effective pauses, what my characters’ motivations were, possibilities for inflections, the body language of each character, and their emotional landscapes.
And it worked! I secured a full scholarship to one school and partial scholarships to others. Ultimately, I chose the National Theatre Conservatory where over 1,200 auditioned for a coveted twelve spots.
My first day, I realized that, of my eleven classmates, most were the stars of their undergraduate theatre programs and I was in above my head! Though I did some performing in undergrad, I didn’t study theatre. I felt like an imposter.
2 America’s Got Talent. Really?
Reviews by faculty after performances were horrifying. Imagine “America’s Got Talent,” except you’re sitting alone in a room with seven judges (professors), each picking apart your performance. I referred to these reviews as “the torture chamber.”
With notes about my performance perched in front of them, all seven faculty members were staring at me. At the head of the table was the director of the program who possessed all the pomp and circumstance and talent you’d expect from his vast experience at the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. (When he directed me as Portia in “Merchant of Venice,” he knew every single line of the play by heart).
3 Identify what’s holding you back
In one particularly intimidating review half-way through my program, three faculty members said I was really bad. They saw my first performance . The remaining four said I was really good. They saw the second performance.
I had no idea what the difference was between the two, but at least there was a ray of hope.
All seven professors waited for an explanation of why the performances were so different. I was speechless. I honestly didn’t know, except the second performance did seem easier and more fun… almost too easy, actually. It definitely didn’t feel like work.
They wouldn’t let me leave the room until we discovered the cause of this long sought after transformation. The only difference I could think of was that I forgot to bring the black leather boots I’d been wearing in rehearsals to the show.
These boots with their worn-out soles, rigid lacing system, and softening leather that remained sturdy despite time, were the essence and soul of my character. My plan all along was to wear these magical boots to help me become my character.
Big deal, right? Um, yes. I was in a panic – how could I play this character without my boots?
4 Hard work could be sabotaging your executive presence
This mistake actually turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me.
It somehow unhinged me enough that it shifted my focus from a “hard work approach,” which was snuffing the life out of my character, to paying attention to what was happening on-stage.
This kind of performing is a lot easier, and I started really enjoying the rush of it. The results were in… “yes, Madeleine, you do have talent, but you have to stop working so hard. It’s getting in the way of your performing.”
Finally, for the first time on stage, I was living in the moment. And, wow, did it feel great!… even easy. In fact, it felt like I was “playing.” And, when you think about it, it’s called a “play” for a reason.
We collectively agreed that bringing hard work to the stage was my version of stage fright. I have seen one version or another of this in many of my clients.
My version of stage fright could be yours. I just wish someone had pointed it out to me earlier.
Click here for 5 tips for Overcoming Your Fear of Being On Camera
5 If You Aren’t Having Fun, No One Else Is
This goes for anyone – from CEO to TV Host to Interviewer to Interviewee to Actor. When you’re enjoying yourself in the moment and interacting more freely with the people in front of you – your brilliance can shine through. And, your audience is much more likely to enjoy you, have fun, and remain engaged. Plus, it will be a lot easier to connect with what you’re saying.
After all, having fun is so much more interesting to watch than prepackaged, over-rehearsed, predictable and boring. So, take the risk and leave your work behind.
CONCLUSION
When executive coaching and media training I find it’s just as important to address the underlying issues that may be inhibiting executive presence as it is to teach tools, skill, and craft. These underlying hiccups, like working too hard, can get in the way of speeches, presentations, and interviews that have the seeds of greatness.
Many people have no idea what’s really holding them back. But most often, what appears to be a big roadblock, is really just a small issue that needs to be pointed out and then shifted. That’s when you can really start enjoying the process and having fun. And, again, I promise you – if you aren’t having fun, nobody watching you is either!
We can all be great speakers. We can all be compelling on camera. We can all have a magnetic and powerful executive presence. But the real question is, are we enjoying it? If we aren’t, we need to take that one extra step which can be the difference between so-so and sensational.
If you want to take the leap from so-so to sensational, click here for a preliminary free 15-minute consultation.
