There are people who walk into a meeting, get up to give a presentation, or answer a difficult question and immediately seem to have a little more weight in the room. It is not always because they have the biggest title or the most experience. Sometimes they are not even the smartest person sitting at the table. But there is something about the way they communicate, listen, respond, and carry themselves that makes other people pay attention.
We usually call that “executive presence”. I have started thinking about it as The Standout Edge.
The more work I do with executives around speaking and presentation skills, the more convinced I am that presentation skills and executive presence should not be treated as two different things. They are deeply connected. If you are standing on a stage in front of 500 people, executive presence matters. If you are sitting in a conference room presenting to six people, it matters. If you are talking to the board, pitching an idea, interviewing for a bigger role, leading a difficult conversation, or simply giving an update in a weekly meeting, the way you communicate influences how people experience you as a leader.
This is where I think some very talented people get stuck. They are good at what they do, sometimes exceptionally good, but the way they communicate does not always reflect the full level of their ability. They may over-explain, bury the important point, rush when they speak, get uncomfortable with silence, lose confidence when challenged, or simply fail to connect with the people in the room. None of those things mean they are not capable. But there can be a gap between how capable someone actually is and how capable other people perceive them to be.
That gap matters.
To me, executive presence is not about looking like some Hollywood version of a CEO. It is certainly not about learning where to put your hands when you speak or memorizing a handful of body-language tricks. It is about whether people experience you as someone who is clear, confident, credible, and connected.
Can you explain what you think without making people work too hard to understand you? Can you speak with confidence without trying to prove how confident you are? Can you listen when someone else is talking instead of simply waiting for your turn? Can you answer a difficult question without becoming defensive? Can you say, “I don’t know,” without losing your footing? Can you adjust to the room while still sounding like yourself?
Those are communication skills, but they are also leadership skills.
This is why I do not think you can separate executive presence from presentation skills. Speaking is one of the places where people get to see your leadership in action. When you have the floor, whether that floor is a keynote stage or the end of a conference table, people are making judgments about more than the information you are sharing. They are deciding whether they trust you. They are deciding whether you understand the issue. They are deciding whether you understand them. They are deciding whether they want to keep listening.
Over more than two decades as a professional speaker, I have learned that strong communication is not something most people are simply born knowing how to do. It is a skill. You get better through practice, feedback, repetition, and being willing to notice the things you are doing that are getting in your own way.
The same is true with executive presence.
The goal is not to turn someone into a polished corporate robot. In fact, I think that can make things worse. I have seen people who have learned all the supposed rules of public speaking and somehow stopped sounding like themselves. That is not what I am talking about.
The Standout Edge is about becoming a stronger version of the communicator you already are. Your personality should still show up. Your sense of humor should still show up. Your experience and point of view should absolutely show up. What should disappear are the habits that distract from those things.
The best leaders I have watched usually are not desperately trying to stand out. They are comfortable enough with themselves that they can focus on the message and the other people in the room. They know what they want to say, but they are also paying attention to what is happening around them. They can be confident without being arrogant, authoritative without being distant, and prepared without sounding rehearsed.
That is The Standout Edge.
As people move higher in their careers, I think this becomes more important, not less. Early in a career, technical ability and hard work can carry you a long way. But eventually you reach a point where you are expected to communicate ideas, influence decisions, represent the organization, develop other people, and lead through uncertainty.
Your expertise may have gotten you into the room. Your ability to communicate that expertise can have a lot to do with what happens once you are there.
Over the years I have occasionally worked privately with executives on public speaking, presentation skills, and executive presence, and recently I have had more people reaching out to me about this part of my work. I am going to continue to keep it deliberately small.
I am not trying to build a giant executive coaching practice. I am interested in working with a limited number of successful leaders who are serious about getting better. Usually these are people who already know how to lead and already have a track record of success, but recognize that stronger communication and a greater Standout Edge could make a real difference in whatever comes next.
Sometimes what they need is practice. Sometimes they need a fresh set of eyes. Sometimes they need someone outside their company who will tell them what is working, what is getting in their way, and where they can improve.
Most successful people do not need someone to reinvent them.
They need someone to help make sure the way they communicate reflects the leader they have already become.
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Thom Singer, CSP, is a professional speaker and coach. He is also the CEO at the Austin Technology Council.
The Standout Edge – Executive presence and presentation skills coaching is available to executives in the Austin, Texas area. For those not in the Austin area, a group program can be created if you have a team of five or more executives who want to have custom program in your area. Coaching programs for The Standout Edge not offered remotely.