Whether we are doing a presentation or leading a meeting or doing anything else where we need to be at the centre of attention (for the right reasons) the most important first step comes with establishing a presence.

We probably all remember our school days when on one extreme if a teacher was coming down the corridor and one of us shouted that he was on the way then suddenly the noise dies down and the class sit down ready, before he even gets to the classroom. Then on the other hand there is another teacher who walks down the corridor and into the classroom and even reaches the front of the classroom without the children even blinking an eye. That same teacher then struggles to initially get the attention of the students.

This is presence and at the risk of being chauvinistic – not my intention and feel free to disagree with me – I think it is  something that comes easier to men and I suspect that it is to do with two things, first of all men tend to have a harder, goal-focused approach and women tend to be softer with them being more emotionally in touch. Of course this generalisation does not apply across the board. One of my most effective teachers was Mrs Townsend, a formidable mathematics teacher and one of the softest was Mr Hunter my history teacher who frankly was too kind until he lost his temper and then we would fall into line.

Presence is a somewhat effervescent quality, but there are things we can do to help give us a leg up and these principles apply whether we are in the classroom or the board room.

So let’s start with the most basic and obvious thing.

Appearance

You only get one chance to make a first impression, and that first impression will probably be your appearance as you walk into the room or when your attendees enter after you.   Appearance goes way beyond what you are wearing (although that, of course, is important) but the overall impression that you give. It includes confidence, cheerfulness and appearing to be in total control (whatever the reality may be!).

One thing I used to do when I was teaching kids was to get ahead of them and set up the classroom and transform the unruly rabble who were gathered around the classroom into two orderly queues; boys and girls. The queue who was first went in first and then they were told to stand behind their desks until I arrived at the front of the classroom. This was completely contrary to the culture of where I was working at the time and superficially it might look like I was being a control freak. However, the reality was that I was getting ahead of them and  by getting them to behave in an acceptable manner before I even started frankly made the start of the lesson easier and faster and that was all that matter. They protested initially and some of the other teachers were shocked, but it is unacceptable for them to come in like a bunch of hooligans and what better way to establish presence than to start as I mean to go on.

I wouldn’t necessarily do this in the boardroom though.

Behaviour

While related to my example above I can go a bit further here. This includes how you sit or stand, how you move around the classroom, when you smile, when you laugh, and how you react to the behaviour of those around you.  Don’t hide behind your desk / lectern or presentation; walk about make every student know believe that you are talking to them.  Make frequent eye contact and address people by name if appropriate (this is wonderful for keeping people on their toes. Ask questions or look for confirmation to show that you are directing, but open to input and in the classroom (and hopefully nowhere else!) correct behaviour problems immediately – don’t let them carry on in the background because they will only increase.  Never try to talk above the cacophony of others – if anything, lower your voice.

Knowledge

You will not appear confident if you don’t know your subject matter of the lesson. The adage a failure to prepare is preparing to fail is absolutely true. You might get caught out or lose your place – eg in a presentation – but there is nothing wrong with slowing down and taking what appears to be a planned / intentional pause if you need to recompose yourself. Try to think through any contingency and how you would handle it (including technical failures). The point is that you need to look in control.

Subject

The content needs to be within the grasp of everybody in the room but somehow challenge them at the same time. Related to preparation, figure out how to make it as interesting as possible and use your communication toolkit to its fullest extent to sway influence over others and to provoke their thinking. Think about what you are doing in stages. The introduction should raise anticipation and establish a clear direction before moving onto the main body of what you want to say, use formal or informal questioning to create greater interaction (=engagement and makes absorption of the information more effective) and then summarise your main points to drive them home again.

To conclude, presence is about owning the situation, even if you don’t at all times feel like you do. Look in control and others will respect that and follow your lead. If in doubt look at those around you who either are very effective or ineffective in doing this as the provide a model of what works and what doesn’t work.

Focus on what works.

As always stay safe and well my friends.