Increase your credibility and confidence 7 tips to create an executive presence

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(Free-Press-Release.com) March 30, 2004 -- We have all met people who seem to light up the room when they enter. Their energy fills the open space and � without saying a single word � they energize the space around them. And when they speak, the audience hangs on their every word.



What these individuals have � and many of us envy � is executive presence. Executive presence is hard to define, but most people know it when they see it. If you�d like to develop this presence and increase your credibility and confidence in both formal and informal speaking settings, consider the following tips:

1. Master the technique of gesturing. Gestures and mannerisms can make or break you. Imagine yourself in an airport, with conversations going on all around you. You are engaged in saying farewell to a friend. All of a sudden, the man and woman sitting next to you begin to wave their arms dramatically, their fingers urgently punching the air.



Immediately, your attention is diverted from your own conversation to this couple. Why did you ignore their words but now allow their gestures to distract you? It�s because movement commands attention.

Tip: If you are a woman, don�t walk like a model who brings the heel of one foot into the side of the other foot. Women who use this walk and pose often look as if they are pulling away from their audience � which doesn�t make for an authoritative stance.



If you are a man, don�t adopt the aggressive gunslinger pose with your arms extended slightly to the side, as if you are about to draw a pistol from a hip holster. This is not a relaxed or welcoming stance.



The most confident, authoritative posture is somewhere in between these two extremes. Use a confident, balanced posture to convey authority. Stand with your weight equally balanced on both feet (but without locked knees) and with shoulders and arms comfortably at your side or extended, not rigid.

Pay attention to your feet; what you do with your feet dictates your lower body posture.



2. Watch your body language. Body language shouts in front of a group. Your posture and your gestures are difficult to separate. Together they makr a total statement. What you do with your arms primarily controls