Small talk is an important skill which develops rapport and relationships, demonstrating your approachability and genuineness. Here are a few strategies you can use to come across as both interesting and interested.1. Get to know
If you're the kind of person who commands attention, admiration, and respect the moment you walk into a meeting or a social function, you're the very example of what's known as executive presence.
While the concept of emotional intelligence isn’t new, it’s been gaining traction in today’s business world. When employers talk about the importance of “soft skills” and traits such as resilience and empathy, they’re actually describing components of emotional intelligence.
Although the word “intelligence” is part of emotional intelligence, the concept isn’t really connected to intelligence as measured by IQ scores. Your IQ (intelligence quotient) score is essentially a measure of your brain’s intellectual capacity. In theory, the higher your IQ, the more easily you can grasp complex subjects. As such, we assume that people such as nuclear physicists, neuroscientists, and mathematicians have much higher IQs than most of us.
In contrast, emotional intelligence (what some refer to as EQ) involves an assessment of your emotional capacity. It describes your awareness of your own emotions and your ability […]
Once every quarter, CEOs and CFOs of public companies feel their pulses quicken and their temples throb as they stare at the boardroom's speakerphone.
One of our clients, Natalie Schneider, recently gave a TEDTalk about Innovation — going from zero to one.
Natalie is an amazing client, and this TEDTalk is the result of three sessions to craft the story and five grueling practice sessions. She practiced on her own about 24 times in between our last two sessions. Our last session was a dress rehearsal the day before the event, which was the first time she learned she had to stay on that little red carpet on a very large stage. She spoke before a 400-person audience, in which sat only 4 friends. The rest were complete strangers.
After completing this talk, we collaborated to create this article on 10 essential tips to crush your TEDTalk.
1. On the stage of the TEDTalk is a red dot. You’ve probably seen it as part of their branding. The red dot does […]
Ever wonder why some people get promoted over others despite the same level of work, preparation, or intelligence?
The reason often lies in something we call “executive presence.” It’s what helps you stand out in a crowded field of other top performers, and it accounts for more than 25% of what it takes to be promoted into leadership positions or get that next prime assignment.
Our Director of Public Speaking and Professional Presence, Alexandra Rufatto-Perry, was featured on the Martech interview series to speak about executive presence and why it’s important for marketing professionals. Alexandra and her CEO, Ellen Dunnigan, work as professional communications coaches with executives in a variety of industries to help them say what it is that they need or want to say, while looking and feeling their confident and influential best.
Want to find out more about executive presence and why […]
Sales over the phone, especially cold calls, are sometimes intimidating and difficult for the best of executives. Try these six strategies to improve your presence, your communication, and your odds.
Presenting to busy company leaders and clients requires us to shift our style of speaking from “details and conclusion” to “executive summary”. In a traditional Executive Summary in a business case, business plan, or white paper, the writer presents the key findings (or the conclusion or the “ask”) in the very first line of the document, followed by the salient facts and details — only the salient details. This is also the perfect guideline for your spoken word with busy executives.
Busy company leaders and client executives have little time and patience for details — and, really, they don’t need all of the details because those details are typically your job, and they count on you for that. Executives won’t and can’t take the time for a long […]
Ever wondered why some people get chosen or promoted over others despite the same level of work, preparation, or intelligence?
According to Deborah Gruenfeld of Stanford University, people make judgments about our competence within milliseconds. How do you prove yourself as competent and professional in that sliver of time?
It turns out there’s much you can control in how people experience you, even as you pass them in a hallway or stand in line for coffee. Scores of scientific studies have consistently pointed to three elements of “Executive Presence.”
3 Core Elements of Executive Presence
In short, Executive Presence hinges on three factors: Style, Substance and Character, accounting for more than 25% of the likelihood you’ll secure a prime assignment or leadership position.
When was the last time that you went to an event that didn’t have technology? No microphones, no speakers, no event lighting, no stage, no screens? It was a pretty long time ago, right? Now, we don’t consider an event a success without the proper technology, or at least a microphone! We can’t even go to church without coming into contact with some type of event technology that looks professional and amplifies the messages of the speakers and performers.
A couple of weeks ago, we spent time with Markey’s Rental and Staging – an onsite event technology provider based right here in Indianapolis. Did you know they have a 30,000 square foot warehouse? It houses many different types of event technology – from microphones to lights to speakers to stages and scaffolds – Markey’s has a variety of […]