Unforgettable Presence

A good reminder of how to play the corporate game

Post-reading reflections

• I did not feel I learnt anything particularly new in this book, and found some advice to be a repetition of what I have previously read in other books or online. Given her background in LinkedIn I was expecting more insights to building a network and executive presence.

• That said, I would recommend the book to people early in their careers as it gives a solid foundation on what to work on beyond just getting good at your job. The part about running good virtual meetings is not mentioned in other books, and worth reading as a refresher to be more conscious of how we show up virtually.

• As always, books about improving your presence (especially in the corporate context) are useless without execution. It takes a lot of work to consciously remind yourself to share your wins (and do so in an appropriate way) and build visibility for yourself. It’s not something you “get right” in six months and be done with it.

• Suggested action plan: Read the book, and commit to implementing 1 change immediately in the next week. The easy win is to read out to 1 co-worker for a networking lunch, or to be more conscious about filler words in meetings. (No more excuses about not having opportunities to implement learnings!)

Building your career brand

• Think smartly about our careers

• Something like a personal brand

• Be the CEO of your own career, change your mindset

  • Before: Promotions happen with time

  • After: I need to advocate for myself at every opportunity

• EPIC brand, your brand recipe

  • Experiences, Personality, Identity, Community

Turn video into a superpower

• Mind your microphone, webcam

• Find good camera framing

• Maintain good energy

• Friendly face: smile, laugh, use your hands, eye contact

Body language in office

• No crossed arms, no holding laptop against chest

• Manage energy, e.g. downtime between meetings, reset energy level

Use LinkedIn the right way

• Update your profile

• Post content

• [Nat’s note: I skipped this section as I found it to be rather generic, nothing particularly insightful]

• Measure what matters e.g. profile views, message results, your inner circle

Be a confident communicator

• Exude warmth and competence (backed by Princeton study)

Step 1: Prepare before you say a word

• Nerves come from distrust of content e.g. what if my work isn’t good enough

• Believe in your content

• Signpost that’s to come, a road map

• Create structure & order

• Use stories

Step 2: Practice makes perfect-ish

• Not to memorise, but get an overall sense of that you want to say

  • Why not memorise? Once you follow a script, you could lose your spot and never find it again

• Invest time to practice: 60 mins of practice per minute of speaking, High bar to meet but it shows how important practice is

• Record yourself

• Set a routine before you speak e.g. pro athletes at game time also have a routine

• Get started and start small e.g. with friends and family

Step 3: Engage with audience

• Pattern interrupt

• State changes

• Brainstorm

• Polls

Step 4: Conduct a post-talk analysis

• Watch recording

• Review facials, body language, how you sound

• Get feedback from your mentor

• Review audience feedback/feedback

Supercharging virtual presentations

• Presentation Attention Toolbox

• Hook people attention right away, beg in at the end, get people involved early

• Understand your audience, a matrix

  • What they think/do/feel

  • Before vs after your talk

• Keep it moving

  • More slides for engagement, 2 movements per minute e.g. animation

• Use arresting visuals

• Vary your voice

  • Inflection

  • Pauses

  • Volume

  • Pauses

  • Raise your voice to avoid filler words (speak 25% louder)

• Communicate with your body

  • Strong posture

  • Make eye contact

  • Use hand gestures

  • Smile

• Finish with a strong conclusion

  • A recap

  • A CTA

  • Ask for people to connect

Career advancement

• Make yourself unforgettable to executives

  • Learn their communication style

  • Understand their priorities

  • Master meetings and presentations

  • Create credibility and trust

  • Get comfortable with data

• Building influence at any level

  • Relationships

  • Appearance

  • Visibility (how & where you’re seen)

  • Expertise (through giving feedback)

• Find advocates and sponsors

  • Internal, pragmatic and aspirational mentors

  • Pragmatic: 10 steps steps ahead of you

  • Aspirational: 1,000 steps ahead of you

• Expand your network

  • Network internally (co-workers)

  • Network externally

• Managing your manager

  • Know their goals and work styles

  • Set times and manage expectations

  • Communicate often

  • Skip level meetings (15 min, be prepared for them to ask what you are working on)

• Going for a promotion (have a promotion plan and tangible outcomes)

Leadership and management

• Trust your team

• Be transparent

• Lead with empathy

• Set 1:1s, and let it be led by direct reports

• Project pre- and post- mortems (pre-mortem to identify failure risks)

• Build a culture of feedback

Increase your team’s presence

• Put your wins in a team newsletter

• Volunteer to share your team’s work at all-hands meetings

• Tell your manager what your team is doing well

• Send success email to team and cc leadership

• Get to know your peers

• Learn how to delegate

  • Decide what to delegate

  • Decide who to delegate to

  • What if things go wrong? Reflect and learn

Expert advice on executive presence

• “Executive” person means different thing to everyone

• If you get feedback on improving executive presence, be sure to ask for more details on what they mean