Presentations and meetings can cause cause anxiety. We worry about how our audience, whether strangers or colleagues, might perceive our intelligence and abilities. These fears are not baseless; how we communicate tells our audience whether we’re credible (or not). Even if we have compelling messages and well-designed slides, we won’t be persuasive if our voice, pacing and body language convey nervousness and insecurity.
This month two articles review how efforts to control how others perceive us can help or hinder us; Hermina Ibarra’s cover story of Harvard Business Review, “The Problem with Authenticity: How to Fake it Until You Make It,” and Sue Shellenbarger’s Wall Street Journal piece, “You Really Look Smart: How to Project Intelligence.” Both articles point to research that indicates how much people’s perception of us shape our ability to lead and persuade and motivate others.
The HBR piece acknowledges the difficulty of trying to project an image or level of confidence that we don’t actually possess. Finding a balance between our natural selves and the image we want to project requires us to adapt to our surroundings. It requires us to be more perceptive of external signals. Instead of viewing this adaptation as self-serving or manipulative, we should consider it as a way of increasing our effectiveness and a sign of our development as a leader. Ibarra cites Stanford psychologist Deborah Gruenfeld’s observation that finding the “right mix of distance and closeness in an unfamiliar situation” is a matter of managing the tension between authority and approachability. Those who fall into the “true -to-selfers” category, or who behave the same way regardless of situation, struggle to find this balance.
The WSJ looks at the relationship between first impressions and intelligence. It turns out many of the things that we believe will make us appear smarter can do the opposite. If we try too hard, “attempts at impression management actually magnified other cues signaling low intelligence.” Examples include using complex words, talking a lot, or adopting a serious facial expression.
Based on what HBR and the WSJ found, what can you do to adopt a more confident, intelligent, and authentic self?
In all cases:
- Use simple language.
- Speak and move in a relaxed manner.
- Listen carefully when others are speaking and asking questions. Pause before giving your answer.
For your next presentation:
- Consider the context of your presentation and what it requires from a leadership perspective. Do you need to encourage participation, acknowledge problems or show resilience or authority in a new position? What tone do you need to set?
- Look externally for role models and adapt their communication styles to match your desired tone. Think of people within your organization and outside of it who you admire. For example, who is your favorite TED presenter, politician, CEO, journalist or other leader who you think is effective? Watch their footage. Try emulating different mannerisms and communication techniques as you rehearse your remarks. Which leads to my final and favorite piece of advice:
- Practice. The greater comfort you have with your content, the more relaxed you will be when it is time to present. You’ll also make it easier to focus on your audience. You can be more thoughtful about reading their reactions and answering their questions because you won’t be consumed (or overwhelmed) by the task of remembering your content.
Bonus tips: use a middle initial and wear glasses.
This research reinforces a message that we cover in our presentation workshops.
We don’t have to become a different person when we get in front of an auditorium or even a 1:1 meeting with our manager. We want to find that intersection of a perhaps more corporate, buttoned up version of ourselves (if we come across as too casual), or as a warmer, more approachable person (if we’re perceived as too rigid or closed minded).
Good luck. Get out there and present better.
Meghan P. Dotter
