Executive presence

by Executive presence is the ability to connect authentically with others, inspire and influence them to act. Simply put, your presence is the way you are in the world – how you show up, act, and interact with others. Your presence determines the quality of your relationships and what you […]

The Five Dimensions of Executive Presence

4 Dec, 2018 in Executive presence tagged communication / embodiment / executive presence / leadership by Maria Wilhelmsson

Enhancing your executive presence. Improve your personal presence one baby step at a time. — by Have you ever cultivated the thought that you could benefit from enhancing your personal presence, but struggle to find the time and energy to do anything about it? Here are some small steps you can take to move you in the right direction. Step one – find out […]

Enhancing your presence one baby step at a time

6 Nov, 2017 in Executive presence tagged coaching / communication / executive presence by Maria Wilhelmsson

Strategies that may sabotage your communication — by What is your standard response to stress and how does it affect your communication and your relationships? When under pressure or exposed to conflict, we tend to cope along three dimensions: by moving move toward people (compliance), against them (aggression), or away from them (withdrawal). These are instinctive behaviours […]

Strategies that sabotage your communication

21 Jul, 2017 in Body language / Executive presence tagged centering / communication by Maria Wilhelmsson

by Life isn’t fair. Great ideas don’t automatically win over bad ones. Outstanding individuals don’t necessarily get promoted over mediocre ones. Your talents and contributions aren’t always visible to the rest of the world. Life isn’t fair. But could it also be that we are not always fair on […]

Life isn’t fair. Do yourself justice.

10 Dec, 2015 in Body language / Executive presence / Influencing skills / Public speaking by Maria Wilhelmsson

Gravitas- the link between merit and success. Personal presence, public speaking. — by Knowledge, experience, and results are all good and necessary – but not enough. In today’s business world, leaders need gravitas to be successful. Gravitas and the word gravity are connected. Having gravitas is having “weight” as a speaker, both literally and in the words that you say. Followers […]

Gravitas – the link between merit and success

1 Apr, 2015 in Executive presence / Influencing skills / Public speaking / Uncategorized / Voice tagged authenticity / gravitas / leadership / speaking by Maria Wilhelmsson

Your body - a mere brain-taxi or dormant leadership resource? Embodiment. — by If you have ever been around a great leader – be it a boss, a parent, a famous politician – you will have experienced their embodied presence. The way they enter the room, the way they command respect as they speak, and the way they make you feel seen […]

Your body – simple brain-taxi or dormant leadership asset?

9 Jan, 2015 in Body language / Executive presence / Influencing skills tagged body / embodiment / leadership by Maria Wilhelmsson

Be generous to your audience. The courage to be imperfect and its rewards. Take a risk and express your true self. Audiences are not looking for perfection, they yearn to listen to real people who are authentic and sincere. — by A while ago I was coaching a senior manager – let’s call her Karen – to use more expansive body language in delivering her presentation. Karen felt awkward and uncomfortable, but decided to give it a try. The feedback she received from her peers was overwhelmingly positive: they […]

The courage to be generous and imperfect

2 Sep, 2014 in Body language / Executive presence / Influencing skills / Public speaking by Maria Wilhelmsson

The 3 key principles of persuasion. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Communication skills. — by Do you want people to remember and to take action on what you propose? Is your preparation before a presentation limited to perfecting your slides? Read on! It’s now more than 2300 years ago that Aristotle formulated his principles of persuasion – and they still hold today. According […]

The 3 Key Elements of Persuasion

15 Jul, 2014 in Body language / Executive presence / Influencing skills / Public speaking tagged audience / communication / credibility / emotions / impact / leadership / persuasion / principles by Maria Wilhelmsson

Trust is foundational to personal presence and successful business relationships. — by Trust is foundational to your personal presence and all successful business relationships. You need other people to feel comfortable about your motives and credibility to invest in you as a person – let alone to allow themselves be influenced or led by you. Trust has to be earned, […]

What has trust got to do with presence? Everything!

28 Jan, 2014 in Executive presence / Influencing skills tagged credibility / intimacy / reliability / selt-orientation / trust by Maria Wilhelmsson

The art of being an authentic speaker. Publiic speaking, personal presence. Connecting with the audience. — by Authenticity is one of the most important qualities in leadership communications today. We want leaders who look real. We believe that people are authentic when they show us their hearts or are open with us in a way that feels sincere. We think of others as authentic when they […]

The art of being an authentic speaker

9 Dec, 2013 in Body language / Executive presence / Public speaking tagged authenticity / communication / connection / listening / openness / passion by Maria Wilhelmsson

Breathe life into your presence. Power your voice. Center and calm yourself. — by Human beings can survive without food for weeks, without water for days, but without air only for a few minutes. Our breath is the source of our life as well as the source of our voice. Yet, the breath is one of the first things to be affected […]

Breathe life into your presence

12 Nov, 2013 in Executive presence / Public speaking / Voice tagged breathing / confidence / managing anxiety / posture / power by Maria Wilhelmsson

voice, charisma, playfulness. — by Ever heard of beatboxing? According to Wikipedia “Beatboxing (also beatbox, beat box or b-box) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one’s mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, […]

Our innate ability for human noise-making

4 Oct, 2013 in Executive presence / Music / Voice tagged creativity / playfulness / rhythm / voice by Maria Wilhelmsson