As our society and culture becomes more casual, this word becomes more important for those who look to differentiate themselves from their peers.

This week’s leadership word: Presentation

Presentation is where presence meets projection.

People are always wanting to know (a) can I trust you and (b) are you prepared? A strong, positive presentation is a personal statement of both trustworthiness and readiness. This is true of a customer who walks up to consider your wares. This is true of a leader who is wondering if you have earned a promotion. This is true of a potential mate, employer or relationship.

Your personal presentation is a statement to others on how to interact and respond to you.  Poor personal presentation kills your influence and creates a negative impression. A positive personal presentation creates greater influence and calls for others to respond to you with seriousness, attention and respect.

Presentation is a statement about what you are offering. This is important, because you must learn to see the people around you as your potential investors. You must present yourself and your responsibilities well so that others are willing to invest. A strong, positive personal presentation creates a greater inclination towards trust and opens the door for opportunity.

Your dress, your attitude, your tone, your language, the number of words you use, your energy, your passion, your appearance, your grooming, your smell, your breath, your hair style and, yes, your social media presence all add up to equal your personal presentation. It’s not just one, it’s all of these and more combined at all times.

You must be sharp. This means you present a message by who you are of order, of dependability and preparation. If you are not presenting a message of sharpness, you are presenting a message of being dull. The sharp knife always replaces the dull one. This means sharp dressed, sharp groomed and sharp eyed.

Presentation means you have put the work in before you show up. Presentation means you don’t ever just show up. Your energy and your enthusiasm are contagious. People are drawn to energy. People are drawn to simple, sincere energy. Without it you are merely presenting ideas they are convinced you believe in or have changed you.

“Your enthusiasm becomes their enthusiasm; your lukewarm presentation becomes their lukewarm interest in what you are offering.”
-Bill Walsh

Your preparation determines your presentation. Your personal presentation is where you transmit your presence. Presentation, thus, is a powerful statement of who you are and what you are about. You want to strengthen your personal presentation. A great meal is enhanced by the atmosphere that is created. Your abilities are enhanced by your presentation, because you are not a hermit. You live among people. The Bible tells the truth, “People look at the outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Don’t deceive yourself, people do look at outward appearances (God looks at your heart). People are always looking. So, as you are dealing with people, you need  to prepare and to present well.

Wrapping paper paves the way for a gift, just as personal presentation paves the way for influence.

Let’s go to work!

(C) Alex Vann, 2018