What is Powerful Presence?

Hello and welcome to the Business of Powerful Presence. Thank you for being here, I know your time is your most valuable asset. I am your host and guide, Karen Bannister, and I aim to bring highest quality and value to your listening experience to enhance your life and help you achieve your goals.

In this episode, we are going to discuss and clarify exactly what “presence” is. Because we can’t have the discussion on how to improve it, or build it, unless you understand what it is.

When you venture off into the world to find a definition of presence, you’ll find a good mix. What I find interesting, and something I agree with, is that most people equate having presence with having confidence. And that makes sense, right?

Psychology Today defines confidence as “a belief in oneself, the conviction that one has the ability to meet life's challenges and to succeed—and the willingness to act accordingly. Being confident requires a realistic sense of one’s capabilities and feeling secure in that knowledge.

Projecting confidence helps people gain credibility, make a strong first impression, deal with pressure, and tackle personal and professional challenges. It’s also an attractive trait, as confidence helps put others at ease."

It's not a fixed characteristic, and it can be acquired and developed. It can be taken away if you’re not careful (remember that anxiety and fear based on self-doubt). It can fluctuate based on environment, setting, and circumstance.

So it makes complete sense that presence is so closely associated with and tied to confidence.

Having confidence means you’re comfortable in your own skin, with who you are, and what you bring to the table. When someone has presence, they have what some people refer to as having “it,” and it’s thought of as something that is innate within them and, although sometimes difficult to define and articulate, you know it when you see it.

So to start off, although I do agree that it can be somewhat difficult to define, it’s only because it can mean something different to each one of you. There is also sometimes a fear, a doubt, that you’ll never be at the same level as someone with “it,” with presence. I know this because I have had many a conversation with clients, friends, peers…that “some people just have it, and man, it would be so great to have ‘it’ too…”

Well, guess what. That presence you feel…that confidence that can be felt from across the room - it was learned. And if it’s learned…that means you can have it, too.

With that, I’d like to share with you MY definition, and what I use to create, enhance, and build a presence.

Let’s start with what it’s NOT.

Your presence is NOT a result from any sort of business performance or your potential, or of any outside influence, really.

It IS a reflection - COMPLETELY - of your personal energy. It starts internally, is reflected in your external messaging - including your appearance and behaviors.

Your presence is the energy that you convey to and share with others, both non-verbally and verbally.

This energy comes from within, and I like to use the 80/20 rule with it - 80% of your presence comes from what you are inside (the cake), and 20% from what others see on the outside (the frosting - and yes, I'll be using that analogy in the future).