Those who have read one or more of Sylvia Ann Hewlett‘s previously published books (notably When the Bough Breaks, Off-Ramps and On-Ramps, Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets, and Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor) already know that she is among the most intelligent, sensitive, intuitive, and practical business thinkers within subject areas that range from talent evaluation to organizational transformation.The focus in her latest book, Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success, published by HarperBusiness/HarperCollins, is of special interest to me because, for more than 30 years, I have worked with corporate clients to help accelerate the development of talent needed at all levels and in all areas of their operations.

According to Hewlett, Executive Presence (EP) has three pillars:

o How you act (gravitas)
o How you speak (communication)
o How you look (appearance)

For example, the nature and extent of a person’s EP will determine almost entirely how effective that person will be when making a presentation. “So: How do you grab and keep an audience?”

She suggests six guidelines (see Pages 54-60):

1. Establish an emotional connection.
2. Deliver words as a musician delivers notes.
3. Use narrative.
4. Don’t snow people with data.
5. Get rid of props.
6. Be succinct.

Here are three surefire ways I’ve observed that will lose an audience almost immediately:

o Holler at them.
o Read to them from material they have in hand.
o Be the only one amused when recycling stale humor

In her latest book, Hewlett discusses making a presentation with EP in greater detail, Pages 54-60. I highly recommend it. In fact, I highly recommend everything she has published thus far. To learn more about her and her brilliant work, please click here.

To check out my review of Executive Presence, please click here.