A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend a meeting at my client’s boardroom. I watched a senior leader brush off a colleague’s question with a rushed, “We don’t have time for that right now.”

It took less than 30 seconds, but the damage was done. The colleague shut down for the rest of the meeting. That’s sabotage, not presence!

Executive presence isn’t lost in big moments. It slips away in the small ones. From my experience as an executive coach, here’s what I often see and what you can do instead:

1. Over-prepared on content. Under-prepared for the people
   You can spend hours polishing your slides, but if you haven’t thought about your audience, you’ll miss the mark. Executive presence is built on connection, not just delivery.

Shift: Stop focusing on your slides and start focusing on the people in the room. Before your presentation, do your research. Who is your audience, what are their priorities, and what problems keep them up at night?

• Design your opening around the answer to this question: “What will they walk away with?” For example, instead of starting with, “Today, I’m going to present our quarterly sales data,” try, “By the end of this meeting, you’ll have a clear action plan to address the Q4 revenue dip.”If your message doesn’t make a difference to your audience, they will tune you out.

2. Speaking to prove your expertise instead of adding value
   When you try to validate how much you know, you risk losing your audience. People don’t remember credentials. They will most certainly remember how you made them better for listening to you.

Shift: Before you speak, pause and ask yourself: “Am I moving the conversation forward, or just adding more words?” True expertise isn’t about proving what you know. It’s about making others better.

Instead of diving into technical detail, try these two checks:

• What’s the core problem we’re solving?If your input doesn’t help address it, it becomes a distraction instead of value.
• Are you reading the room?If people are disengaged, checking phones, eyes glazing over, you’re not connecting. Re-engage with a direct question: “Does this resonate with what you’re seeing?” or “What’s your perspective?”

3. Closing without direction
   Wrapping up with “just something to think about” leaves people disappointed. Your audience craves clarity, purpose, and next steps. Your final words should always be a call to action. Otherwise, it feels like watching a mystery movie and never getting to the ending.

Shift: Don’t leave your audience hanging. Frame your message so that people can feel a sense of closure.

• For a recommendation: “Here’s my recommendation, and I’m prepared to take the lead on this.”
• For a decision: “I feel strongly about this decision, and here’s why.”
• For collaboration: “Here’s what I need from you to move forward. What are your thoughts on the next steps?”
• For a broader vision: “This is where we go from here. Let’s make it happen.”

Executive presence isn’t about performance. It’s about the impression and value you leave behind.

Which of these feels like the biggest blind spots for leaders? 

Cheers,

Roz