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Executive Presence
Learn the evidence-based techniques that project executive presence in boardrooms, presentations, and high-stakes conversations. Master the vocal, verbal, and physical dimensions that signal confidence and authority.
Professionals at the manager-to-director level who are ready to step into senior leadership roles and need to close the presence gap that holds them back.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook is your hands-on companion to the Executive Presence course. Each section maps to one course module and gives you structured exercises, worksheets, and checklists to move from understanding to embodied practice. Presence is built through repetition in real contexts — use these tools before and after actual meetings, presentations, and leadership moments to accelerate your development.
The GCA Framework — Diagnosing Your Presence
Complete your personal GCA audit, collect 360 feedback, and identify your top two development priorities before moving forward.
Exercise: The 90-Second Presence Recording
Record yourself on video for 90 seconds answering: "Tell me about a significant challenge you faced in the last six months and how you navigated it." Play it back twice — first with the sound off, then with eyes closed (audio only). Answer the prompts below before watching or listening a third time with both.
- Silent playback: what three body language signals do you notice — posture, gesture, eye contact with the camera, facial expression?
- Audio-only playback: how would you rate your pace (1–5), pause use (1–5), pitch ending pattern (rising/flat/falling), and volume adequacy (1–5)?
- What single change to your voice or body language would have the highest impact on how authoritative you appear?
- What would a senior executive you admire do differently in that same 90 seconds?
Worksheet: GCA Audit Scorecard
Rate yourself 1–5 on each indicator. Then ask three trusted colleagues to rate you on the same items using the same scale. Record their responses anonymously. Calculate your average self-score and average peer-score per pillar. The pillar with the largest gap between self and peer is your presence blind spot.
- Gravitas 1 — Projects composure when things go wrong (self score / peer avg)
- Gravitas 2 — Speaks with conviction on unpopular views (self score / peer avg)
- Gravitas 3 — Makes and communicates decisions quickly (self score / peer avg)
- Gravitas 4 — Shows genuine respect for others' perspectives (self score / peer avg)
- Gravitas 5 — Owns mistakes without deflecting (self score / peer avg)
- Communication 1 — Varies pace and pauses deliberately (self score / peer avg)
- Communication 2 — Leads with the point, not the backstory (self score / peer avg)
- Communication 3 — Open, steady posture and eye contact under pressure (self score / peer avg)
- Appearance 1 — Dress consistently appropriate for one level above current role (self score / peer avg)
- Appearance 2 — Always well-prepared and groomed for senior meetings (self score / peer avg)
- Pillar with lowest average self score
- Pillar with largest self-vs-peer gap
- Top two development priorities identified
Checklist: 360 Feedback Collection Checklist
- Identify three to five people at peer or senior level who will be honest (not only supporters)
- Draft your three open 360 questions in writing before asking ("What one thing do I do that undermines my credibility in senior rooms?")
- Schedule a 15-minute conversation or send a structured email — do not ask casually
- Ask for a specific recent example, not general impressions
- During the conversation, listen and take notes only — do not explain or defend
- After each conversation, record the feedback verbatim before interpreting it
- Look for patterns across all three to five responses before drawing conclusions
- Identify the one presence gap that appears in two or more responses — that is your priority
Voice and Vocal Delivery
Practise the six vocal variables with structured drills and track your progress toward a full, authoritative, well-paced voice.
Exercise: The Six-Variable Vocal Drill
Choose a passage of 100–120 words from a business article. Record yourself reading it six times, exaggerating one variable each time. On playback, note which exaggerated version feels most unfamiliar — that is your weakest variable. Repeat the drill daily for five days, then practice in a real conversation.
- After recording with exaggerated pace (30% slower): how did slowing down change the feeling of the passage — did it feel more or less authoritative?
- After practicing deliberate pauses of 2–3 seconds at commas and full stops: how many times did you fight the urge to fill the silence with a filler word?
- Which of the six variables — pace, pause, pitch, volume, resonance, articulation — felt most unnatural to exaggerate? What does that tell you about your default patterns?
- Name one real meeting this week where you will deploy the Power Pause before answering at least two questions.
Worksheet: Weekly Vocal Progress Tracker
After each significant meeting or call this week, complete one row. Score your performance on each variable 1–5. Note one specific moment where the habit worked and one where it broke down. After five entries, identify which variable shows the least improvement — that is next week's focus.
- Date and meeting name
- Pace score 1–5 (5 = consistently deliberate, no rushing)
- Pause score 1–5 (5 = used at least two deliberate pauses)
- Pitch score 1–5 (5 = sentences ended flat or falling, no uptalk)
- Volume score 1–5 (5 = no one asked me to speak up)
- Resonance score 1–5 (5 = spoke from chest throughout)
- Articulation score 1–5 (5 = clear consonants, no mumbling)
- One moment the habit worked (describe briefly)
- One moment it broke down (describe briefly)
- Variable to focus on next meeting
Checklist: Vocal Presence Daily Habits
- Complete a 2-minute vocal warm-up before any high-stakes meeting (lip trills, humming, yawn-sigh)
- Record at least one meeting or call per week for self-review
- Eliminate at least one filler word per week (track by recording and counting)
- Apply the pre-answer pause in every meeting this week — pause before every response
- End every sentence at full volume — do not trail off or drop volume at sentence ends
- Practice the 4-7-8 breathing technique for 2 minutes before your most important daily meeting
- Ask a trusted colleague for specific vocal feedback after a shared meeting this week
- Re-record the 90-second passage weekly to track improvement across all six variables
Language and Communication Precision
Restructure your verbal contributions using BLUF, strip hedging language, and drill the ABP technique for high-stakes question handling.
Exercise: BLUF Rewrite Drill
Take three recent communications — one email you sent, one verbal update you gave in a meeting, one recommendation you made to a senior leader. Write each one out as closely as you can recall it. Then rewrite each one using the BLUF structure: Bottom Line first, two to three supporting reasons, most likely objection pre-empted, and specific ask. Compare the before and after versions using the prompts below.
- In your original versions, how many sentences appear before the main point? What was the longest build-up?
- After rewriting: does the BLUF version feel uncomfortable or abrupt? If yes, note that this discomfort is social conditioning — it does not mean the BLUF version is rude; test it with a colleague and ask for their reaction
- Which of the three rewrites improved the most dramatically? What does that tell you about your default communication style?
- Write your next senior email using BLUF before sending it. Note whether you receive faster or more decisive responses.
Worksheet: Hedge Language Audit and Swap Log
Record yourself for 2 minutes speaking freely about a current project challenge. Transcribe the recording. Highlight every hedge, qualifier, and apologetic phrase. Then rewrite each highlighted phrase using the power language swap in the adjacent column. Complete this audit once per week for four weeks and track your hedge count over time.
- Week number
- Total recording length (minutes)
- Total hedges counted
- Most frequent hedge phrase used
- Power language replacement for top hedge
- Second most frequent hedge phrase
- Power language replacement
- Hedge count vs prior week (delta)
- One situation this week where you caught and corrected a hedge in real time
Checklist: Meeting Communication Presence Checklist
- Before entering the meeting: prepare your one-sentence recommendation or update using BLUF
- Open your first contribution with your point, not context or background
- If asked for your opinion: give it in the first sentence
- Avoid starting sentences with "I think," "maybe," or "sort of" — replace with direct assertions
- Do not end statements with "Does that make sense?" — pause instead
- When challenged, apply the ABP technique: Answer the literal question, Bridge to your message, land on your Point
- When you don't know something: say so directly and commit to a follow-up time
- Debrief within 30 minutes of the meeting: note one language win and one language target
Body Language, Composure, and the 90-Day Presence Plan
Lock in your physical presence fundamentals, build a composure protocol, and write your full 90-day development plan.
Exercise: The Entry and Table Presence Audit
Ask a trusted colleague to observe you — without explanation — in your next two senior meetings: once as you enter the room and take your seat, and once across the full meeting. Brief them on the physical presence fundamentals (grounded stance, open gesture, triangular eye contact) after the second meeting and ask them to score you. Alternatively, record a meeting (with consent) and review your own entry and seated behaviour.
- Entry audit: did you enter at a deliberate pace, or were you rushed? Did you make eye contact with two or three people before sitting?
- Seated posture: were you leaning slightly forward (engaged) or back (disengaged)? Were your hands visible above the table throughout?
- Eye contact: did you move your gaze deliberately around the room in a triangle, or did you lock onto one person or scan nervously?
- Identify the one physical habit from this exercise that you will focus on for the next two weeks and describe exactly how you will practise it.
Worksheet: 90-Day Presence Plan
Use this worksheet to build your personal 90-day executive presence development plan. Complete every field. Share the completed plan with your accountability partner and schedule a 30-minute check-in at Day 30, Day 60, and Day 90.
- Top GCA gap from audit (Gravitas / Communication / Appearance)
- Specific presence gap within that pillar (e.g., vocal pace, hedge language, eye contact)
- Days 1–30 target behaviour (one sentence — specific and observable)
- Days 1–30 weekly practice method (drill, recording, live reps, feedback source)
- Days 1–30 success metric (how will you know you have improved?)
- Days 31–60 second priority gap
- Days 31–60 target behaviour
- Days 31–60 weekly practice method
- Days 61–90 planned high-stakes event to deploy all skills
- Accountability partner name and check-in dates (Day 30 / 60 / 90)
- Day 90 re-audit: who will you ask for 360 feedback and what three questions will you ask?
- Personal presence statement: one sentence describing the presence you are building toward
Checklist: Pre-Performance Composure Protocol
- 30 minutes before: review only your three key points — not all notes or slides
- 10 minutes before: complete 4-7-8 breathing for 2 minutes (inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8)
- 10 minutes before: progressive muscle release — contract and release jaw, shoulders, and hands
- 5 minutes before: stand in an expansive posture for 90 seconds (feet wide, hands on hips or arms open)
- At the door: reframe anxiety as activation — say to yourself "I am activated and ready"
- Enter at a deliberate pace — do not rush to your seat
- Make eye contact and nod briefly to two or three people before sitting
- Place your materials, set your water, plant both feet flat on the floor
- Take one slow breath before the meeting begins
- After the event: complete a 5-minute debrief — one thing that worked, one thing to adjust next time
Your Action Plan
- Complete the GCA Audit scorecard (self-score) within 24 hours of finishing Module 1
- Identify and schedule 360 feedback conversations with three to five colleagues within one week
- Record the 90-second presence video exercise and identify your top voice or body language gap
- Begin the six-variable vocal drill daily for five consecutive days using the workbook exercise
- Audit one email or verbal update per day using the BLUF rewrite drill for two weeks
- Record yourself in a real meeting or call this week and conduct the hedge language audit
- Design and write your complete 90-Day Presence Plan using the worksheet before Day 7
- Share your 90-Day Plan with an accountability partner and schedule three check-in dates
- Apply the pre-performance composure protocol before every significant meeting for 30 days
- Re-run the full GCA Audit at Day 90 with the same 360 respondents and measure your delta
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