Dianna Booher - Creating Personal Presence: Look, Talk, Think, and Act Like a Leader

Heres What Others Are Saying About
Creating Personal Presence

My kind of book! Either saddle up and ride or go sit in the truck! Dianna is the expert on becoming a winning presence!

Jeffrey Hayzlett, business cowboy; former Chief Marketing Officer,
Kodak; and author of The Mirror Test

Great ideas are of no value if they cannot be effectively communicated to others. It has everything to do with personal presence.

Ralph D. Heath, Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin
Aeronautics Company

This is a gem of a book. Not only has Booher made the intangible concept of presence accessible, she has done so in an entertaining, compelling manner. This book should be mandatory reading for all current and future leaders.

Robba Benjamin, former Vice President and General Manager,
Consumer Line of Business, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to increase his or her impact as a leader.

Daniel Burrus, author of the New York Times bestseller Flash Foresight

The perfect resource from Dianna Booherthe gold standard in communications coaching. Ill order hundreds of copies for our leaders.

Jane Binger, EdD, Executive Director, Leadership Development and
Education, Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital, Stanford University

For the star performer just starting out or the seasoned pro, this book provides hundreds of practical tips to build credibility and expand influence.

Mira Marr, Vice President, Corporate University, Army & Air Force
Exchange Service

What an extraordinary work in a most substantive area. I recommend this book unreservedly.

Dr. Nido R. Qubein, President, High Point University, and Chairman,
Great Harvest Bread Company

Practical tips. Well researched. Entertaining anecdotes. Helpful checklists. A big winner.

Dr. Tony Alessandra, coauthor of The New Art of Managing People and The Platinum Rule

CREATING PERSONAL PRESENCE

Other Books by Dianna Booher

Communicate with Confidence! How to Say It Right
the First Time and Every Time

Speak with Confidence: Powerful Presentations
That Inform, Inspire, and Persuade

The Voice of Authority: 10 Communication Strategies
Every Leader Needs to Know

Boohers Rules of Business Grammar: 101 Fast and Easy Ways
to Correct the Most Common Errors

Good Grief, Good Grammar: The Businesspersons Guide
to Grammar and Usage

E-Writing: 21st-Century Tools for Effective Communication

From Contact to Contract

Your Signature Work

Your Signature Life

Great Personal Letters for Busy People:
501 Ready-to-Use Letters for Every Occasion

10 Smart Moves for Women Who Want to Succeed in Love and Life

Executives Portfolio of Model Speeches for All Occasions

Get a Life Without Sacrificing Your Career:
How to Find Time for Whats Really Important

Get Ahead! Stay Ahead! Learn the 70 Most Important Career Skills,
Traits and Attitudes to Stay Employed! Get Promoted! Get a Better Job!

The Little Book of Big Questions

Love Notes: From My Heart to Yours

Fresh-Cut Flowers for a Friend

The Worth of a Womans Words

Look, Talk, Think, and Act Like a Leader

Dianna Booher

Creating Personal Presence

Copyright 2011 by Dianna Booher
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

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First Edition
Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-60994-011-9
PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-60994-012-6
IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-60994-013-3

2011-1

Cover design: Barbara Haines

Produced by Wilsted & Taylor Publishing Services

Copyediting: Jennifer Brown

Design: Jody Hanson

Indexing: Andrew Joron

To my parents,
Alton and Opal Daniels,
for their loving support
in everything I undertake

About fifteen years ago, in the middle of a keynote address before approximately 3,500 people, I asked for two volunteers to join me on stage to demonstrate the principles of presence. Id never tried the experiment before in front of such a large group, and frankly, I was a little nervous. What if nobody volunteered? What if the volunteers were so timid that I couldnt help them? What if they were already so strong that I couldnt think of any coaching tips to increase their impact?

The first volunteer steps up on the stage, takes the handheld microphone, introduces herself, and overviews a key project shes working on. After thirty seconds, I call out, Stop! then I pull her aside privately for sixty seconds and give her a couple of coaching tips. She returns to center stage and repeats her introduction.

After the before and after demonstration, I ask people in the audience to go to the microphones in the aisles and call out the difference in the speakers impact. They call out adjectives I expect, More confident. More engaging. More commanding. More authoritative. More credible. All adjectives I expect, so Im pleased. Yet I had used none of those words in coaching her.

Did I tell you to be or do any of that? I ask the volunteer.

No, she chuckles, obviously pleased with her performance and feedback.

I ask for a second volunteer. Four or five people raise their hands, and I again select someone to join me on stage. As soon as he starts down the aisle toward me, I panic. His gait is halting, and he looks very stiff. Uh-ooooh, Im in trouble. When he takes the microphone, his voice sounds like a twelve-year-old. Again, thirty seconds into it, I yell, Stop. Same routinesixty seconds of coaching tips.