Presentation Power
Cultivating a Commanding Presence

I have long believed the whole point of presentation is to make a connection. Whether you’re speaking to persuade, to inform, to sell or to entertain, if you fail to connect with your listeners you’re not effective. To make that connection you must be fully engaged and available. You must be open. Tension, bad habits, nervousness, lack of technique—all these factors tend to close doors right at the moment you need to be opening doors. My years of coaching experience have proven there are two physical elements crucial for open, powerful communication: grounding and breathing.

Grounding simply involves your connection to the ground and your awareness of being supported by the ground. With this awareness, your body relaxes down onto the ground and your breath drops deeper into your body. Your voice sounds lower and you feel as though you are speaking with your whole being. It is one of the simplest things to practice and has a profound effect on your communication. Grounding alone can make you look relaxed, sound strong and feel confident as a speaker.

Breathing deeply is the closest thing to a silver bullet in a public speaker’s arsenal. There is almost no end to the list of things that improve if you learn to breathe well, and most common problems presented by my clients are in some way connected to breathing. The in-breath connects you to your message and makes you expressive. The out-breath provides power, lending impact to what you say. The ability to open yourself easily and fully as you inhale and to spend breath generously as you speak out will transform your performance.

Whenever I evaluate a speaker, the first two questions I ask myself are, “Is she grounded,” and, “Is she breathing?” If those two things aren’thappening, anything else I might suggest will be superficial detail. When those two things are happening, most other desired elements emerge naturally and effortlessly.

Great presentation isn’t just about what you’re saying. It’s about how you’re feeling. The openness I mentioned earlier is, especially, an ability to open downward. That cultivates depth at all levels of your performance, and that state of being lends substance and power to your presentations. You won’t have to make it happen. It will be there, spontaneous, authentic and effective.