THE BUSINESS VOICE

To achieve presence and influence in business contexts you need to ensure clarity, simplicity and brevity in everything you do, and nowhere more so than in an online forum. Read on… I have said previously that any meeting needs a defined purpose and this must be clear to all participants. The agenda must be simple, designed to achieve that purpose. But there is more to this. When you speak (actually anywhere, but we are discussing virtual meetings) the language you use must h

You might think body language is less important to presence in the virtual environment, after all people can only see your head and face, right? Read on… Positive, confident body language raises your presence in the real world and also virtually. If your body language suggests a lack of confidence or enthusiasm; fatigue; lack of interest or arrogance then you will not have presence and will not engage people whether you are standing in front of them, sitting with them around

Last time I looked at how to set yourself up for great presence. That was the easy bit! Now we really get down to the essence of presence… Engaging communication, rapport, ‘chemistry’ all rely significantly on eye contact. When the speaker doesn’t have good eye contact you feel he or she isn’t really interested in talking to you (like that person who constantly looks over your shoulder in the pub?), or perhaps that they don’t care or are embarrassed about what they are saying

Whether you are leading a virtual meeting or just attending, the more presence you have the more you will be listened to, the more you will be remembered. The more impact you will have. My next few blogs will look at how you achieve presence virtually. A few considerations to set you up for great presence: What is behind you? An uncluttered background is important to keep the focus on you. So, remove the laundry basket, the dog’s bed, your unmade bed! Even a busy and untidy