One of the real skills of someone with strong Executive Presence is the ability to get people to see a situation from a completely new angle so they are able to change their mind and save face.

Executive Presence Tip – one of the great ways to do this is to become aware of how to use duality, quotes and insights that make people stop and think.

So imagine that we have to launch a product in a whole new market and there is a ton of pressure on us to succeed. We know the new market is untested and there is a real danger that this product, similar to another one that launched and died, could not succeed. You are the leader and you need everyone to work past this desire to take the safe route and take some risks. You step up to talk to them. What would you say?

You could start with a duality quote:

Will Smith in his new movie said, “oh the danger is real. Fear is a choice.” We are all faced today with the danger that this product might not succeed but our biggest handicap is not that, it is that we may be bound by fear and not take the risks to make it succeed. So I say Fear is a choice and I ask all of us to leave that fear here in this room and chose to push past the fear together to take smart risks so we succeed.

Notice the duality is that most people see danger and fear as the same side of a coin but in this instance I showed how they can actually be two different sides of the coin.

TAKE ACTION – Executive Presence Tip: Start looking for duality and quotes you can use. Write them down in your I-pad or phone so you can use them later. I snap a lot of pictures of funny quotes or scenes so I can use them later.

For more executive presence tips please visit ImpressionManagement.com or Anne Warfield’s Outcome Thinking Blog.  Impression Management Professionals is a strategic leadership training organization with a focus on executive presentation skills training through courses and coaching utilizing the Outcome Thinking Methodology.  Headquarters are in Minneapolis, MN  952-921-9421.