executive presence without pretending: what it is and what it isn't

The feedback nobody can act on

A senior analyst in Pune gets her appraisal. The ratings are strong. Then the line: "To move to the next level, work on your executive presence."

She asks what that means. Her manager struggles. "Just... be more visible. Own the room a bit more."

She leaves the room more confused than before. Should she speak louder? Dress differently? Change her accent? Talk more on every call, even when she has nothing to add?

This is the problem with executive presence. It is real, it affects who gets promoted, and it is usually described so vaguely that the person receiving the feedback cannot do anything with it.

What the research says

The most widely cited work on executive presence comes from economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett, whose 2014 book Executive Presence drew on a large survey of college-educated professionals in the United States. She described executive presence as a combination of three things:

1. Gravitas: how you act. Confidence, decisiveness, composure under pressure, integrity.
2. Communication: how you speak. Clarity, command of a room, the ability to read an audience.
3. Appearance: how you look. Mostly as a filter: being appropriately put-together so nothing distracts from the first two.

In a 2024 Harvard Business Review article, The New Rules of Executive Presence, Hewlett compared surveys from 2012 and 2022. Confidence and decisiveness were still central. But inclusiveness, respect for others and authenticity had become much more important. In communication, strong speaking and the ability to command a room still led, but a "listen to learn" orientation and comfort on video calls were rising.

Two things stand out. First, gravitas matters far more than appearance. Second, the definition is moving away from the dominant, always-talking leader and towards someone who is clear, composed and genuinely listens.

That is good news for professionals who were never going to be the loudest person in the room.

What executive presence is not

A lot of advice on presence is either unhelpful or quietly harmful. Let us clear some of it away.

It is not an accent. Being understood first time matters. Sounding American or British does not. A clear point in an Indian accent carries more authority than a vague one in any accent.

It is not volume. A loud voice without a clear point reads as anxiety. A steady, normal voice with a clear point reads as control.

It is not talking the most. Many people try to "be visible" by speaking at every opportunity. Seniors notice quality, not frequency. One sharp contribution beats five general ones.

It is not a power pose. The idea that standing in an expansive pose for two minutes changes your hormones and behaviour became famous after a 2010 study. A larger replication led by Eva Ranehill in 2015 found that power poses made people feel more powerful but had no measurable effect on hormones or on behaviour. Posture matters for how you come across, but it is not a shortcut.

It is not pretending to be someone else. Hewlett's later research specifically highlights authenticity. People can usually tell when someone is performing confidence they do not feel. The aim is to become a clearer, steadier version of yourself.

Seniors notice quality, not frequency. One sharp contribution beats five general ones.

What it is, in behaviour you can practise

If you translate "executive presence" into things people can actually see and hear, it usually comes down to six behaviours.

1. You say the point first

Seniors read a clear opening sentence as confidence. "My recommendation is to delay the launch by a week" signals more presence than any amount of background. (We cover this in depth in say the point first.)

2. You are comfortable with a pause

Under pressure, many people fill every gap with "um", "basically" or "actually". Researchers Herbert Clark and Jean Fox Tree showed that "uh" and "um" are not random noise; speakers use them to signal that a delay is coming. That is useful in conversation, but a steady stream of fillers signals uncertainty. A silent pause, by contrast, often reads as thought.

Practise this:

"That's a good question." (pause, one breath) "I think the main risk is the vendor."

The pause feels long to you. To the listener, it sounds like you are considering the question seriously.

3. You stay composed when challenged

Presence is tested when someone pushes back. The instinct is to defend quickly, speed up or over-explain. Composure looks like this:

"That's a fair concern. Here's how I see it." (one reason) "If it would help, I can share the numbers after this."

You acknowledge, you hold your position, and you offer a next step. You do not apologise for having a view.

4. You make decisions out loud

Many capable professionals present options and wait for someone senior to choose. Sometimes that is right. But presence grows when you say what you would do:

"We have two options. I'd go with the second, because it keeps the client date. But I'm open if you see a risk I'm missing."

5. You listen in a way people can see

The "listen to learn" shift in Hewlett's research matters. Listening shows in what you say next: you refer back to someone's point, you ask a real question, you change your view when given a good reason.

"Ankit's point about the testing window changes my view. Let's keep the original date."

That sentence shows more presence than defending your first answer to the end.

6. You make it safe for others to speak

Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety found that teams learn more when members believe they can take interpersonal risks, such as admitting a mistake or asking a basic question, without being punished. Leaders with real presence often use it to lower the temperature, not raise it:

"Before we decide, what are we missing? Sara, you've worked with this client longest."

Presence on a video call

Much of senior work in India now happens on camera: calls with US clients at night, leadership reviews across offices, investor updates, webinars and podcast appearances. A few practical points:

• Camera at eye level, face lit from the front. People read presence from your face.
• Look at the camera when you make your key point, not at the screen. It feels like eye contact to the other side.
• Unmute, pause, then speak. It avoids the clipped first word that makes people ask you to repeat.
• Keep your background calm. Appearance, in Hewlett's terms, is mainly about not distracting.
• Say less, more clearly. Video exaggerates rambling.

Presence outside the office

Presence is not only a corporate idea. The same behaviours show up when a father gives the toast at his daughter's wedding, when a founder appears on a podcast, when a teacher holds a hall of four hundred parents at the annual day, or when someone new to Melbourne speaks up at a neighbourhood association. A clear first line, a calm pause and real listening carry just as well there. Practising them at home and in public life makes them easier to find at work.

A note on presence across cultures

Indian workplaces, Gulf offices and US or UK teams often read presence differently. Directness, interrupting, self-promotion and how you address seniors all vary. The core behaviours above travel well: a clear point, a calm pause, composure under challenge, real listening. How much warmth and context you add around them is where you adapt to the room.

How to turn vague feedback into a plan

If someone tells you to "work on your executive presence", ask one follow-up question:

"Thank you. Could you give me one recent moment where I could have shown more presence, and what you'd have liked to see?"

The answer usually points to one of the six behaviours. Pick that one, practise it for a month in real situations, and ask again.

Sources

1. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, The New Rules of Executive Presence, Harvard Business Review, January to February 2024. hbr.org/2024/01/the-new-rules-of-executive-presence
2. Stockholm School of Economics, Power posing does not affect hormones or financial risk taking (summary of Ranehill et al., Psychological Science, 2015). www.hhs.se/en/about-us/news/sse/2015/power-posing-does-not-affect-hormones-or-financial-risk-taking
3. Herbert H. Clark and Jean E. Fox Tree, Using uh and um in spontaneous speaking, Cognition, 84(1), 73 to 111, 2002. doi.org/10.1016/S0010-0277(02)00017-3
4. Amy C. Edmondson, Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams, Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350 to 383, 1999. doi.org/10.2307/2666999

Published by The Full Stop, the journal of Brightside English. Reviewed by a Brightside senior coach. Corrections: see our editorial standard.