The holiday season is chock full with opportunities to enjoy each other’s presence and show off our social skills. Be ready to connect and deliver the present of your presence.
Presence Pointers
1. Adjust your gaze: It’s not cool to look over someone’s shoulder, searching for additional conversation partners while pretending to listen. No presence points won with that behavior.
2. Manage your exit: It’s bad form to just drift away, or abruptly exit from a conversation. Everyone wants to move on after a while, so acknowledge your conversation partner with a “great to be with you” and, then, move on.
3. Fix your face: You don’t have to glue a phony smile on your face, an open and welcoming face starts with the eyes anyway. The point is to look welcoming and interested.
4. Listen well: Bring your curious mind to the party. Ask questions, it shows interest. The curious result is that people think you are more interesting. A fine result!
5. Talk to engage: Listening to a monologue, even if it is you doing the talking, is boring. No one wants to be captive to someone else’s run-on sentences. Longer than 60 seconds of just you talking…and you’ve become “that person” with no social skills. Ask a question, make a space for others.
6. Be interesting: Yes, you! What’s up with you that is of interest to others? Think ahead and inventory a few of your personal recommendations for conversational fodder like latest and greatest movie or restaurant = good idea. Recent surgery or personal complaint = no presence points likely there.
After 25 years and 100,000 clients, at The Innis Company, we know a good deal about career success. We know that showing up with strong social skills, personal presence and being present in the moment with colleagues and clients are essential for success.
May 2019 be your most successful year ever!
If you want to learn about the steps to further your career, read 5 Tips for Picking a Career Coach.
