The longer I work with senior leaders, the more convinced I become that communication, and, in particular, presentation skills are most critical to leadership success. A solid professional/technical base is a given for those in senior leadership positions. If this is true, then what differentiates successful leaders? Every leadership expert from John Kotter at the Harvard Business School, to Warren Bennis at the University of Southern California defines leadership as the ability to “develop a vision.” In my experience, the communication of that vision, on a daily basis, is where so many leaders fail.

Recently, in one of my presentation skills workshops, a participant asked the following question, “Are you saying that anyone can become a successful speaker?” Without thinking I responded, “When you first started to speak as a child, your mother was enthralled with the sound of your voice. When you proposed to you wife she was mesmerized by your every word. From your earliest days, people who were important to you found what you had to say compelling.” My point was that each of us has a uniqueness that has helped us be accepted and succeed in many aspects of our life. My job as a workshop leader and presentations coach is to help “Get the Genie out of the bottle.” In other words, to teach the skills and techniques that will allow the speaker to project his or her best and authentic self.

I believe that everyone has at least one characteristic that sets him or her apart from everyone else. In a recent class, I observed that a very tall, athletic medical student had a presence that could only be described as a “regal bearing.” Her posture and poise set her apart and immediately captured the audience’s attention. In another situation, I pointed out that the client had a voice like a six o’clock news reporter. During another program I identified a participant’s facial expressions that brought the characters in his stories to life. You may have traits, yet to be discovered, that could accelerate you presentations to a new level.

Why am I so confident in my hypothesis? Whenever I see any of my corporate clients or students on a coffee break or in the cafeteria with their colleagues, I almost always observe them being very animated and expressive as they talked about their local sports teams, family or a movie they recently viewed. Without fail, each person exhibits his or her personal uniqueness. Unfortunately, when these individuals step to the lectern, this uniqueness often becomes obscured? What happened to the person who was so energized in the cafeteria or conference center hallways?

The objective of this article is to present three tips that will help you “release the genie of expressiveness from the bottle.” I promise you that these tips, when applied, will make all the difference in your success as a speaker.

1. Tell Personal Stories

   I have been an advocate of using stories in leadership presentations for many years. Today, I want to encourage you to tell a particular type of story that will change your perception as a leader and help people more readily embrace you and your vision. Whenever you deliver a leadership presentation, find ways to use stories about your childhood to emphasize key points. This type of story will quickly eliminate any perception of you as a "corporate suit." Tell the story at the beginning of your presentation and there will be no need for note or slides of any kind. You will be as expressive as if you were in your living room recalling the story with your family. The strategic points you may have struggled to communicate in the past will come to life and be clearly understood by your audience. I know that you have a deep reservoir of stories from your childhood. Write them down. Use them and watch the magic that takes place.

2. Use Props/Gifts

   One of my clients is a medical device industry executive. Like many of you, he is normally a quiet and reflective person. He recently gave a presentation to a group of industry experts on innovation and invention. At the end of the presentation, for the first time in his professional life, a line of audience members stretching the length of the auditorium waited to speak with him. What did he do that resulted in such an extraordinary response? How did he get the "genie out of the bottle?" My client designed into his presentation a game that included a series of props or gifts. All of the props were tied directly to his topic and were passed around the audience throughout the presentation. The "game" was designed so that at a certain point in time, anyone holding a prop got to take it home.

   You and I can take a page from my client's approach and use props in our presentations. Latter this month, I'm going to use DVDs as props/gifts in a leadership presentation. The story line in each DVD ties into a point in my presentation. I will ask for a volunteer to tell the audience about the movie and that person will get to keep the DVD. This is just one example of how props can take your presentations to the next level. You will become relaxed as you use the props and engage the audience. This relaxation is the foundation for projecting your most natural, authentic self and releasing the "genie of expressiveness."

3. Reference Audience Members

   Most leaders fail to reach their potential as speakers because they use an "ego centric" approach when addressing audiences. "Will I remember all of the facts in my presentation?" "Will I project confidence or be perceived as nervous?" "Will I be asked questions that I cannot answer?" The more they focus on themselves and how they will be perceived, the worse things tend to get.

   My recommendation is quite simple. Identify multiple ways to refer to members of your audience by name. After all, what is the one word that means the most to each of us? Our name of course! Look for ways to reference previous conversations with audience members, to highlight individual successes or to talk about obstacles individuals have overcame. As you reference individuals in the audience, your presentation will feel more like a dialogue instead of a monologue. The mere act of using names will bring a new level of energy to your presentation.

There you have it, three approaches to presentations that will help even the most reserved person become animated and energized. Give them a try. You have everything to gain and very little to lose.

The following resources from M. J. Campbell Associates are recommended for your professional development:

• Article:

  "Why Presentations by Leaders Often Fail"

• Workshop:

  Successful Business Presentations

• Consulting Service:

  Virtual Presentations Coaching

• Presentation by Mark Campbell:

  Leading Through Speaking