11 things I've learned about "having presence" - whether you're a shy introvert, a natural show person, or in between

My latest adventures in public speaking

Here’s a photo from a talk I gave last week in LA, to 1000 members of ASAE (The Center for Association Leadership). There was a professional photographer present, and as I went through the 159 photos the gracious organizers sent me, I was interested to see that you couldn’t really tell how uncomfortable I was, how uncomfortable I always am when I’m in the spotlight.

I think there are two reasons for this: one, that I’ve learned a few tricks of things to do and not do (body language, etc.) that both conceal discomfort, and genuinely make me feel stronger; and two, that I’ve learned to rely on the real “tricks”, the ones that people rarely teach you, of how to draw on your own deep and inner presence.

In today’s Kindred Letter, I’d like to share some these “tricks”: