Decoding Presence
Created by Chris Cushing
I like to ask my clients why they chose me instead of someone else. So I ask them: “I’m curious—was there a specific reason you decided to go with me?” One answer I received stuck with me. A facilitator said, “The last graphic recorder I hired didn’t work out. He had terrible presence.” Intrigued, I asked what exactly “terrible presence” meant. Her response painted a vivid picture: “He couldn’t follow when conversation deviated from the agenda. The meeting took unexpected but important turns. He stopped capturing when we moved off the planned agenda item. And even worse, he just shrugged his shoulders and gave me a clueless look from across the room. It was distracting and unprofessional.”
Ouch.
Her comments shed light on the importance of presence: an intangible quality that graphic recorders and facilitators alike need to succeed. But what is presence? And how do you build it?
Presence is hard to define. It’s subjective, and influenced by individual, unconscious preferences. But it matters. Presence is the tie-breaker when all else is equal. The good news is that you can practice presence. I’ve tried to break presence down into key components that, together, create that sense of professionalism that people respond to.
The Parts of Presence
Presence is whatever you do to give others the sense of your professional confidence, competence, and credibility.
Last year, my wife had to undergo major surgery. In pre-op, we were both beyond anxious. Outwardly, I was trying my best to be supportive and positive, but inwardly, I was absolutely terrified. The doctor, on final check before she was wheeled away, picked up on our mood. He leaned over, put his hand on her arm, and said softly, “I know you’re nervous. But I’m not nervous.”
Bang. Just like that, he calmed both of us. That was professional presence. Confidence, competence, and credibility.
So let’s cover the parts of presence, starting with the most visible one.
Appearance
Appearance matters more than we might like to admit. It’s not just about looking sharp; it’s about showing you respect your client’s environment enough to meet them where they are—or just a notch above. “A notch above” means, if a client says, “We’re casual,” you show up in business casual attire. If they’re business casual, you level up to business professional. The goal isn’t to outshine anyone in the room but to demonstrate professionalism. Your dress sets an immediate tone, saying, “I take this (and you) seriously.”
Graphic recorders and visual practitioners have to take two additional factors into account when it comes to dress: mess and mobility. I’ve ruined countless khakis and Oxford shirts with errant ink spills. I’ve worn holes in suit pants by going down on my knees. After going through several phases that included suits, dungarees, canvas cargo pants, and stretchy joggers, I’ve settled on dark-colored convertible pants and either a branded fishing shirt, polo, or sweater, all dark to hide ink spills. I like the functional look, the multiple pockets, the durability, and especially the pants’ ability to turn into shorts for hot rides on public transportation. From what I’ve seen, most visual practitioners go the “basic black” route, too: it has a “stagehand” look to it that reinforces the idea that “we’re here to help.” Brandy Agerbeck of Loosetooth and I have had more than a few discussions about this, and we think black is the way to go. Most photos of Brandy show her in black with a splash of color thrown in like a sweater that can be removed when the ink starts flying.
There IS another philosophy out there among some visual practitioners to wear loud patterns and prints that camouflage ink spills. Diane Bleck of Discovery Doodles takes this approach. She once told me, “They’re not paying you to show up small.” I agree with Diane, but it’s just not my style: I prefer to be off to the side rather than in the spotlight.
Here are some universals:
Neatly pressed pants or skirts
Knit shirts or polo shirts, cardigans, or long-sleeve button-downs
Comfortable knit sweaters
A tie if the situation warrants it
Comfortable, close-toed shoes
A well-groomed, professional hairstyle
Wrinkle-free clothes in neutral tones
No above-the-knee skirts: you may be asked to sit with the group in a circle
Clean, manicured nails
Minimal makeup and jewelry
Modesty in skin exposure
That last one about skin exposure includes tattoos and piercings. Once, I had someone show up to shadow me with blue hair, a nose and eyebrow piercing, and the tattoo on her breastbone visible above the neckline of her blouse. My client took one look at her and told me, “Your colleague’s appearance is unprofessional.” Although tattoos, piercing, and vibrant hair color is becoming more socially acceptable overall, the fact is that in some clients’ cultures, it just isn’t. If expressing yourself through your tattoos and piercings and hair color is important to you, that’s perfectly fine with me personally, but it’s going to cost you clients. You have to decide for yourself if it’s worth it.
Communication
Like appearance, communication is a concrete way that presence shows up. How you communicate with your clients, both in speech and writing, makes all the difference in telegraphing your professionalism. Identify the major touch points you have with your clients across any given project, and come up with a consistent protocol for how you communicate at every phase. It saves you time, helps set client expectations, and heightens the sense your clients have of your professionalism. At Lizard Brain’s, we have a protocol of scripted communications for each phase of a project, from lead to discovery to proposal to design to after action. Each communication sets expectations and provides the information clients most want at each phase.
Emotional Intelligence
After the visible attributes of appearance and communication, presence becomes an intangible blend of personal attributes that roll up to give a sense of credibility, confidence, and competence. Underpining those attributes is your emotional intelligence: showing you’re grounded and capable, no matter what curveballs are thrown your way. Emotional intelligence comes from intentionally practicing self-awareness. It shows up as self-control, discipline, restraint, harmony, grace under pressure, and adaptability. Emotional intelligence depends on self-awareness of your mood. What mood are you bringing into the room? Human beings are social animals: your mood is contagious. Participants take their cues off of you: good facilitators know that the fastest way to bring energy into the room is to be energetic themselves.
Credibility
Do what you’ve said you’re going to do. That seems obvious, but often people focus on the DOING. There are two parts of that equation: what you DO and what you SAY. It’s just as much about setting the right expectations as it is about delivering on those expectations. Underpromise and overdeliver: when a client asks when they’ll get a deliverable from you, if you’d have to rush to get it done in 24 hours, don’t say 24 hours. Say 72 hours, then delight them by getting it done in 24 hours… or even 48 hours because of a water leak or a sick kid or any other unforeseen circumstance that crashes your deadline. Clients don’t know how long it’ll take, and it’s better to exceed expectations than to come up short.
Confidence
Your clients are putting their most precious resource, their people, in your hands. Be confident in your approach and your ability to help them achieve their goals. Be self-assured in your abilities, without being arrogant. And be assertive if, based on your experience and expertise, you need to express your opinions and push back on bad ideas. You can be assertive and be respectful and firm. Being right doesn’t mean you can be a jerk.
Competence
Whether they found you by web search or word of mouth, clients reach out to you because they assume competence on your part. They assume you can help them achieve their goals. You reassure them when you demonstrate your knowledge. Have a solid understanding of your field and share your expertise. Be a life-long learner: practice curiosity, seek out the ideas and approaches others take to the work, take on challenging projects that push the boundaries of what you’re capable of, and invest in developing your own skills.
To recap, presence is: appearance, communication, emotional intelligence, credibility, communication, confidence, and competence. But presence is also greater than the sum of all these parts. It flows through how you hold yourself, react to challenges, and engage with others.
Let’s return to that facilitator who told me about the graphic recorder who froze when the agenda went off-script. When key moments demand quick thinking and flexibility, your presence determines how you handle yourself. It’s what builds trust and will have clients seeking you out to work with you again. And the good news is, presence isn’t static. Presence a practice.