Amazing leaders have amazing presence. People who possess this simple, but rare quality are naturally able to put their colleagues at ease, take charge during chaos, and instill confidence when things are changing. Based on my own experiences– as well as research from the experts – this article will explore the 10 qualities of people with amazing presence.

“Presence” is known as many things: gravitas, commanding attention, holding court, or owning the room – basically, when you speak people listen. “Executive presence”, according to the Center for Talent Innovation and Sylvia Ann Hewlett, is a must-have quality for young professionals who are eager to climb the corporate ladder. The Globe and Mail’s Doug Mollenhauer calls presence “the gift we give to others.” I recently argued that it is essential for being the life of the party. More than anything else your presence will determine your success in work and life.

If your goal is to develop presence that commands attention and inspires others to change the world, here’s what you need to do:

Be prepared

Know the purpose of your presentations, meetings or emails. Understand where your audience is at and think about what they need before opening your mouth or clicking send.

Tip: when preparing for a presentation, practice exactly how you will deliver it; don’t just read your slides aloud in your office. Because practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

Be authentic

If you’re funny, be funny. If you’re a data head, let the data tell your story and guide your decision making. If you need notes, use them! Whoever you are, be yourself.

Tip: read this article by Mark Manson, ask yourself question #2 (“what about you today would make your 8-year-old self cry?”), and then stop doing that thing.

Be interested

People with great presence strive to listen more than they speak. They make eye-contact and remember the things that are important to their friends, colleagues and clients.

Tip: stay off your phone and/or tablet when meeting with teammates or direct reports.

Be positive

Nobody wants to work with an asshole. So it’s pretty unlikely that focusing on failures, brooding with negativity, or toxically gossiping are behaviours that will inspire your friends or employees to go above and beyond for you.

Tip: read my article about the word ‘awesome’ and think about what signature word you might use to create a positive presence in work and life. You could also read Kurt’s article about the importance of positivity.

Be confident

People with presence write and speak with conviction about the potential of ideas, projects, products, and, especially, people. This doesn’t mean that you should brag or boast about your awesomeness, but it does mean that you should be comfortable in your own skin.

Tip: learn about Amy Cuddy’s concept of the power pose and other ways to express your confidence with body language.

Be vulnerable

Balance confidence and self-assurance with humility. People with amazing presence probably got to where they are today by learning from failures and being honest about what scares them. Work hard to be transparent and honest about your feelings, as vulnerability is a powerful thing.

Tip: read about Jeff Haden’s cool concept called “social jiu-jitsu” and learn how to give away your power by creatively adjusting to experiences.

Be empathetic

Human beings want to invest in each other. More than anything else we believe in the power of peoples’ potential. When you have great presence it means that you pretty much have x-ray vision and can intuitively understand where your audience is at and what they need from you. And then you give it to them!

Tip: make positive assumptions as often as you can – try to see a problem from the other person’s perspective by mastering simple phrases like “how are you?” and “tell me more”.

Be adaptable

When a meeting is going off-track or audience questions take a presentation in a whole new direction, people with presence have the uncanny ability to pivot into a different conversation while achieving the initial objectives.

Tip: always ask the audience what they want to get out of your presentation or what your colleagues want to get out of the meeting that you’re running – after all, it’s their time, too.

Be edutaining

Edutainment is the combination of education and entertainment – it’s what makes learning fun! People with great presence want their friends, colleagues, students, and employees to learn something with every experience. Even if the learning comes from failure, these people want those around them to enjoy the experience.

Tip: your audience won’t remember anything you say during a 60-minute presentation, but they will remember how you make them feel. Make them feel fantastic.

Be a storyteller

People with amazing presence can often be found holding court at parties as they showcase the  above abilities by telling stories. Captivating an audience of one or one thousand with words (or whatever medium spins your best yarn) is an absolutely indispensable quality.

Tip: journal your experiences and ideas; try to transform them into a catchy narrative. This book by Chip Heath and Dan Heath will help you.

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This article was originally published on October 1, 2014 and I still find it ridiculously humbling that dozens of people read it every day!