(film still by Ella Frost) Executive presence is one of those phrases everyone seems to use and few people can define. Ask ten leaders what it means and you’ll probably get ten different answers. Confidence. Gravitas. Authority. Charisma. After decades working as both an actor and a communication coach, I think it’s essence is something much simpler: Executive presence isn’t about looking impressive. It's about being present, composed, and making other people feel confident i

I recently read an interesting blog post defending the word like. The author’s argument was persuasive. Linguists have long pointed out that words such as like aren’t simply signs of lazy speech. They can soften statements, signal approximation, introduce quotations and even give us a moment to think. In many conversations, they perform a useful role. I found myself agreeing with much of it. But it also reminded me of an important distinction that often gets overlooked. As a

There’s a moment that happens in almost every leadership career. A question comes - from a board, a team, a journalist, a difficult stakeholder - and the leader doesn’t know the answer. What happens next is surprisingly revealing. The pressure to perform certainty. Most leaders feel it. The tacit expectation that they should have the answer; that uncertainty, admitted openly, will be read as weakness or incompetence. That the room will lose confidence in them. That something

Most careers don’t derail because of one catastrophic mistake. Very few people wake up one morning, say something spectacularly inappropriate in a meeting and immediately watch twenty years of professional progress disappear before their eyes. Career damage is usually far less dramatic. It’s subtle. Gradual. It’s almost imperceptible. Career damage happens through poor communication habits repeated over months and years. Habits that seem harmless, but quietly shape how others

Over the years, there’s a conversation I’ve had more than once with senior leaders who are, by any reasonable measure, decent people. Something has happened in their team - a complaint, a difficult HR conversation, an atmosphere that’s shifted - and they’re genuinely confused. Because from where they were standing, the situation was a storm in a teacup. Ultimately, it was ‘just banter’. That confusion is worth taking seriously. Not because they’re right, necessarily, but beca

If you’ve ever left a meeting knowing you had the best idea in the room - and watched someone else get the credit for a version of it - this one is for you. It’s a specific kind of frustration. Quiet, and slightly undermining. If it happens once, you can dismiss it. If it happens repeatedly, you start to wonder whether the problem is you. It isn’t, by the way - but something is worth looking at. Intelligence doesn’t automatically translate This is the thing nobody really tell

There’s a question I get asked fairly often, usually by people who are already curious enough to have found their way to my website but aren’t quite sure what they’d be signing up for. What does communication coaching actually involve? It’s a fair question. The term gets used loosely, and I think that creates confusion. So here’s my answer. It’s not presentation training* *Or at least, not only that. Many of the people I work with are already accomplished presenters. They can

‘The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.’ (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations) For a long time, I misunderstood revenge. I imagined it as a reckoning. The moment when the person who hurt you is finally exposed. When others see what you’ve seen all along. When justice arrives and everyone recognises who was really at fault. Then I spent years dealing with someone who taught me a very different lesson. Not because they changed. Because I nearly did. The person I couldn’t reach

Most advice about public speaking tells you to breathe deeply, picture the audience naked or in their underwear, or simply ‘be yourself.’ If any of that has worked for you, that’s wonderful. Genuinely. For most people I speak to, it hasn’t. So let me share what I think actually makes a difference. First, the dread is normal Not just common; almost universal. Some of the most compelling communicators I’ve worked with still feel it. The goal isn’t to eliminate the dread. It’s t

What makes someone attractive? We may say it’s confidence, charisma, intelligence, or a similar sense of humour perhaps. While those qualities matter, there’s another trait that quietly shapes our strongest relationships, friendships, and connections: the ability to listen. Not polite listening. Not waiting-for-your-turn listening. But the kind of deep listening that makes another person feel truly seen. As an actor and communication coach, I’ve noticed a simple trait about t

According to recent workplace trends highlighted by Forbes, emotional regulation is emerging as one of the most important skills for the future of work. As artificial intelligence reshapes industries and automates technical tasks, employers are placing greater value on distinctly human capabilities such as emotional intelligence, resilience, adaptability and advanced communication skills. At first glance, emotional regulation might not sound as exciting as learning the latest

Most recommendations about body language focuses on what you should do, such as: Maintain eye contact. Stand confidently. Use open body language. Don’t fidget. All sound advice. But the underlying message is clear: if you can control the right signals, people will respond positively. As an actor, I’ve always found this slightly backwards. Not because body language doesn’t matter; it does, enormously. It is rather because the most compelling performers rarely spend their time

Leadership is often described as the ability to influence, inspire and guide others towards a common goal. While strategy, decision-making and expertise are all important, there is another skill that quietly underpins great leadership: storytelling. The reality is that people rarely connect with information alone. They connect with meaning. A leader can present a flawless strategy, packed with data and carefully considered plans, but if people don’t understand why it matters,

As an actor, writer and communication coach, I spend much of my professional life helping people connect with audiences. Whether it’s a presentation or a difficult workplace conversation, the goal is similar: to be understood, remembered and have an impact. Recently, I was reminded of an important communication lesson from an unexpected source. I had the opportunity to work with a superb dubbing mixer on three creative film projects. I thought the films were largely complete.

Most people think the challenge in disagreement is knowing what to say. Usually, that’s not the problem. The real challenge is staying connected to the conversation when the outcome matters to you. When the stakes are high, it’s easy to become attached to being right. We stop listening. We start preparing our rebuttal. We focus on defending our position rather than understanding someone else’s. The irony is that the more important the conversation feels, the more valuable gen

We tend to think of violent acts as dramatic and loud. We may imagine shouting. Slamming doors. Public humiliation. Visible aggression. Some forms of violence, however, can be less explicit. I think some of the deepest psychological wounds are more subtle. Insidious. A glance at a phone while someone is speaking; another interruption disguised as enthusiasm; a half-listened-to outpouring, answered with snap advice, instead of presence. The underlying message in all the exampl

Many people find it difficult to speak up in meetings. Some stay silent because they aren’t completely sure of their point. Others push too hard because they feel they need to persuade everyone else. Both behaviours often come from the same place: the belief that if you’re going to contribute, you need to win. What do I mean by 'win'? Well, perhaps you need to have the best idea. The strongest argument. The answer that everyone agrees with. That’s a lot of pressure to handle.

Words shape perception. As a communication coach, I often remind clients that the phrases we use repeatedly can either strengthen relationships or quietly undermine them. Many expressions have become so common in workplace communication that we barely notice them. Language habits are sneaky. We repeat phrases because everyone around us uses them, not because they’re the most effective way to communicate. And indeed some can sound dismissive, defensive, vague or unnecessarily

A lot of communication advice still assumes disagreement is relatively straightforward. Two people look at the same situation, interpret it differently, talk it through, and hopefully reach some kind of mutual understanding. But, increasingly, that’s not what difficult conversations feel like anymore. Whether at work or elsewhere, there’s often a sense that people aren’t simply disagreeing with each other, rather, they’re operating from completely different versions of realit

There’s a particular kind of person who often gets overlooked in conversations about communication. They’re thoughtful. Analytical. Capable. Usually very good at what they do. But when the subject of presenting, influencing or executive presence comes up, they quietly assume others have the advantage. The ‘charismatic’ people. The ‘alphas’. The 'big personalities'. The people who seem able to magically walk into a room and immediately command attention. And because they don’t