Leadership Presence: What Actors Can Teach Business
The skills that actors use to inspire and influence have hugely powerful applications in the world of business. These skills are not just useful for leadership; they are essential. Great business leaders, like the acting greats, must communicate with conviction, convey purpose and set exciting precedents. In sum, like an actor, a leader must have presence.
Yet, on the face of it, the world of business and the art of acting seem diametrically opposed. Business is mostly an outside-game driven by results. We focus on our goals and must hit our targets if we want recognition and success. Failure is frowned upon, and the pressure to perform can be immense. Consequently, high-performers are reduced to operating on a mechanistic, overly-cerebral level in order to meet often unrealistic expectations. And the fear of failure forces them to run from goal to ever-shifting goal without ever stopping to reflect on how to do things differently.
Such high-pressure workplaces are detrimental to leadership innovation. Leaders often feel stifled and unable to question outmoded practices and dictats. Yet without innovation, there is little room for progress. What transpires is a swath of anxious leaders struggling to develop the presence necessary to inspire others. And with such ineffective communication starting at the top, it’s no wonder anxiety trickles down and permeates the entire team, lowering morale, reducing productivity and breeding mediocrity.
The art of acting approaches performance differently. Unlike in business, actors concentrate on their inside-game; on what they intuitively feel moment to moment with far less attachment to outcome. This doesn’t mean an actor drifts without purpose in any scene. On the contrary, a great actor will be highly dedicated to their well-defined goal and will know, with every fibre of their being, why this goal matters. And their ability to detach from performance pressure means they have more of a chance of stepping into their intuitive flow.
When an actor is in flow, their work becomes quite brilliant. They no longer waste time conforming and dampening their intuitive repsonses. Instead, they put themselves firmly in the driving seat of their creativity. And, by doing so, step into the present moment. This is where the magic happens! It’s the sweet spot where an actor becomes spontaneous, dynamic and resourceful, and where they have the freedom to communicate their boldest choices in the service of their goals. It is only in the present that an actor can reclaim the power to think for themselves. And it’s this very daring that inspires an audience and evokes powerful emotion.
Brilliant acting brings to light the paradox of performance; the less anxious we are about results, the better our performance becomes. This paradox is crucial to business and acts as a buffer against the onslaught of high-pressure. As business leaders, we can still know the direction we want to move in. However, we must detach ourselves from performance pressure if we are to reach our goals creatively - and perhaps even exceed them.
How do actors develop this elusive presence? In a nutshell, they rigorously train. Before setting foot on a professional stage, the first thing an actor does is sharpen their non-verbal communication skills. This step is the difference between an actor who is taken seriously and one who is ignored. Breath is fundamental. An actor must breath deeply and into the belly if they are to communicate with any sense of conviction. Something as seemingly insignificant as a shallow, fast or held breath can shatter an actor’s credibility, leaving them sounding vocally flat no matter what they say.
Physicality is also key. An actor must strengthen their body language so they can own their space as well as hold that space effectively for others. If an actor is weak in the body, their physicality will signal either apology, or it’s antithesis, a bluff. Both diminish credibility and status. An actor must therefore stand strong, open and ready in their body so that they can powerfully respond to the demands of each moment.
With this strong physical core, an actor is now better positioned to master their vocal technique. This is the sound of their voice beyond the words spoken. For an actor to communicate with passion and purpose, they must develop a dynamic, varied and rich sound — one that commands the space and draws us in. Without vocal variation, we simply have a dull repetition of monotonous sounding words. It’s as hard to listen to in acting as it is in business.
However, an actor’s training does not end there. Even with the strongest centre, most reflexive body and richest voice, if an actor isn’t connecting to their audience, their words fall flat. The best actors therefore make the best listeners. They tune into their audience. They attempt to engage even with the most “difficult” of people. And they know that a truly compelling performance hinges on their ability to figure out the thoughts and feelings of others. With this intel, they know how best to respond, moment to moment, given their own pressing objectives.
The key to this high-level presence is to remain non-reactive. By staying calm, focused and non-defensive, a truly high performer can listen intently to another human behind their words, better sense their needs and respond in the most constuctive manner possible — without taking the other person’s reactions personally.
This is a delicate act and represents the height of emotional intelligence: a rare skill that builds trust and rapport even in unlikely situations. Without this level of listening, a scene will feel lifeless. The characters may still be speaking but not much is being said. It’s white noise.
With all these non-verbal elements serving the actor, they have much more freedom to respond expressively — no matter how tough a scene may be. Such characters move us and make us feel something. They encourage us to understand a different point of view, they excite us about a new possibility, and they motivate us to adapt and grow with changing times. Their presence is luminous. This begs the question: When was the last time you ever felt that way in a business meeting or whilst watching a senior executive deliver a presentation? It happens, but not often.
Presence is as imperative to leadership as it is to acting, and is a rare skill that separates the brilliant leader from the mediocre. When we express ourselves authentically and creatively, something miraculous happens: we develop empathy. We start to show that we care about what we say; we display our conviction and let our words matter. We may disagree with our peers and they may well disagree with us, but we can better navigate difficult conversations by expressing what we believe without taking things personally. This is true power.
Developing leadership presence is a game-changer. It is the key ingredient to ascending business leaders and actors alike. The level of presence you bring to your role, how you show up, how you speak, listen, act — every single move you make on the business stage — combine to create the impact you have. We all want our words to have weight and substance for others. And the same applies to business leaders as it does to actors.
“Life beats down and crushes our souls and theatre reminds us that we have one” — Sanford Meisner
Amy Tez is founder of Radical Collective Ltd, a coaching and consultancy practice that delivers masterclasses on executive presence, pitching skills and powerful business communications. She is passionate about inspiring leaders and entrepreneurs, and shares leadership insights at www.amytez.com/blog
