Jawsmith Training

Free tool

Executive presence self-check

15 statements about how you come across: composure, clarity, delivery, connection and feedback. About five minutes. You get a score, the area to work on first, and a practical next step for each gap.

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Composure

1. When someone challenges me in a meeting, I stay calm and answer the point rather than defending myself.
2. I can make a decision and explain it clearly when I do not have all the information.
3. Under pressure, my voice and pace stay steady.

Clarity

4. I can give my main point in one or two sentences before going into the detail.
5. Before an important meeting or presentation, I decide the two or three things I want people to remember.
6. I avoid jargon and acronyms when I talk to people outside my team.

Delivery

7. I am comfortable pausing, and I do not rush to fill a silence.
8. When I speak, I stand or sit still rather than fidgeting or swaying.
9. On video calls, my camera, light and sound make me look and sound as credible as I do in person.

Connection

10. I listen fully and ask questions before I make my case.
11. I change how I speak for different audiences: a board, my team, a client, a journalist.
12. Senior colleagues ask for my view on difficult issues.

Feedback

13. In the last six months I have asked for specific feedback on how I come across.
14. I know what I want to be known for, and could say it in one sentence.
15. I behave the same way under pressure as I do when things are going well.
0 of 15 answered

How the score works

Each “usually” scores two points and each “sometimes” one. “Rarely” and “not sure” score nothing. Not knowing how you come across is useful information in itself: it is the first thing to find out, and the quickest way is to ask. The five areas carry equal weight, and the next steps are listed in the order of the questions.

This is a reflection exercise, not a psychometric test. Executive presence lives in other people’s perceptions, so the most useful check is to ask a few colleagues to answer the same statements about you and compare. For what the research says about presence and how to build it, read our guide to executive presence. For one-to-one work on a specific moment, such as a board presentation, a promotion panel or a first media interview, see executive presence coaching.

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