People are always talking about making an excellent first impression; when we talk about the impression, we refer to how people perceive and engage with how we present ourselves. In the professional context, we call it executive presence. Executive presence is the ability to manage perceptions and distinguish ourselves from others through impressive self-awareness.

The five core strategies for improving your executive presence are as follows:

1. 1. Improve Your Emotional Intelligence. Having a strong emotional intelligence can help you lead an organization more effectively. For example, a leader with good EQ will be better at expressing their feelings, being able to read others' emotions accurately, and influencing people around them to feel confident in what they do - which means that these organizations tend not only to have low turnover rates but also high levels of employee satisfaction too
2. 2. Develop Your Signature Executive Voice. An influential executive voice helps connect with coworkers. The leader knows what to say and when for maximum effect. The key to a signature voice is being clear about your organization's collective vision and purpose. The best way to do this? Showing people how their work fits into that big picture.
3. 3. Appreciate Open and Constructive Dialogue. Open dialogue is essential for building trust and empowerment. In addition, it helps create a culture where employees feel valued, which leads to higher engagement rates and better experiences at work. Those positive interactions can enhance your influence, especially during interactions with employees and clients or customers where they will feel they're being heard and their opinion matters.
4. 4. Open for Constructive Criticism. When leaders let their guard down, we get a glimpse into the humanity within them- a quality that makes others want nothing more than for this person's success in all endeavours. Learning from your mistakes means taking criticism constructively to understand how best to improve yourself. If you want your executive presence, accept the fact that there's nothing perfect about anyone or anything, even those who lead. Maintaining this sense of humour will also keep us open-minded while giving feedback to others on what needs improvement.
5. 5. Mind Your Physical Appearance. What messages are your current grooming habits sending to the world around you, and how are you influencing people by your physical appearance? What we wear and our hair looks can say a lot about us. If you're not well-groomed or sharply dressed, then those messages might hurt your career prospects somehow. On the other hand, you can gain considerable influence with minor tweaks. Have questions about your identity? Don't let the thought get between you and new growth patterns.