Nail Your Executive Presence with ex-CNN weather girl Colleen Hammond
Colleen Hammond knows the ins and outs of nailing that Executive presence and impressing your virtual team. As a former CNN weather girl and experienced entrepreneur, she has an impressive track record of creating human connections even from within a zoom box!
With her in-depth knowledge of remote work dynamics, she’s here to share all her top tips for making your team feel supported – no matter where you are.
Collen is familiar with all the struggles of remote work; it’s difficult to nurture an online presence when you’re inside a zoom box. Since Colleen has had an ever-engaging presence on live TV, she lets you know what you can do to make your team feel comfortable across a virtual setup.
Leave a Lasting Impact in your Virtual World – Gain Instant Credibility.
Post Covid introduced many of us to a new way of working – Remote. Many teams make use of virtual rooms for discussions. That meant adjusting yourself to communicate better within a virtual platform – which is more challenging than it seems.
“People will make an assessment within the first few seconds,” says Colleen. It’s all down to how you present yourself; it only takes 1/10th of a second to decide whether they want to engage further or not.
Here are some of Colleen’s top tips on how you can gain instant credibility online:
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How to Maintain Eye Contact.
It’s essential to establish a meaningful connection with your virtual audience. Here’s what most people get wrong, they look at the monitor rather than the camera – It’s easy to mess up in a remote setup.
To do that, Colleen recommends “Looking directly at the camera rather than your screen”.
This makes the other person feel as if they are more connected to you when you try to communicate. What can make this better is: You try to make the other person as comfortable as possible when forming a connection.
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Never Ignore Your Background
Many people need to pay more attention to the importance of how their background distinguishes them in a virtual setting. Avoid having too many distractions and keep contrast to not overwhelm your appearance.
“The background should speak to your client and a little about you.”
Colleen mentions how critical it is not to ignore your background in your virtual setup: Make sure your background speaks to what you do – If you’re an agency owner, an accolade of achievements or books that showcase your interests would look good.
“If you wanna learn about someone, you see them in their native environment.”
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Nail That Professional Look
Colleen also elaborates on the etiquette of dressing up – There’s a fine line between looking too dressed up vs too casual. To convey a sense of professionalism, because you are still elevating your position as an authority leader, do the needful.
Put on a blazer to nail that strategy session, and if you’re having a bad hair day, put a cap on. How you appear to a client can make or break a deal.
“What you wear sends a message.”
Additionally, she shared some more tips:
- Your camera angles should be perfect, you don’t want to look down on others subconsciously.
- Your distance from the camera to your face matters; avoid distorted features.
- Be ready to market yourself – Because you’re a digital marketer – Most content these days is videogenic.
All these insights can help you enhance your virtual presence; if you implement these correctly, your clients will feel the difference in the professionalism you bring to the room.
Level Up on Your Zoom Look
Before remote work, the norm used to be getting ready for the office; however, now most of us prepare ourselves before a zoom call. With Colleen Hammond’s tips, you have the foundational building blocks to nail your executive presence!
Don’t forget to dress the part – You’ll be sure to impress them in no time.
Why not give it a go next time you’re on that important video call – you’ll be surprised how impressive the results are.
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