Leadership Presence: In Storytelling

Have you ever had a training that you dreaded going to? You thought it was going to be a waste of time. Then you walk in, it feels awkward at first, and the instructor opens with a blunt question.

“Who doesn’t want to be here?”

The room shifts. People glance around. Then the instructor admits he had a tough morning. He woke up late, his kids didn’t want to cooperate getting to school, and he ran out of coffee. He shares honestly that he’s about a five out of ten today.

This was my first ten minutes of the Leadership Presence in Storytelling training, and I can honestly say that moment changed how I see leadership. His vulnerability made me lean in. It gave everyone in the room permission to exhale and be human. By admitting where he really was that day, he created connection, and connection is what leadership presence is truly about.

Some participants later said that moment gave them permission to be themselves too. This training turned out to be so much more than learning how to present a topic. It was about building trust, communication, and authentic influence. It was about how to show up, not just to be a good leader or an impactful one, but a powerful one.

I learned more from that trainer about leadership than any other training I have attended in my sixteen-year career.

Here are a few lessons that stayed with me about what makes a powerful leader:

1. Presence is not just confidence.
   To have presence, a leader needs to be fully present. Being present means listening, not to respond, but to understand. It is about giving others your full attention and allowing the moment to matter.

2. Vulnerability builds trust.
   Like the trainer, when a leader can shows humility and breaks down the wall of corporate perfection, it invites others to trust them. It gives people permission to show up as they are, and that trust is where true influence begins.

3. Storytelling creates connection.
   Stories turn information into meaning. A good story can take a team from passive to engaged. When a leader shares a personal moment that relates to the message they are giving, everyone in the room suddenly speaks the same language, the language of connection.

That day reminded me that leadership presence is not about commanding a room. It is about connecting with it.