Who are your favorite screen actors?

I love Morgan Freeman, Vanessa Redgrave and Edward Norton. I love them because they do me a huge favor: They let me actually relax and give over completely to the movie. Why? Because I never catch them acting. They are authentically and truthfully in the moment. Their truth is in perfect alignment, with no seams exposed, no inconsistencies. Their work is congruent. As an actress, I'm the first person to notice the "work" that's being done under the onscreen gloss. I'm the one that notices when the actor onscreen takes an inauthentic action (like lifting a supposedly heavy suitcase as if it were a feather). And when I notice, I am immediately pulled out of the reality of the movie. I no longer believe. And that makes for a lousy movie-watching experience.

The same holds true with a great business leader, or a great leader in general. Take Nelson Mandela, for example. Like a great actor, he never pulls you "out of the moment" by exhibiting glaring inconsistencies in word or deed. His is aligned in spirit, action and belief. His words are married to his belief system, and to his strong, clear vision. As a result, we watch, listen and believe-- with the same faith and attention we give a great actor.

My beloved New York acting teacher, Michael Howard, explained the essence of acting like this:

Acting is Doing? What are you there to DO?

I am constantly asking my SPEEK clients this question, particularly as it regards verbal presentations-- and especially when the presentations are designed to persuade and catalyze their audience, as is so often the case with business leaders.

What are you there to do? Or put another way, what is your purpose or INTENTION? Great leaders are clear about their intention-- For their business, for themselves, for the given moment. A great leader, like a great actor, will look at the scene-- or situation-- presented to her, and ask herself: "What am I here to do, and how how can I do it most effectively?" A clear intention pushes like a skewer through the meat of a presentation, linking all the information to a clear and focused purpose. A clear and strong intention is what keeps you alive and in the moment, powerfully connected to the material and to your audience.

I often suggest to my clients that they literally write out their intention on a piece of paper and keep in handy before and even during their presentation. And I insist that they use ACTIVE VERBS as much as possible-- "to motivate, to excite, to seduce, to move, to shake up, to challenge"-- action words that hook them in emotionally and give them something very specific to DO. Because not only does an intention need to be clear, it needs to be something you can wrap yourself passionately around. Because passion is catching: If you are impassioned, you will impassion your audience.

So, instead of stating your intention in a ho-hum way ("I'm going to inform the audience about my new product)" create an intention for your presentation that gives you something really compelling to chomp on, like "I'm going to inspire and entice my colleagues into rabid support of this new product!" Great leaders fire themselves us so they, in turn, can fire up their audience! The more passionately you feel about what you're there to do, the more successful you will be in achieving it!