It's in the way that you use it.

On the way to my morning BNI meeting this a.m. the Clapton song comes on and I find myself getting fired up as I sing along
. " Been through some dark nights.. never like this..
walked on some thin ice.. never like this..
looked in some true eyes... never like this..  IT's In the way that you use it!!.. 

I identify with this because so many people I meet believe that they just don't have the talent or personality
to "go big" while they are on stage presenting or giving a speech.  They self talk themselves into a limiting belief that you need the personality of a Bette Midler or the statesmanship of a seasoned politician, Barack Obama comes to mind here, in order to be effective communicating to others.  It's simply not the truth. 

"It's easy for you Bob" I can almost hear them say as they look up at me.....  "you're a large mammal".   While it's true that I'm a large mammal,  and I have some presence....  the fact is that even someone of smaller stature can have the same presence and power when they are in front of an audience as a large person.  Tell Danny Devito that he's too small for him to have an impact on you.  But when you watch him on screen or in person, he has tons of presence.  Truly it's the way that he uses it.  With Danny Devito, it comes and it rarely goes.  He is on.

The trick is to find your core truth and let it sing.   "You are an instrument which you must learn to play " Said Joanne Forsberg.. Ms. Forsberg was and still is a force of nature when you talk about performing at your best.  She was ever so briefly my teacher at the Players Workshop of the Second City many years ago, and her words were pretty profound.  

In my work today, we get a speaker to tap into his intuitive nature, trust it, and allow him to go big with it.  There's just not a more powerful way of having presence while you are in front of people in the world.

Ms. Forsberg wasn't very large either..  but hers was the type of presence that was felt by each student.  Clapton was right..  It really is in the way that you use it.