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FAQ

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Q: What is Lorraine K. Lee's main message about professional presence?

A: Presence is a learnable, strategic skill, not an innate personality trait. It's built through intentional everyday moments, not just high-stakes performances.

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Q: What are the introverted superpowers Lorraine K. Lee describes?

A: One-on-one relationship building, strong written communication, and thorough preparation, all of which are high-value presence assets in modern workplaces.

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Q: What is the TEA Method for video presence?
A: Tech (camera, microphone, software), Energy (gestures, engagement), and Aesthetics (lighting, framing, background), Lorraine K. Lee's three-part framework for virtual presence.

What Is Professional Presence, and Can You Actually Learn It?

Most people think professional presence is something you either have or you don't. The bold, magnetic person in the room who commands attention without trying. If that's not naturally you, the assumption goes, you're out of luck.

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That assumption is wrong. And it's costing a lot of talented professionals their next promotion.

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Lorraine K. Lee is an award-winning global keynote speaker, an instructor at LinkedIn Learning and Stanford Continuing Studies, and the bestselling author of Unforgettable Presence: Get Seen, Gain Influence, and Catapult Your Career (Wiley, 2025). She's a LinkedIn Top Voice with over 330,000 followers. And she learned everything she knows about presence the hard way, by watching it hold her back.

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As a founding editor at LinkedIn, Lorraine was a high performer. She worked hard, executed fast, and was well-liked. But once she hit mid-level, the promotions stopped coming. It wasn't until she left and had space to reflect that she understood what was missing. Presence. The strategic, intentional kind that shapes how others perceive you, even in your smallest everyday moments. She joins the Do Good to Lead Well podcast to break all of it down. Here's what stood out.

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Presence Is a Skill You Build, Not a Personality You're Born With

One of the most freeing ideas in this conversation is Lorraine's reframe of what presence actually means. It's about executive presence in a high-stakes boardroom moment and being seen by the right people, at the right times, in the right places.

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"Presence happens in more of those everyday moments, not just the big high-stakes situations," Lorraine explains. The presence you bring to a Slack message. The energy in a passing hallway conversation. The tone of a quick email. These micro-moments are constantly shaping how others perceive you, whether you're aware of it or not.

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For introverts especially, this reframe is a game-changer. Lorraine is open about being an introvert herself, and she dedicates a significant part of the book to what she calls introvert superpowers:

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• One-on-one relationship building, in today's workplace, especially with AI changing the landscape, trust-based relationships are one of the most differentiating skills you can have. Introverts are naturally wired for them.
• Strong written communication, summarizing a meeting, writing a clear project brief, or sending a thoughtful follow-up? These are powerful presence moments, and introverts often shine here.
• Thorough preparation, introverts tend to over-prepare before speaking, which actually makes them highly effective public speakers in planned scenarios. That careful thinking reads as authority.

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Understanding your introvert wiring also means managing your energy intentionally. If an open-plan office leaves you exhausted by noon, that's data. Once you know it, you can work with it instead of against it.

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Three Frameworks That Change How You Show Up Every Day

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1. The TEA Method for Video Presence

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In a hybrid and remote world, your video presence is often your first impression. Lorraine's TEA Method gives you a pre-call checklist:

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• Tech, A decent external microphone and webcam go a long way (we're talking $50–$100). Built-in laptop audio simply isn't good enough. Tools like noise-cancelling software can also help eliminate background distractions.
• Energy, Video mutes energy. To break through the screen, use intentional hand gestures. Research shows that showing your palms on camera signals trustworthiness and warmth. Don't let your hands disappear below frame.
• Aesthetics, Good lighting is the single highest-impact change you can make. Beyond that, think about your framing, your background, and how you're curating your entire visual environment.

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2. The Presentation Attention Toolbox

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Whether you're presenting to 5 people or 500, Lorraine's core advice is to break people out of autopilot from the first moment. Instead of the predictable "welcome, here's the agenda," open with a question, a compelling statistic, or an invitation to imagine a future state.

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For virtual presentations specifically, her counterintuitive tip is to add more slides. Not more content per slide, more slides. Because movement drives attention. When a slide changes every minute or two, it delivers a small burst of dopamine that keeps your audience re-engaged. A slide that stays on screen for ten minutes is an invitation to multitask.

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3. The Passive to Active Meeting Framework

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Think of yourself as a workplace entertainer. Warm up your audience before diving into the agenda. Use a Spotify playlist guess, a question of the week, or a quick thought starter to shift people out of back-to-back meeting fog.

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Then get specific with your agenda, not just topics, but time allocations and what you need from each person. And before you close, state your success goal out loud: "This meeting will be a success if..."

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The Subtle Habits That Are Quietly Undermining You

Even the most capable professionals unknowingly chip away at their own credibility. Lorraine calls this minimizing language, and once you hear it, you can't unhear it.

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A few common examples:

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• "Does that make sense?", You mean to invite collaboration. But it signals you're unsure whether what you said actually made sense. Try "Let me know if you have any questions" instead.
• "I'm so sorry I'm late", Leads the conversation with frazzled energy and forces the other person to reassure you. Instead, try "Thank you so much for your patience." Same situation, completely different energy.
• Overusing "I feel...", Swap feeling statements for recommendations or clear positions. It immediately reads as more confident.

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Beyond language, Lorraine makes a compelling case for getting better feedback, specifically, asking for it differently. Instead of "What can I improve?", try: "I've been working on my public speaking. On a scale of one to five, how am I landing in terms of confidence and clarity?" A number opens the door to specifics. Specifics are where the real growth is.

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She also loves the advice framing, asking 'What do you think about that? I'd love your thoughts' instead of requesting feedback directly. People love giving advice and sharing opinions; it lowers their guard and surfaces more honest insight. People love giving advice. Framing feedback as advice lowers their guard and often surfaces more honest, useful insight.

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"Presence is being seen by the right people, at the right times, in the right places. It's much more strategic than one might think.", Lorraine K. Lee

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Your Presence Is Already in the Room, Make It Work for You

Stop thinking of presence as a performance and start thinking of it as a strategy. You're already showing up in meetings, on video calls, in Slack, in email, in hallway conversations. Presence is already happening. The question is whether you're being intentional about it, or leaving that impression entirely to chance.

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The tools Lorraine shares are about making small, deliberate tweaks to amplify what you're already doing. Adjust your lighting. Rethink the way you ask for feedback. Drop one phrase that's been quietly shrinking your credibility. Show up in the LinkedIn conversation your ideal audience is already having.

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And if imposter syndrome shows up in the process? Lorraine's reframe is worth keeping: "If I'm feeling uncomfortable, that's because I'm pushing myself to grow." Every time you lean into that discomfort instead of retreating from it, you collect more evidence of your own capability. That evidence compounds. That's how unforgettable presence is built.

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Ready to Unlock Unforgettable Presence and Influence?

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• To get practical tools and actionable tips that will jumpstart your journey, download the Unlocking Unforgettable Presence and Influence Kick Starter Booklet here.
  
  
• Join the newsletter to be notified when a new episode is ready for you to listen and get every Kick Starter Booklet for all future episodes.
  
  
• And if you’re looking to elevate your entire C-Suite leadership team, learn how Craig Dowden can help your leaders perform at their highest-level visit https://www.craigdowden.com/executive-mastermind
  
  
• For a deeper dive, listen to the full-length episode of the Do Good to Lead Well podcast featuring Lorraine K, Lee:
  
  • Spotify
  • Apple Podcasts

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Did you like this article on Unlocking Unforgettable Presence and Influence? Does it help you become a better leader? Then check out these articles to help hone those skills even further:

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• Stop Playing It Safe: How to Stop Playing It Safe and Lead at Your Full Potential: Insights from Dianna Fioravanti
• Lead with Authentic Integrity: How to Lead with Authentic Integrity: Lessons from a Financial Markets CEO with Laura Paglia
• Ethical Leadership: The Integrity Gap: How Good People Make Bad Decisions (And How to Prevent It) with Tom Hardin
• Creating Inclusive Workplaces: Beyond DEI: The Practical Fairness Framework for Creating Inclusive Workplaces That Actually Work with Lily Zheng
• Psychological Safety and Belonging: Building Emotionally Intelligent Teams: The Science-Backed Framework for Psychological Safety and Belonging with Vanessa Druskat
• Make Better Decisions: How to Make Better Decisions When Everything Feels Uncertain
• Anxiety: Mastering Social Anxiety: Evidence-Based Strategies for Leaders and Professionals
• Build Resilient Organizations: Culture Design: How to Build Resilient Organizations with Intentional Values
• Unlearning Silence: What to do When Your Best People Are Not Speaking Up with Elaine Lin Hering
• Why Feeling for Others Is Making Your Leadership Less Effective: The Empathy Paradox
• Leading With Courage and Authenticity: Purpose Driven Innovation: One CEO’s Guide to Leading with Courage and Authenticity with Kendra MacDonald
• Build Wildly Successful Startups Through Authenticity: Silent Strength: How Introverts Build Wildly Successful Startups Through Authenticity, Not Performance
• Drive Leadership Excellence in 2026 (Part 2): How Curiosity, Team Diversity, and Meaningful Work Drive Leadership Excellence in 2026 (Part 2)

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