From Screen to Stage: The Missing Link in Leadership Presence

By Margie Zohn

It’s 3:15 p.m., and you’ve spent the last seven hours perfecting what might just be the most stunning presentation deck ever created.

In fifteen minutes, your prospective clients will walk into the conference room. You stand up, stiff from hours at your computer, a dull headache pulsing behind your eyes. Lunch was a granola bar and a Diet Coke. Your voice hasn’t been used since morning, and your body feels as if it’s still fused to the chair.

You grab a cup of coffee and head to the meeting room, ready to deliver your masterpiece. But when you start speaking, your voice cracks. You feel unsteady. Your thoughts—so sharp on screen—suddenly feel distant.

Your clients listen politely. They ask a few questions. They shake your hand.
You have no idea how it went.

Sound familiar?
That’s what I call failing to go from screen to stage—from creating ideas to embodying them.

Why So Many Leaders Miss the Mark

Most professionals spend hours refining their content and minutes preparing their delivery. But as leaders, we aren’t just responsible for what we say—we’re responsible for how people experience us when we say it.

Here’s where most presentations go wrong:

  1. Overvaluing information.
    We believe our biggest contribution is the data, the strategy, the content—so we pour energy into the deck, not the delivery.

  2. Avoiding preparation out of fear.
    We tell ourselves, “I’ll think it through when I get there,” when what we really mean is, “I don’t want to feel nervous yet.”

  3. Fearing rehearsal.
    Many people assume practicing will make them more anxious. In truth, ineffective rehearsal does—but intentional rehearsal builds presence and confidence.

What Great Communicators Do Differently

Think of athletes and artists. They don’t step onto the field or the stage cold. They warm up. They transition—physically, mentally, emotionally—from preparation to performance.

Leaders need the same practice.

When you move from screen to stage, your most important tools aren’t your slides—they’re your voice, body, and attention. A simple warm-up can transform how you show up:

  • Center yourself. Close your eyes. Breathe. Notice what you’re feeling.

  • Adjust your energy. Too tense? Breathe deeply. Too low? Move. Stretch. Walk.

  • Check your body. Release your jaw. Uncross your arms. Ground your feet.

  • Focus your mind. Ask: Why am I in this room? What impact do I want to have?

  • Rehearse out loud. Say your opening aloud—yes, with your actual voice. Practice makes presence.

The Transition That Changes Everything

When we fail to transition—from sitting to standing, from thinking to connecting, from private preparation to public communication—we lose power. We risk showing up physically in the room but mentally still behind the screen.

Presence isn’t about polish or performance. It’s about being fully available—to your message, to yourself, and to your audience.

To Coach or Not to Coach?

That’s not the question anymore.

In today’s business climate, coaching is how leaders build capability, engagement, and trust—the very things that drive performance.