A leadership presence programme in Paris

The brief

The HR director wanted managers who hold a room when it matters: in a tense negotiation, a town hall, a board update or a difficult conversation with their own team. The learning and development manager needed a format that worked for engineers and commercial leaders alike, in French and English, on site.

The format and the experts

Each half day combined the craft of the stage with the discipline of executive coaching. Groups of twelve worked on:

• Voice: breath support, pace and the pause that makes people listen.
• Body: posture, stillness and where to put your hands when the stakes rise.
• Composure: what to do in the first ten seconds of a hard question.
• Practice: short scenarios from the managers’ own week, played and replayed until they felt natural.

The setting

A light-filled training room at the client’s Paris site, set without tables so every exercise could happen on its feet. The same room hosted all five cohorts and the executive committee’s session.

The outcome

Sixty managers completed the programme across five cohorts, and the executive committee took the same session. Managers left with a short routine they can run before any high-stakes moment, and a shared language for presence across the site.

Questions buyers ask