It's Presence
The most underrated interview skill is presence — the ability to be fully in the room, genuinely engaged, actually responding to what's happening rather than running your prepared script. Presence is what makes an interview feel like a real conversation instead of a performance.
Why It's Hard to Practice
You can practice answers. You can practice body language. Presence is harder to drill because it's not a technique — it's a state. It requires you to let go of the performance mindset and actually show up as yourself. That's why most interview prep doesn't address it.
What Gets in the Way
Over-preparation kills presence. When you're trying to remember the right answer, you can't be in the conversation. When you're monitoring every word you say, you can't actually listen. The more mental bandwidth you spend on the performance, the less you have for the actual human interaction.
How to Cultivate It
Know your stories well enough that you don't have to think hard to tell them. Then walk into the interview with the intention of being genuinely curious about the people you're meeting. Presence comes from interest. Get interested in them, and you'll stop being so worried about yourself.
The Less Prep, More Pep: The Workbook is designed to get your prep done efficiently so you walk in with mental space for presence — not performance.