Emotions are a crucial part of building professional relationships that lead to new business. and not everybody is emotionally intelligent enough to naturally be able to communicate what needs to be communicated in those crucial conversations and presentations that lead to new work. This is why the job of an Emotional Sherpa — otherwise known as a Presence Champion — is so crucial.
In 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary became the first to reach the summit of Mt Everest. Tenzing didn’t just guide the path—he set the tone, carried energy, and led the emotional journey up the mountain.
That’s the role I want to invite you to step into inside your organization.
Become an emotional Sherpa.
At SagePresence, we often talk about the idea of a Presence Champion. This is someone inside a professional services firm who pays attention to the human side of performance—how people show up, how they connect, and how their presence impacts outcomes.
In business development training, business development coaching, and leadership presence coaching, this role is critical. Because your firm doesn’t win work just because you provide a service. You win work because of how people experience you.
A Presence Champion is someone who:
They are emotionally aware. They are observant. And most importantly, they make presence visible to others.
In many firms, this role naturally shows up in business development and marketing teams. These are the people already thinking about communication, messaging, and connection.
But the best Presence Champions go a step further.
They don’t just understand presence.
They model it.
Every step of the sales process—relationship building, proposal development, interviews, project kickoff—is influenced by presence.
This is why AEC presentation skills, interview skills training for professionals, and confident presence matter so much. Clients are not just evaluating what you say. They are experiencing how you say it.
Presence Champions help teams see that.
They help teams become intentional about how they show up.
And they do it in a way that encourages, not criticizes.
Here’s where the Sherpa analogy becomes powerful.
An emotional Sherpa doesn’t stand at the bottom of the mountain and say, “You should be more excited.”
They go first.
They climb.
They embody the energy they want others to feel.
And then they turn back and say, “Come with me.”
In group presentation coaching, sales pitch coaching, and presentation support, we see this all the time. The most effective teams are led emotionally by someone who is already in the state they want the team to reach.
Imagine you are preparing an interview team.
You are listening. You are watching. You are paying attention to how people are showing up.
When you see a spark—energy, excitement, connection—you call it out.
You celebrate it.
You amplify it.
You say, “That right there—that’s it. That’s what we want more of.”
And you don’t just say it.
You feel it.
You show it.
You bring your own energy into the room.
Because here’s the truth:
No one will be more excited than you are.
If you want a team to feel something, you have to go there first.
You have to be the example.
You have to create the emotional environment they can step into.
This is the heart of business speaking, leadership confidence training, and business development communication training. Emotion is not something you instruct. It’s something you transmit.
Being an emotional Sherpa also means helping people reconnect with what matters to them.
Ask questions like:
Then meet them there.
Get excited with them.
Support them.
Call them forward.
This is not about forcing energy. It’s about uncovering it and amplifying it.
Every firm needs Presence Champions.
Every team benefits from someone who can see, feel, and guide the emotional side of performance.
So the next time you are working with your team—whether it’s in a pursuit, a presentation, or a client interaction—ask yourself:
Am I standing at the bottom telling them where to go?
Or am I already climbing, showing them what it looks like?
Be the emotional Sherpa.
Lead the way.
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