Presentation Persona Spotlight: Dumbledore

Throughout J.K. Rowling’s wildly-popular Harry Potter Series – the books and movies have accumulated over $14 trillion – one character served as the mentor for main character, Harry Potter. Albus Dumbledore attended Hogwarts as a child, excelling in his studies. Eventually, he became the headmaster of the school. In the clip from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince below, Dumbledore explains events that happened earlier in the evening and warns students about Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Voldemort).

Although Dumbledore’s demeanor is more light-hearted and merry at the beginning of the series. For example, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a one character’s passing statement reveals Dumbledore’s jovial qualities:

“But Dumbledore says he doesn’t care what they do as long as they don’t take him off the Chocolate Frog cards.”

As the series progresses, however, Dumbledore becomes more serious while still retaining a chip of his funny bone. From a public speaking standpoint, Dumbledore is wise, inspiring, and deliberate.

Profile Map_Curator

Overall, I believe Dumbledore scores high in Exploration, Response, and Durability, but scores low in Sharing. The results indicate that Dumbledore’s public speaking personality matches that of the Curator. Let’s break down the reasons I labeled the Harry Potter character as the Curator presentation persona.

Dumbledore

Presentation Persona Spotlight: Dumbledore

Exploration

With academic leanings and positioned as the sage, elderly teacher, Dumbledore couldn’t be anything other than a picture of perfection in the Exploration quadrant. He knows his subject matter inside and out, in fact, he knows it so thoroughly that he rarely has to prepare for his speeches. In a 2005 interview, J.K. Rowling said Dumbledore “has always had to be the one who knew, and who had the burden of knowing.” She carefully crafted his character to be – on many levels – omniscient. In his speech about Tom Riddle, Dumbledore jumped right into a compelling story, which grabbed his audience’s attention almost immediately. This is an expert Exploration move.

Sharing

Since he is a well-read individual and holds an authoritative role within the wizarding world and beyond, the golden nuggets of Dumbledore’s message can take a minute to shine through. After a few awkward housekeeping items at the beginning of the scene from the Half Blood Prince, he finally sets the scene for the rest of his comments. He could achieve greater public speaking success if he cuts through the clutter and streamlines his ideas.

Response

J.K. Rowling created Dumbledore as the good to balance out Voldemort’s bad. Despite certainly attracting enemies – both Muggle and non-Muggle – a majority of the characters in Harry Potter adore Dumbledore.

“You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts…but you cannot deny he’s got style…” – Phineas Nigellus Black

Even in the clip referenced earlier in this article, the headmaster spoke to an attentive audience. He received claps and appropriate reactions to his words.

Durability

In his character’s entirety, the durability of the principles he stands for is clear. Dumbledore is the epitome of acting for the good of all, not the benefit of a few. If you’ve watched even one Harry Potter movie, you are probably well-aware of his short quips of insight, which he doles out to Harry and the rest of his trio constantly. Dumbledore’s lasting impact as a fictional character is best described by his creator. During a 2003 interview, she defined his role in the series.

“Dumbledore is a very wise man who knows that Harry is going to have to learn a few hard lessons to prepare him for what may be coming in his life. He allows Harry to get into what he wouldn’t allow another pupil to do, and he also unwillingly permits Harry to confront things he’d rather protect him from.” – J.K. Rowling

If we get even more granular, Dumbledore’s speech in the Half Blood Prince foreshadows events to come – increasing its relevance within the larger narrative.

Curious to know what your presentation persona is? Take the Badge Assessment now and find out!

For more background on the presentation persona of other individuals and characters, check out the posts below:

Presentation Persona Spotlight: Michael Scott

Presentation Persona Spotlight: Spider-Man

Presentation Persona Spotlight: Tim Cook

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