Learn from the greats my friend - all of them walked so that we can run.
Makeup (Gene Simmons)
Stage costume (Gene Simmons, Joey Dimaio, Bootsy Collins)
Occupy centre stage (Lemmy)
Caper around while playing (Flea, Steve Harris)
Hah speak for yourself 
Seriously though one of the best stage presences I’ve seen was at the Fields of the Nephilim - tons and tons of dry ice with backlighting. Badass.
hur hur hur yeah 
I love watching performances like this, when the bassist is clearly having fun. Many others seem to hide in the shadows (I’ve often searched for live performances on youtube to see how the bassist plays a song, and it is disappointing to see he’s hiding behind the others; could this be a reason why cameramen often forget about the bassist?)
Simon Gallup from The Cure jumps, runs, plays sometimes with a foot on a stage monitor. I was surprised when he said in an interview he has some stage fright and he’s nervous before the performance, because it doesn’t look like that. Probably all the moving around and having fun puts the musician in the right frame of mind.
This is a great advice! I have no personal experience with playing in front of people, but I can see how all of this can be very helpful.
This thread reminded me of this performance by New Order. The female guitarist is hardly moving, but look at how much the bassist Peter Hook moves! He is clearly having a lot of fun. He doesn’t seem to make much eye contact with the audience (which would have been good), but he is dancing a lot. Check the video from 2:50 onwards:
Hooky still has tons of stage presence!
You don’t need to run and jump around to have stage presence though.
You need to confidently occupy a space like you are meant to be there. The same sort of energy as, “If you have a clipboard, a vest, and walk with confidence, no one will ever stop you.”
Just like playing a good bass line is more about HOW you play than WHAT you play… same with stage presence. Someone walking slowly across the stage with purpose is far more captivating than someone jumping around for no reason. (My first rock concert was Yes in the 90’s. Chris Squire was just a giant presence who strode across the stage like he owned it.)
Here is Gail Anne Dorsey giving a masterclass in this. I mean, she is standing next to freaking David Bowie and isn’t overshadowed. No big or fast movements. Just very intentional and emotive ones.
It’s not how much she moves, it’s how intentional and emotive her movement is.
I’ve bookmarked this video before. Great arrangement. She’s an excellent bass player. I just ripped the audio and SMP5 is stemming the bass line now. 
Right. Also crazy outfits, make-up and stuff don’t automatically switch on presence. It can help, but it still needs to come from the inside.
I think this dude has stage presence!!
Tim Slade, who plays with Gary Numan.
I usually just walk out on the stage and point at someone in the crowd, usually a bartender or a server and wave, like I know someone in the crowd. It usually stuck in their mind I did something 
He’s really impressive! Thanks for this! I had to look for the whole thing on youtube. Their sound is really cool, but he surely steals all the attention with his looks and moves. Really awesome!
He’s superb, isn’t he? The look, the great playing and the way he moves, he really does steal the show!
Everything about him is so cool. He has some snake-like moves, dark and alien. And awesome clothes and makeup. His performance is mesmerising!
He’s joining Billy Corgan in the Dark City…
Speaking of the Blues brothers 
It’s not required. Nobody needs the bass player showing off. Leave that to the singer / guitarist
Turn up / know the songs inside out / play in time with the drummer / smile because it’s fun playing music that people dance to and take the $100 for 6 hours work.
Repeat
This is the way.
Thanks everyone for your advice, last sunday I played in a gig and it went well, although I didn’t jump around like Flea, I managed to nod my head to the rhytm and to look like I was enjoying the music. I missed a few notes but I think no one noticed since I was locked with my drummer lol
At first glance, I thought that’s Meshell Ndegeocello (incidentally one of my favourite bass players, especially on her early albums. Check out "Peace Beyond Passion"), but after I got my glasses I stood corrected.
EDIT I just checked out Gail Ann Dorsey:
"From 1993 to 1996, Dorsey also recorded and toured with Tears for Fears, and collaborated on songwriting with the band. She appeared in several of the band’s promo videos throughout this period.
Her diverse range of work includes performances and recordings with The National, Lenny Kravitz, Bryan Ferry, Boy George, the Indigo Girls, Khaled, Jane Siberry, The The, Skin, Gwen Stefani, Charlie Watts, Seal, Gang of Four, Susan Werner, Ani DiFranco and Dar Williams."
WTF? I listen to her all the time, without knowing 
