Using Your Body

Keep in mind that eliminating the fear doesn't mean you automatically will present well. That's the same as being unafraid to sing, but not knowing how to hit the right notes. (At that point, the fear is with the audience, who wonders if you will ever stop!)

Face it! You can't present well because you haven't learned the rules. You don't know how to play the game because no one taught you how. This is completely understandable. I was the same way. Then I learned to play the game.

The skills I want to share with you are based on the theatre. I was lucky enough to get exceptional acting training that very few others have ever experienced . I now apply those skills to presentations and guess what? They work! If I can make 1,500 people react to a playwright's intention , I can easily teach you a method that makes you a better communicator no matter what the topic, where the opportunity, or how big the audience. After reading this section, you'll be able to start using these skills tomorrow!

The only way to develop a method or systematic approach to any skill is to agree on the parameters that make that skill achievable. In this section, you learn to build a concrete foundation from which to work. With a core set of guidelines, you remain consistent from one presentation to the next , regardless of the content. I want you to concentrate on the basics ”on things external to you. The things external to you always involve some type of action or activity and include

• Positioning and moving

• Making eye contact

• Using gestures

• Mastering the lectern

• Avoiding problems

Positioning and Moving

The first thing you have to learn is your relationship to the room. The physical space you occupy must be subject to your control. Like the home-field advantage in sports, if you know the space and feel comfortable within it, you can achieve your goal and deliver a more effective message.

For presentations, understanding the layout of the room, especially the size, distance from the group , and placement of the screen (visuals) is very important. All that stuff will change from place to place, and you may have to make certain adjustments to get the room situated comfortably for you and your audience.

But you want to develop a consistent behavior, regardless of the physical attributes of the room. These universal concepts will help you in every presentation situation because you can control all of them, at any time.

Establish an Anchor

When presenting with visual support, you need to set an anchor for the audience to watch and read. Anchor your body to the same side as the starting point to read the language (that is, left-to-right or right-to-left ).

For presentations in English (and many other languages), you must stand on the left side of the room; that is, the left side from the audience's point of view. In the English language, we read words from left to right. The eye is less distracted if it sees the presenter speaking from the left (in the anchored position), then glances slightly to the right to read the visual (left-to-right). The eye then naturally returns to view the speaker again as in the act of reading.

If you stand on the opposite side of the room (the audience's right), the audience has to look at your face, then navigate backward and across the visual just to find the reading anchor and then "read" just to get back to you again. This extra step is a distraction. It is a waste of time. Listening is delayed and effectiveness is reduced.

Now if you were in Israel, you could be on the other side; in Greece, stand in the middle; in China, on your head ”I don't know. But in the United States, we read words from left to right, so stand on the audience's left when presenting. This is the way to establish an anchor for the audience, because it matches the reading pattern (anchor) they've grown accustomed to for some time.

NOTE

If you have no visuals for the audience to view, it doesn't matter which side of the room you present from, as long as people can see and hear you. However, it is always better to choose a side and remain in that area.

Off-center is always a good choice because a centered presenter ends up having to work twice as hard by shifting and moving to both sides of the room. The one-sided approach sets a positioning anchor for the audience, which, if constant and unchanging, is less distracting.

You want to present from the side of the room that matches the reading pattern of the language. But, don't worry if you get stuck on the opposite side of the room. Of course, you never know what you might be faced with when you haven't set things up yourself. If you have to present from the wrong side, just make fewer references to your visuals during the presentation to limit the distraction for the audience. Naturally you won't be the most effective you could be, but you won't necessarily walk away a failure, either.

Build a Triangle

You want to know the biggest problem for most presenters? Moving! That's right, moving. They have no idea where they are going! They never really think about it!

Can you imagine if the actors had no idea where to go? The actor playing Hamlet would say, "To be or not to be whoops oh sorry, Dave didn't see your foot !" as he pulled himself from the floor.

The only way to know how or when to move is to know where to move first. An easy way to learn this is to design an area in front of the audience in which you can move. It's called the Presenter's Triangle ¢ . It's imaginary because you must create it!

Figure 26.1 shows the triangle. Here's how you build it. While standing at a fixed distance from your display equipment, construct an imaginary line from the eyes of the person sitting on your far right, to the left edge of the screen. This line becomes the long end of the triangle, an angled wall. From each end of this angled wall, draw two lines meeting at a 90-degree angle to complete the shape behind you. Now you are standing inside an imaginary triangle.

Figure 26.1. A top-down view of the Presenter's Triangle. You create this imaginary space in which to present so that you don't block the view of anyone in the audience.

The most important point to remember is that the angled wall is a boundary you cannot penetrate . If you step through the wall, people on your right will not be able to see the screen.

NOTE

Naturally, the illustration suggests you position yourself at a fixed distance from any display equipment. If you are using transparencies or seated at a keyboard, the triangle option is limited to those times when you take a position that does not block the view of anyone. This is another reason why presenting with overheads is so difficult. The line of sight from the audience to the visual is broken for some people.

Okay, here's the good news. There are only three positions of the triangle that your body ever has to occupy. That's it ”only three spots ”the front, the middle, and the back!

Figure 26.2 shows a close-up view of the triangle with the three positions noted. The front is closer to the audience; the middle is where you should be most of the time; and the back is much closer to the screen. Now you will never use the full area of the triangle, unless you feel like hiding in the far corner (the shaded area) for some reason. Actually, you are really presenting inside a corridor within the triangle. You simply move along this little hallway, which follows the path of the angled wall.

Figure 26.2. A close-up view of the triangle. You can use any of the three positions along the angled wall, but you want to avoid using the far corner (the shaded portion) when you move.

So why are there three positions? Because you have to move! You need to change the position of your body every so often or people won't watch you. If your body is not adding value for the audience, then they have less reason to watch you present the information. If you don't move, then it's talk radio. The audience will spend less time looking at you and more time updating their daily planners!

All forms of communication require some type of change to be effective. The change takes place in writing, in speaking, and in delivering. When you write, you skip lines and start new paragraphs. That's form in writing. When you speak, you pause between thoughts. That's rhythm in speech. When you're face-to-face, you create action in a defined space. That's movement in delivery.

All you have to do is treat the three positions of the triangle like peg holes or stopping points. You move to these points periodically, but with authority, remembering to stop and remain in a particular position for a while as you speak. You don't want to appear to be running back and forth, meandering aimlessly, drifting from place to place for no apparent reason. Just as you don't add paragraphs after every sentence or pauses after each word, you don't want to overdo and have constant movement while you present.

You might be wondering when to use the front, middle, and back of the triangle. Here's a guide. Choose the back of the triangle when the visual is complex. A busy visual forces the audience to keep looking at it. If your body is closer to the screen (the back of the triangle), then there is less distance for the audience to look between your visual and your voice. You don't want people moving their heads back and forth like they're at a tennis match!

Does Size Matter?

You rushed to read this one! We know each other too well! It's the size of the triangle I'm referring to!

The dimension of your space is based on the distance from the screen to the first row of chairs. At times you may have a 25-foot area to move around in. Other times, you may have only a few feet between the first seat and the screen.

For example, in a conference room you may only have a few steps between both ends of your triangle. But there is always a triangle, even if the only way to change between positions is to shift your weight. Your body must make visible changes based on the available space in order for the audience to pay attention.

So size doesn't matter for the triangle to exist. However, the more area available to you, the longer it will take to get to different spots. This will have some effect on your delivery. You'll want to make your key points when standing still for more impact. Thus, a larger triangle will force you to create additional words or phrases between those key points to naturally fill the moments needed to move to a new position.

From that perspective, when it comes to using different positions, size really does matter! Hmmm ”where have I heard that before?

Choose the middle of the triangle for the majority of the talk. Think of the middle as the launching pad to move in either direction. The middle is like the well it's the middle! It's the midpoint between two extremes.

Use the front of the triangle when your visuals are less busy and you want to be closer to the audience. A simple visual allows the audience to reference it fewer times. This means you can be a farther distance from the screen.

Here's one more point to consider about position. If you want to convince an audience with a key point, which do you think would be most effective ”to be in the front, middle, or back of the triangle? Obviously, the front, where you're closer to people. Well now you have learned one of the most valuable lessons of all ”choreography drives content! It's not the other way around. Decide where you want to be at certain points in the presentation and then look at the visual. Does it allow you to be in that spot based on its format? If not, then change the visual.

If you know you want to emphasize an important point when you move to the front of the triangle, your visual content needs to be simple enough to allow your body to navigate to the front of the triangle. Or is the image so cluttered that half the audience is still reading while you're addressing the major issue? Change the visual to suit your movement.

Don't let content be your guide! Simply decide where you want to be on a given visual and adjust the complexity of the image according to your position in the triangle.

The triangle is important because it represents part of your physical plan of action. Without some definite planned movement, you end up wandering aimlessly, giving the audience no reason or logic for the direction. (Don't forget that the audience is processing your body language more than your visuals or your voice.)

Play the Angles

While there are only three places to move in the triangle, there are only two body positions you have to worry about! See? It's getting easier!

You're going to find that all the power in your presentation rests in your shoulders! The angles of your body enhance communication. Figure 26.3 shows the two body positions or angles used in presenting, rest and power. For most of your talk, you should be at a 45-degree angle to the room. To create the angle, point your shoulders to the opposite corner of the room. This is a rest position. It's a nonthreatening stance, which opens your body to both the audience and the screen when you need to gesture or move.

Figure 26.3. You should only be concerned about two positions (angles) of the body: rest and power. The 45-degree angle is a rest position and the squared-off move puts you in a power position.

After you establish the rest position, you can use the power of your left shoulder. The shoulder farthest from the audience is always your power shoulder. Because you are on the left side of the room, the power comes from what you do with your left shoulder.

To get power, simply square your shoulders to the back wall of the room. Each time you turn your left shoulder toward the audience, you move into a power position. This signals that the information being communicated is of greater importance. But don't stay in that stance too long or the effectiveness of your words and actions will diminish. Constantly staying in the power position is the body's way of yelling. That's why the rest position is so important.

So, if you plan it right, you can choose the exact moments to add impact to the presentation by switching to the power position from any of the three places in the triangle.

For example, let's say you have 20 minutes to present. You start off in the middle of the triangle in a rest position. On a particularly busy visual, you navigate to the back of the triangle, closer to the screen, but still in a rest position. From that same spot, you square off to a power position just long enough to make a key point, and then you revert back to the rest position as you continue. Maybe later in your presentation you navigate to the front of the triangle to get a little closer to the crowd . You're telling an experience related to the topic and at a high point in the story, you square off for impact.

Wait; relax; calm down. You don't have to plan a move for every spoken word! But, if you practice, just like an athlete, the "moves" of your body will develop automatically. If you can get used to being a visual presenter, using the positions of the triangle and angles of the body will add enormous value to your presentation.

Making Eye Contact

So how do you please the crowd? You look at them! Yes, you look at them. It is so easy to do. Effective presenters look at people and make eye contact. This is critical to the communication process, especially to a group of visual creatures ”the audience. The less time you spend looking at people, the less effective you are going to be.

The Eyes Have It!

When you watch TV, you are constantly exposed to eye contact. Think about it. The newscasters are looking right at you, with the help of a TelePrompTer , of course. I don't understand why they have to use a TelePrompTer . Why can't they just memorize the news the day before?

Anyway, they make constant eye contact. Characters on TV shows (sitcoms, dramas, or whatever) don't look at you, but they look at each other. Here again you are watching eye contact, only not directed at you.

Let's face it. We all watch a lot of movies and TV and are used to the idea of continual eye contact. As a visual presenter, you must not fight the expectation that a group is mostly made up of eye-contact hounds.

So, throw 'em a bone and look at 'em!

Direct Eye Contact

Direct eye contact is easier in a smaller group, simply because you have less faces to find. In a conference room with 10 people, for example, it will be easy to look at every person in the room at one time or another during your presentation. In a large audience, say 50 or more people, you can make direct eye contact with several people, but probably not everyone.

Now suppose you're afraid to make direct eye contact. You just don't like looking right into someone's eyes. Here's a trick for you: You don't have to look directly into a person's eyes. Instead, you can look between the eyes and, from a distance, it looks like you're making eye contact. Just look at the spot on a person where the bridge of the nose meets the eyebrows , and it will seem as if you are looking directly into that person's eyes. It works with everyone, every time ”but it doesn't seem to work with a spouse ”hmmmm.

Anchored Eye Contact

Let me ask you : What's your limit? You know, the highest number of people you feel comfortable presenting to? Is it like 5? Or 15? Or 50? Maybe 100 or more? Usually there's a number. Suppose your number is 25. Then let's say that one more person walks in the room. Do you suddenly stop, throw your hands in the air, and shout, "Hey, hey you ”out. Yeah, you, out! 25 is my limit, pal!" (I don't think so.)

The point is that although the limit is in your imagination , it still doesn't change the fact that a larger group may intimidate you. The reason your "crowd-alarm" goes off is because you haven't established anchors in the audience with whom to make eye contact.

Here's what can happen : During a presentation, your eyes occasionally leave the audience, perhaps for a quick glance to your visual. When your eyes look away and then return to the audience, you suddenly see thousands of eyes staring back at you and ”zap! ”you lose your trend of thought. You forget the next phrase because the group ”not any individual, the group ”temporarily distracted you.

But, if you have identified specific people in the crowd, say a few friendly faces in separate areas of the audience, then you have a better chance of staying focused. If you look away for a moment, on your return trip to look at the crowd, you will be able to seek out those individuals and make anchored eye contact with any one of those friendly faces.

The anchors you select in the audience should be far enough apart so that it looks as if you are speaking to whole sections, even though your eyes are fixed on one person within that section. So split the audience up into a few big areas, maybe two on one side, two on the other, one down the middle ”and pick out a single face inside each area as your anchor. Then, when your head turns away, the next look back to the crowd will have you finding an anchor instead of having the entire group overwhelm you. (Think of it as presenting to a just few people who happen to have lots of other people sitting around them.) This way, you maintain your concentration and you don't feel intimidated.

After you have found your anchors, any direct eye contact with other selected individuals is even more effective. If you've been looking into sections of the audience, and then suddenly lock your eyes onto one particular person (not one of your anchors), it will be extremely powerful, especially for that person. It's as if you made personal contact with that individual; in other words, you singled out someone in the audience, making that person feel special.

You may have experienced this yourself if you've ever gone to a play or a concert and the performer, while entertaining the crowd, suddenly makes direct eye contact with you, it's something you never forget. So, the more eye contact you make with people, the more involved in the presentation they become.

Using Gestures

What do dance , ballet, mime, and most every sport have in common? With the exception of bobbing for apples, they all require the use of the hands. Presenting is no different because the hands control the eyes of the audience. What you do or don't do with your hands when you present makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, most presenters simply don't know what to do with those things at the ends of their wrists.

At times during your presentation, you'll have to guide the eyes of your audience toward your visual. Letting the audience look where they want is one thing ”it's more effective if they look where you want.

Never hide your hands behind your back or inside your pockets. Avoid putting your hands together in front of you for more than three seconds. When your hands stay together for even those few moments of time, the audience tends to look at them and not at your face. Always remember, the eyes travel wherever the hands go. Keep your hands apart, yet always visible.

NOTE

When you're nervous, your hands tend to join together or marry. In others words, they end up folded in front of you, doing nothing. Because you're a mammal, you have no skeleton in the center of your body, so you tend to protect that area by letting your hands rest together in front of you. You never see anyone with his hands on top of his shoulders saying, "Boy, am I nervous!" No way! Hands clasped in front or even locked behind your back, indicate nervousness and reduce your effectiveness.

If you aren't making any gestures, then return to a simple position with your hands at your sides. Or if your hands are up, waist high, then just avoid bringing them together.

If you are not elevated on a stage or standing on platforms (risers) when you speak, gestures are harder to see for everyone except the people in the front seats. For those viewing you from the waist up, keep your wrists higher than your elbows so that the gestures are visible. Always be aware of those sitting behind others and the view they might have of you while you speak. Gestures with your wrists lower than your elbows will generally go unnoticed and create little impact or meaning.

If used properly, the hands can orchestrate the eyes of the audience. Casual or emphatic gestures made to the screen or to the audience can create visual inflection . This helps the group recognize what is important. You can use a number of gestures with your hands and with your body that can help make your message more meaningful.

Reaching Out

The best gesture you can make as a presenter is reaching out. The palm of your hand faces up as your arm extends out to the audience. This is a very friendly move and can be done with one or both hands. When you reach out to the audience, you appear as if you want the group involved in the event. The palm-up and the arm-out gesture is generally pleasing to the eye and indicates a warmth of expression for the presenter.

Think about your everyday actions in business. When you greet a person in business you shake hands by extending your arm out with your hand open (an exposed palm). You are reaching out to that person. You might shake hands as a greeting, a parting , or as a result of an agreement.

You can shake hands with the audience by reaching out to them. You reach out to the group as a way of greeting them, parting with them, or bringing them into agreement with you. Just because there's more than one person in the room doesn't mean your personal interactive skills suddenly disappear. When you reach out to the audience, you become more approachable and ultimately more effective.

The reaching out gesture also works best when you interact with the audience, especially in a question-answer situation. If someone asks a question, reach out to acknowledge that person. But don't stop there! You must keep your arm outstretched with your palm up until the person begins to speak, and then you can casually pull your arm back, almost as if catching the first syllable in your hand.

If you don't leave your arm extended until you get the beginning of a response, you may end up with the opposite effect, a gesture that suggests insincerity or indifference. It's called the "Like I Care" gesture. You've seen it. The presenter flings a hand at a person while asking a question, as if to say, "Yeah right, like I care about your answer!" Don't start tossing your limbs at people and then expect interaction.

TIP

The reaching out technique works best for the first question asked. After you set the stage for a nice way of interacting, the audience will be more inclined to ask additional questions.

The Left Hand for Guidance

Your left hand does the majority of the guidance for the audience. If you recall, the screen is always to the presenter's left for languages that read left to right. So, if you want to guide the eye to the screen, simply lift your left arm and use your left hand to motion slowly in the general direction of the visual. This indicates that the image should be glanced at by the group, but they should remain more focused on you. However, if you raise your left arm and dart your left hand quickly toward the screen, the more emphatic movement tells the audience that the content has more importance.

In both examples the key is to make your movements with authority. Do not make half-hearted gestures or the impact diminishes. Would you have a few images appear which were not bright enough to be seen? Would you casually whisper a few phrases that few could hear? You wouldn't make less of an effort with your visuals or your words, so don't use half-hearted moves when delivering the story.

TIP

Use your head! If you gesture to the screen and keep looking at the audience, the group has a choice to either stay focused on the screen or return their focus to you. This is because you are facing them and, technically, so is your visual. But if you turn your head to look at the screen as you gesture toward it, you force the audience to focus more on the visual than on you. Even if they look back at you, they see you looking at the screen and realize that's where the concentration should be. Both of these methods should be used to help shift emphasis on and off you from time to time. This variation is important.

The Left Hand for Movement

The left hand can help you move through the triangle. That's right! You can walk toward the audience with no gestures, but you can't walk backward without an excuse . The audience needs a reason for any movement away from them. If the body retreats, it is a sign of distrust ; the body language indicates that you are not telling the truth or that you are unsure of your accuracy. You appear to be "backing away" from the issue.

So you might wonder , "How will I get from the front of the triangle to the middle or back if I can't retreat?" You can retreat ”with a reason ”by using your left hand. If you gesture to the visual while navigating backward through the triangle, the audience accepts the movement because you are gesturing. They allow your retreat using the logic or excuse that you had to back up because you had to gesture to the screen.

TIP

The only way to understand this is to try it. Stand in one spot. Start describing one of your best qualities while you move backward a few steps without making any gestures. How does it feel?

Okay, now pretend a screen is behind you. Stand in that spot again, use the same description and use your left hand to gesture back to the imaginary screen as you move backward. Notice the difference? It's as if some key support information exists to help make your point.

As you've just seen, only gestures can get you backward through the triangle, which is why it's so important to link your movements to your visual content. Make sure when you're directing attention to the screen (as you navigate away from the audience) that what you're saying relates to the visual to which you're gesturing. If it doesn't, you'll create even more confusion.

Justifying Movement

The audience needs a reason for your moving away from them. Your gesture to the screen is that reason. But only you need a reason to move toward the audience. Typically, this requires no gestures, just movement. Your reason is to get closer to them. In both cases you have justification for the movement in either direction.

But what if you had to move sideways ? What if you had to break the triangle and cross to the other side of the room? The only reason to do this must be to get to a visible reference. Most likely that reference is a prop. You cross the room to get something you need to incorporate into the presentation at that exact moment.

Of course, if you don't require the item, you can gesture to it without crossing the room. However, if you know you are going to need a prop, you should place it closer to you before you begin your presentation so you don't have to cross the room to get it.

You may also want to move sideways and cross the room to interact with a person. This is not a valid reason to break the triangle; a reaching out gesture is the way to interact with anyone in the audience.

Use the rationale that a break from the triangle requires carrying something back with you from wherever you are tempted to go. You'll find few reasons, if any, to ever drift from the anchor of the triangle. But if you do, there better be a clear reason as to why.

The Left Hand for Help

You can only look at each visual one time! That's it, one time until it changes or something on the visual changes. If you look at the same visual more than once, the audience thinks you don't know the information. They wonder why you have to keep looking back at the visual simply to make the next point.

You might think the easy way out of that problem is to use builds. Why not? The next bullet point pops up (a visual change) allowing you an opportunity to look at the image and quickly get the next thought. Nice try, but the audience will know you're using the visual for help when you don't speak until after you read a bullet point. They'll know you're reading the stuff ”maybe for the first time!

Okay, so what can you do? Yep, you guessed it ”use your left hand! You already know that you can look at your visual once without a gesture. To look at the same visual again, add a gesture to the screen. It's the old "give-them-a-reason" move. The audience forgives your extra glance to the screen, silently saying to themselves , "Well, of course you had to look at the screen again. You had to gesture and be sure of the spot you were referencing."

Now suppose you have to look at the same visual a third time? With the first glance, you need no gesture. The second glance, you gesture ”ahhh, but this time you leave your hand in the air. Don't drop your arm, keep it extended. Then, when you look at the visual for the third time, you only have to change the angle of your hand. Just a slight tilt of your wrist, up or down, moves your hand and creates another gesture or another excuse for the audience. You can even look for a fourth time as long as your hand changes position again. I know some presenters who haven't the slightest idea what's on each visual; but, by leaving an arm extended and glancing toward it a couple of times, the audience thinks, "What brilliance!"

TIP

Leaving your left hand in the air can help with the pacing of the presentation. How? When you gesture toward the visual and leave your arm extended, the next time you glance back at the image, you can turn your wrist slightly until the face of your watch is visible as you look over the top of your hand. Now you'll know what time it is, and you may have to adjust your pacing, depending on how much time is left in the presentation. Of course, your watch must be on your left arm for this to work. It's also best to wear an analog watch with a contrasting face and visible hands. Digital display watches may not be as easy to read, especially if the lighting in the room is dim.

Shifting Your Weight

When you are not making gestures, your hands should be at your sides and always visible. The eyes travel wherever the hands go so never hide your hands from the audience. Without gestures, your feet should be shoulder-width apart, your elbows and knees unlocked, and your weight evenly distributed. That's the position to use when you are not making gestures.

When your elbows and knees are unlocked, you have your best opportunity for movement. When you stand still, the tendency is to lock your knees and even your elbows. If your limbs are locked, you lose energy. If your limbs are unlocked, you unleash energy.

Center of Gravity

Men and women are different. I mean, in terms of the way they stand. Men have a higher center of gravity than women, located in the middle of the chest. A man tends to stand with his feet wider than his shoulders, for balance. Invariably, for some strange reason during the presentation, his feet will get farther apart, little by little. When his feet are spread too far apart, he is less likely to move and ends up in the same spot for the entire presentation. So a man should stand with his feet at the same width as his shoulders in order to make movement more likely.

Women have a lower center of gravity, closer to the hips. A woman tends to stand with her feet closer together, sometimes with the heels touching, for balance and posture. Men ”don't try this stance or you'll tip over like a bowling pin! However, during a presentation a woman will often establish this posture -position and lock into that one spot for the duration of the talk. If a woman keeps her feet shoulder-width apart, she is more likely to move at some point.

So, don't mess with gravity ”it's the law!

Movement is necessary and gestures are important. You know this by now. But, if you want to use your hands and make all your gestures look natural, you need to shift your weight.

You see, if your heels are both touching the floor, you can't make gestures that look natural. Instead, they appear stiff. Stand up and try it. Rest your weight evenly on each foot with both heels on the floor. Now lift your left arm to gesture. Stop! Take a look in the mirror ”you look like a flagman on a highway or the person directing the plane into the gate! You look stiff. It's because your heels are touching the floor at the same time and your weight is evenly distributed on each foot.

Okay, so you have to learn to shift your weight. But first you must know the limits of your own body to do the weight-shift thing properly. Try this. Stand up and place your feet at the width of your shoulders. Both heels should be on the floor and your weight distributed evenly between both feet. Now take a half-step to your left, just far enough for the opposite heel to lift off the floor. Feel that weight shift to your left foot? Okay, now shift your weight back onto the right foot until your left heel lifts off the floor. Now you know the limits of your body to make gestures look natural. The weight must be on one foot or the other for the gesture to look smooth.

TIP

The easiest way to know if you are shifting your weight properly is to keep the base of your neck lined up with the same foot you're placing your weight on (you could also line your chin up with your knee). Now you can gesture and it will look natural.

If the nape of your neck is not lined up with one of your feet, then your weight is probably evenly distributed and you are most likely resting on both heels. If you gesture from this position, it will look unnatural .

Leaning Can Have Meaning!

Weight shifting combined with gestures can help make your message stand out. Depending on the direction you shift your weight, the effect can be quite dramatic.

For example, if you shift your weight to your left foot ”toward the visual ”while gesturing with your left hand, you are silently saying to the crowd, "Come with me and let's inspect this information." If you shift your weight to your right foot ”away from the visual ”while gesturing with your left hand, you are saying, "This information proves the point." It's like the magician who leans into the trick and then leans back to reveal the magic!

So, if you have a problem-solution script, you might want to lean toward a visual when identifying a specific problem and, later, lean away from the visual when the related solution is shown.

Mastering the Lectern

A lectern is what you stand behind and a podium is what you stand on. However, people use both these terms to mean the same thing ”a big box between you and the audience! Imagine if you wore a lectern to work each day! But you don't. It would make interpersonal communication so difficult ”not to mention trying to squeeze past people in the hall!

The actors don't have lecterns. How would you feel if they did? You would think they didn't learn the lines! Why should they be forced to memorize the words of a writer? But politicians give speeches and use lecterns. Aren't they, too, actors using the words of a writer? Hmmmmm. Where do you draw the line on this one?

The problem is that visual creatures ”you know, the ones under 40 ”expect eye contact. They get a lot of information from body language, gestures, and movement.

That's why the most difficult prop to overcome is the lectern. It covers 80% or more of your body and allows for little mobility. Although the lectern is a convenience to the speaker for reading a speech or for referring to notes, it allows for much less direct eye contact with an audience.

Lecterns are for losers! I despise lecterns! There should be a ban on them! There! I said how I really feel. I vented my anger and shouted my opinion for all the world to know! As far as I'm concerned, lecterns have no place in the life of a visual presenter.

Having said that, lecterns are still used quite a lot. So, how can you master the lectern if you get trapped behind one? You have a few options to help minimize your losses.

First, place the lectern at a 45-degree angle to the room if you can, matching the nonthreatening rest position (discussed earlier in this chapter). From that angle, both your hands can rest on or touch the lectern and you'll still be in a rest position. You can easily switch to a power position with just a turn of your upper body, leaving only your left hand resting on or touching the lectern.

If the lectern can't be angled but remains fixed and facing directly to the back wall (like a pulpit), you can still use the rest and power positions. Assume the rest position (45-degree angle) while behind the lectern. Only your right hand touches or rests on the lectern until you switch to the power position (by squaring-off to the back wall), at which point both hands can rest on or touch the lectern.

Make sure the audience sees your hands as much as possible. If you hide your hands, the interpretation is that you're hiding something. Don't let your hands disappear for too long, even if it is just to turn a page.

Even though you are stuck behind the lectern, the three positions of the triangle still exist for you to use. The middle of the triangle is when your weight is on both feet. The movement to the front or to the back happens by shifting your weight to one foot or the other. These slight changes in body position may help to keep the audience looking at you from time to time. Naturally, the lack of mobility and the fact that you are probably reading your speech or your notes limits effective communication.

Typically, the reason you use a lectern to begin with is when you are giving a speech. The lectern supports the pages of the script while you deliver (read) the speech. When you read, you make less eye contact. The following is a guide for maintaining good eye contact.

Every 20 seconds (or about 50 words) you are allowed to look away from people, but only for about one second. That means, for every one minute of speaking (or about 150 words), you're allowed just three seconds to look down and read the next group of words. In effect, you should be spending 95% of the time looking at people and only 5% of the time checking the script.

Unless you are using a see-through teleprompter, as is done on TV, the more you read from the script, the less amount of eye contact you have with the audience. Concepts are the solution. Build a conceptual script around key phrases, and you'll spend more time delivering a personal version of the topic directly to people because you won't have a lot of words to read, just concepts. Doesn't this sound like a Do script? (See Chapter 24, "The Message ”Scripting the Concept.")

Don't get caught behind a lectern just reading a bunch of statistics to the audience. Think eye contact ”and avoid facing the facts!

Avoiding Problems

When the audience can't interpret your physical actions, they become preoccupied trying to figure out how the words link to the movements. The audience can't ignore these body distractions and, therefore, they need to be eliminated. If you work on removing these distractions, your message is easier to convey .

Upstaging

Sometimes the audience is prevented from hearing your words simply because they can't see your face or your expressions. When a part of the body passes between the speaker's face and the audience, the result is called upstaging.

Turning your back to the audience is the most obvious example of upstaging and is depicted in Figure 26.4. If you're facing the screen and the audience is facing the screen, then who's presenting? When you turn your back to the group, you can't see them and they can't see you. You lose valuable eye contact and the chance to use facial expressions. In addition, your voice is projected away from the audience and is therefore less audible, unless you have a microphone.

Figure 26.4. Don't turn your back to the audience. You lose all the face-to-face benefits of communication when no one can see your face!

If you have to turn your back to the audience, do it for as short a time as possible. At the same time, increase your volume so the group can still hear what you're saying. Avoid walking into the audience. This happens a lot when you have a U-shape seating arrangement. You might think that it's more personal to penetrate the "U" to get closer to the person you are interacting with at the moment. Not true. Your effort to get closer to one person puts your back toward everyone else you walk past as you penetrate the group. Don't alienate one person for the sake of another. You can still make eye contact and reach out to anyone in any part of the room while maintaining your position. The bottom line is that when your back is to the audience, you're least effective.

Crossing the upper body with your right hand is another example of upstaging, as shown in Figure 26.5. Whenever you gesture to the screen, use your left hand rather than your right. If your right hand goes across the front of your body, it causes a visual distraction that limits your effectiveness.

Figure 26.5. Don't cross your body with one of your arms. The gesture to the screen in this example should have been done with the left hand, not the right.

TIP

One easy way to keep from turning your back is to make sure the person seated to your far right can always see the front of your right shoulder. This technique keeps your body facing out to everyone in the crowd as you speak.

Use your left foot as a guide. To gesture to anything left of your left foot, use your left hand. Use your right hand to gesture to anything to the right of your left foot. This forces you into a more open stance when presenting and allows you to add impact to your delivery style with correct gestures and movements.

The Gunfighter

One stance to avoid is what I call the gunfighter position where your arms are locked at your sides as if your elbows were sewn to your rib cage! This limits the gestures you can make with your hands. So, don't press your elbows to your sides as you batter your arms about shouting "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" ”it looks ridiculous. To avoid the gunfighter position when presenting, pretend that you must be able to touch your hands to the top of your head without bending down. This would be impossible with your elbows still attached to your sides.

The Head Waiter

Be careful about folding your arms in front of you. This head waiter position not only upstages you by putting your arms across your upper body, but it also indicates that you are hiding something from the group. With your hands locked under your arms, your gestures are completely limited.

The Third Base Coach

Do not clasp your hands together behind your back. This position, the third base coach, forces you to use your shoulders and your chin to create gestures. You'll end up throwing your chin or shoulder forward to acknowledge a question and the reaction from the audience will be far from positive.

The Hand Talker

Avoid conversationalizing your gestures. This happens when you move your hands in the rhythm of your speech. It ends up looking like you have a gesture for every syllable. The trick with gestures is to keep them still and not have them bounce around on each word. The audience takes more time to process gestures than it does to process words. Gestures should freeze to add impact to a phrase.

Try this exercise. Say the phrase, "This is very, very, very important," and move both your hands up and down on as many words as you can. Then, say the phrase again, but this time just let your hands come down once and lock them in mid-air as you finish the rest of the phrase. Did you feel a difference? When a gesture stops moving, it is more powerful.

Blocking the Light

The image is meant for the screen! Sometimes you make the mistake of trying to point to something on your visual and you walk in front of the projector. Never block the light source with your hands or body unless you intend to make shadow puppets for the audience. When you block the light source, the audience finds it difficult to view the distorted image depicted on your clothes.

Pinkie Counting

Who started this habit anyway? Pinkie counting is simply counting on your fingers in front of the audience. The action occurs when you hold out your left hand, palm up, and use your right index finger to count on the left pinkie, then ring finger, and so on. The obsession plagues almost everyone from time to time. The audience has no idea when you plan to stop, although five seems to be the limit.

The reason you pinkie count is to keep track of the order of things by giving yourself tactile feedback as you count through the items you relay to the audience. This distraction can be avoided by dropping one hand to your side and simply touching your index finger to the thumb of same hand to maintain the tactile feedback. You don't need to switch to different fingers. Just touch your index finger to your thumb to click softly by your side, and you can keep track of many things. By inconspicuously using just one hand to count with, the audience is not distracted.

If, however, counting is really important to making your point, then raise your hand above your shoulder and count so that everyone can see. This will force you to limit those times that you count obsessively and it will add impact to those times that you need to count emphatically.