If you get the first sentences out of the way, without having to think too much, everything starts to relax. Your instinct gets calmed, realising that the threat of attack is not so high. Your heart rate drops, your body temperature starts heading back to normal and any shakes evaporate. Then you can concentrate on communicating your message in the most convincing way possible.
2.6 Use body language to express yourself
In Chapter 7, you can read the formula of content, voice and body language that the audience will remember. This naturally leads you to focus on how you communicate with your voice and body to strengthen the story.
Most important is to prepare well. That will help you be relaxed and in control of your content and story, which will automatically convey itself to your audience.
Here are a few additional suggestions to add some strength to your physical communication.
At the beginning, walk out in front of the audience, stand up straight, give a smile. This delivers a clear indication to the audience that their attention is required. Keep as upright as you can without being stiff: remain relaxed and professional.
Find your own level of comfort regarding where you stand. There is research suggesting the best position is to the left of the screen (from the viewer’s point of view) but this depends largely on how the room is set up.
Ideally you stand where your laptop is easily visible, so that you are able to read your content and see the slide transitions while looking at the computer, not the screen behind you. Turning your back on the audience should be done very rarely, and this laptop setup will help you.
If the audience is sitting in a U-shape, it can be quite powerful for you to walk into the middle of the group during your talk. However, use this very sparingly – it can also be quite threatening for an audience member if you walk up close and talk directly to one person.
My suggestion is to walk a little closer to the audience when introducing yourself. Then find one, or at maximum two more moments during your talk when you can tell them something without referring to the slides, and do this a little closer to them too. A short personal anecdote works well in this way.
It’s not essential to move around during the presentation, but if you decide to do so, be careful not to pace backwards and forwards: it causes the audience a lot of anxiety. Choose three spots in the room where you can effectively tell your story, and move between those spots at various moments during the presentation. Walk slowly and hold your attention on the audience, keeping them involved.