Powerful Presentations by Stephen Haunts

Author:Stephen Haunts
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781484281383
Publisher: Apress

Physical Delivery: Gestures and Facial Expressions

At a conference, you will usually have access to a small table or lectern where your laptop will sit, and you will have a bottle of water—always take a bottle with you in case the event doesn’t provide one. Try to recreate this setup when you practice at home. What you want to avoid is using the lectern like a shield that you hide behind. This is common for new speakers. Try stepping away from the laptop and walking around the stage area or the room in which you are practicing. This will be easier to do if you are using a Bluetooth slide clicker so that you can progress to the next slide without touching your laptop.

Many conferences set up a screen on the stage that displays what you see on your laptop. Having a screen like this is great, as it means that while you are walking around the stage, you can still see your presenter view notes and, more crucially, see what the next slide is going to be. One thing to be aware of, though, is that many conferences film their talks. If someone is operating the camera during your talk, they will follow you around as you walk and talk. Some conferences use a fixed camera pointing at the lectern, so you won’t be able to walk around as much. You should try to find out the filming situation before the start of the conference or talk to the audio/visual engineer prior to your talk, and they will tell you if there is room to walk around.

Another important consideration when practicing your talk is what to do with your arms, hands, and face. If you stand on the stage bolt upright, with your arms by your side and a neutral look on your face while speaking, the audience will soon get bored with your talk and disengage from the content. Make sure to use your arms and hands to add emphasis to what you’re saying. You don’t want to go over the top and start waving your arms around like an octopus, but subtle movements in sync with your vocal delivery can add a real impact.

When trying to learn how much movement is appropriate, I recommend reviewing presentation videos on YouTube and observing what other speakers do. Try to watch both good talks and not-so-good talks with the aim of learning from them. You can identify an ineffective talk by the number of downvotes they have compared to upvotes. I like watching TED talks, as they are usually splendid examples of talk delivery, and you can learn as much from how the talk is delivered as what the speaker says.

Your facial expressions are also a key factor, especially as people will be looking at your face—even more so if the talk is filmed and you are being displayed on a large screen. Remember to smile at the start of your talk. Delivering a talk at an event is an honor,

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