I pride myself on being easy to work with.
When someone is organising an event, they have plenty enough to think about without demanding, diva type presenters.
So I try to make everything I contribute as easy and effective as possible.
But… just occasionally…
I indulge myself a little, albeit for the best of reasons.
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I’m just back from a wonderful experience.
I’ve been teaching researchers at the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association conference.
We covered Media Skills, the art of how to be interviewed on TV…
And also the Surprising Secrets of Powerful Presentations.
(Which really did come as a surprise to the group!)
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One of the important areas I mention in the presentations workshop is body language…
And how important it is to create a connection with the audience.
One element of that is being part of the group, rather than talking down to them, speaking from afar.
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Which means, in practice, I prefer not to use a stage.
I also dislike lecterns, or tables, which have been provided for me to stand behind.
Both of which I think place a barrier between speaker and audience.
They imply a divide, when we should all be together, on the same learning journey.
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So, when I got to the venue, the lovely Burleigh Court hotel, part of the University of Loughborough…
I was irked to see a very traditional set up of the conference hall…
Featuring both stage, and lectern.
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Now, because of my principle of not being a pain, I will normally just go with what the organisers have set up.
But on this occasion, one of the senior scientists was having a similar thought.
So between us, we had a chat with the technical team…
And as for the upshot, you can see from the photo, above.
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They were very lovely, immediately moving the lectern down from the stage for us, and over to the side of the hall.
That way, speakers could still use it if they wished.
But if you preferred to roam around, as I do, feeling part of the audience, you could get on with that as well.
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I know I really shouldn’t, but I did smile at my little precious diva moment.
I found it so entertaining that perhaps at my next gig…
I shall be demanding only orange M & Ms, the hall bedecked with fresh flowers, a wind machine and specific scents wafting in the air…
Or then again, maybe not.
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But back to the point:
To establish a connection with an audience, before you've even said a word in a presentation…
Make clear you're one of them, with them and part of them, rather than an outsider, addressing them from afar.
