Making-Original-Products-presentationzen

a good idea to walk into the audience from time to time—provided you have a
purpose for doing so, such as answering a question during an activity that you
assigned to the audience.
When you stand, do so with your feet comfortably but firmly planted about
shoulder-width apart. You should not stand like a cowboy about ready to draw
his guns, but neither should you stand with your legs together as if standing
at attention. Standing at attention or with your legs crossed demonstrates a
closed, defensive, or uncertain attitude. These positions, which are unnatural
ways to stand when we are relaxed, make you a bit unstable and project
weakness to others. About the only thing worse than standing on a stage with
your legs crossed is doing so while leaning against the lectern. At best, it looks
sloppy. At worst, it projects an image of weakness.
When we get nervous, most of us tend to speed up our movements, including
hand gestures. If you want to project a more calm, relaxed, and natural image
to the audience, remind yourself to slow everything down.
Face the Audience
Even if you are projecting visuals behind
you, there is no need to turn your head to
look back. Even if you gesture toward the
screen, stand so that your shoulders are
facing in the direction of the audience. If
you keep your shoulders pointed toward
the front, you will naturally turn your head
back toward the audience without thinking
about it after you glance at the screen.
Turning slightly and briefly toward the
screen to point out a detail is acceptable.
However, continually looking at the screen
as a reminder of where you are is very
distracting and unnecessary. Except in rare
incidents, if you use a computer to project
visuals, you can place the computer down
low in front of you so there is little reason
to turn around.
MIT's Hiroshi Ishii faces the audience at TEDxTokyo.
(Photo: TEDxTokyo/Andy McGovern.)
Chapter 9 Connecting with an Audience
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