Many of us are presenting in the room again for the first time in a while. Here is one thing you need to think about.
At the height of the pandemic the advice from the Government was clear, stay at home and keep your distance when you were not. But as the stickers marking the 2 metres, we were meant to keep between us have faded, there is another, more tangible and more damaging, reminder of those days…
Before the pandemic I observed many speakers, as the world has drifted back towards normality, I am again watching people speak, and present, in public. Most of those speakers are speaking further away from the audience than they did before Covid.
I don’t think people are consciously doing this, it may just be a consequence of the social distancing measures, a remnant of the fear we were all living with during those months.
But that distance is impacting negatively on the audience. It is creating a physical, and emotional, space between you and the very people you want to connect with.
How do we fix this problem?
- Be aware of the problem.
- Plan where you plan to start speaking from in advance.
- Add half a step forward when you start to speak.
Your audience wants to feel connected with you when you speak, help them to make this happen by closing the physical gap between you and them.
You have spent time preparing your presentation, you want your message to land, you want people to remember what you have had to say, you want your audience to be engaged, and bridging the physical space between you and the audience is crucial in ensuring you achieve those goals.
When you are presenting in the room again – make sure you avoid this risk – and get it right.
