THE BARD GROUP, LLC

The techniques shared here apply to meetings where standing to present is the best practice because there is a buying committee with more than three (3) buyers.

OBJECTIVES

Ensure the client is fully engaged.
Communicate with confidence, clarity, and credibility.
Effectively use your slides to tell your story and make your key points.
Create a higher probability of a successful outcome.

CHALLENGES

Standing makes you feel self-conscious, vulnerable, and anxious about how others are perceiving you.
You prefer to sit because it feels more casual and sets a more relaxed tone. It‘s more intimate and gives you a sense of equality with the client.
Sitting feels safer. The conference room table provides a safety zone of comfort, a buffer of protection.

Sitting has its perceived advantages, but it comes at a cost.

You give up the authority you naturally take when standing.
You give up the greater level of confidence and energy you project when you stand.
You have significantly less control of the room.
You limit full-body communication and full range of eye contact and hand motion.

TECHNIQUES

When you are standing and using slides, there are six essential techniques to an effective presentation:

A. Dispel the myths

1. It is a myth that you will present better when sitting because you are less nervous.

Studies show that those who stand generally focus better and longer than those who sit. You literally think better on your feet.

2. Let go of the belief that standing makes the meeting too formal.

It is not the standing that makes it formal, but the way you present. You can make it as comfortable and conversational while standing as you can when sitting if you are engaging the client and using the slides effectively.

B. Know where to stand

1. Stand to the left of the screen (from the perspective of the audience).

The reason is simple — we read from left to right and then return to the left. It will feel natural for your client to look at you, follow the text or other information on the screen, and then jump back to you. The point is that they come back to YOU, which allows you to maintain control of the meeting and the messaging.

2. Step away from the screen when telling a story that relates to but does not require the client to reference the slide.

Stay within four feet of the slide so you can come back to it easily. And be mindful not to position yourself behind a person sitting at the table.

3. Move squarely in front of the slide when you are telling a story that has nothing to do with the information on the slide, or when responding to a question that is not related to the slide.

Plant your feet; you do not want to pace in front of the slide. Once your body is blocking the slide, your client will stop looking at the slide and look at you. You now have their full attention and control of the narrative and the room.

C. Your body language

1. Assume a professional stance and keep your body open.

Hold your head and chin up confidently.
Stand tall with a straight spine, shoulders back and down.
Keep feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent and weight slightly forward.
Square your hips in horizontal alignment so your body is not dropping to one side.

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2. Keep your hands open.

When people are nervous, they tend to cover their vital organs by crossing their arms or locking their hands in front of them. Keep your palms open and turned toward the audience.

When not gesturing, your hands can be by your side or somewhere just above the belt, fingers lightly touching or resting one hand in the other. From there, you can make a range of gestures, and then your hands can come back to rest in this position.

3. Use descriptive gestures.

Use hand gestures to support what you are saying.

Examples:

Move a hand up when you say “increase” and down when you say “decrease.”
Spread your hands wide to indicate when something is large or growing.

Be sure your gestures are supporting what you are saying, not conveying nervous energy that will be distracting to the client.

4. Move but do not wander.

Take two confident steps in any diagonal direction. One step tends to look tentative, and three steps look aggressive.
When walking away from the slide or toward the table, do so mindfully to support your story or dialogue.
Do not pace left to right or front to back and do not sway with feet planted. The best way to avoid swaying is to place most of your weight on the balls of your feet.

5. Smile.

When you smile, you are viewed as attractive, reliable, relaxed, and sincere. Your smile is actually contagious and creates a symbiotic relationship. Your smile lifts up everyone around you and makes your client feel good.

D. Interact with the slides

1. Use your body to focus your audience on exactly where you want them to look.

Use your left hand to point to information as you talk. The client cannot help but look to where you are pointing. By doing this, you are making it easy for the client to track with you because what they are hearing and what they are looking at are now perfectly aligned.
When you point, do not wave at the slide. Point directly at the key point and stay there for the count of three.

2. Become one with the slide.

Lean in and get close to the slide.
Seamlessly move from being the focal point yourself to pointing to the slide to draw their attention to a key point.

3. Do not talk to the slide.

Keep your feet facing forward, and your chest open to the audience.
Look to the slide to point, and then quickly return your gaze to the audience to speak.
Practice this so it comes across naturally and comfortably.

E. Interact with the audience

1. Keep your focus on the audience so you pick up subtle clues in body language. What is it about your message that is resonating, or not? Adjust or invite input.

2. Walk forward to the table as you ask or answer questions from the client. It personalizes your message, creating a better connection with them. And it signals to them that they come first, that you are willing to leave your slides behind (literally!) to engage with them.

F. Be excited about your story

1. Let your excitement, passion, and energy show.

Your client is more likely to be excited when you show that you are excited.

2. Be emotive about the things that you think are cool, that you are proud of, make you different, and make a difference to your client.

Use emotive words like “ideal, great, strong, perfect for…”

When you are emotionally connected, it will come through in your voice patterns. Together, the words you use, and your voice will tell an emotive and moving story.

ADVANTAGES TO YOU

You are more energized when standing versus sitting, elevating the energy in the room.
Your voice projects better and commands their attention.
You are more focused and think better on your feet.
You can use your hands and full body much more effectively to tell your story.
You can control the entire room with all eyes upon you.
You are able to read the room and the client, and quickly react or adjust.
You can be very specific about what you want them to know by pointing exactly to the key information on the slide.
The client is not flipping ahead in the handout to see what is coming next.

ADVANTAGES TO THE CLIENT

The client is looking up at you and the slides and less distracted by what is in front of them on the table.
They are not conflicted by trying to look at you as you sit at the table while also trying to make sense of what is being projected on the screen.
They can easily understand the key point you are making on the slide and how it fits into your story.
They can easily interject with questions because you make strong eye contact.
They stay focused on you and your message. You are not competing for their attention with anyone else at the table.

EXERCISE

Role-play

Find a colleague who is willing to role-play and give you feedback based on the techniques outlined above. Ask them to note what you do well and what you can improve. Examples:

Are you standing to the left of the screen?
Do you move purposefully without wandering?
Are your hands and body open, feet facing forward and chest open to the audience?
Are you making strong eye contact?
Are your hand and arm gestures within the power sphere? Are they distracting from or supporting what you are saying?
Do you point to key information on the slide to guide your audience to where you want them to look?
Are you projecting the right amount of energy and passion?
Does your colleague find him/herself mirroring you because they are connecting with what you are saying?