How to Wash a Chicken

by Tim Calkins

  Things can get complicated when you have both a whiteboard and paper flip charts. In this case, you should simply remove all the permanent markers. This means you’ll have to write on a flip chart with a dry-erase marker, which isn’t ideal. But it can work and it eliminates the chance you’ll ruin someone’s dry-erase board with a permanent marker. It is very easy to get confused in the middle of a presentation. You have many other things to think about.

  Colors also matter; people seem to have trouble seeing things written in green or red; these colors don’t pop like blue or black.

  GET RID OF THE PODIUM

  In some venues, the podium is an imposing structure: large, dark, prominently placed. It is so tempting to use it. You can put your notes right in front of you, along with your computer. You can lean on it. You know where to stand.

  Don’t.

  You are usually better off getting rid of the podium entirely. You should just move it to the side or push it into a closet. However you do it, you should get the podium out of the way.

  There are all sorts of problems with a podium. One issue is that it becomes a barrier between you and your audience, which limits interaction and engagement. It is hard to have a deep conversation with someone when there is a podium between you. Your goal as a presenter is to connect with people, to capture their attention and draw them in. The podium doesn’t help with this task.

  A podium also limits how much you can move. If you are standing behind a podium, you can’t walk around. You can’t approach people, and you can’t move back. You can’t naturally walk to a flip chart to write something. You can move your arms only so much; if you lower your arms, they are obscured by the podium.

  The biggest issue may be that a podium encourages you to slouch. It is very tempting to lean on the structure. This decreases your energy. It makes you look small and weak.

  A large podium might obscure you completely. This is particularly a problem for those of modest stature. The podium’s height may block much of your body. You come across as peeking over the top. This does not create an impression of strong leadership. It does not instill confidence. It looks silly. This is why presidential candidates discuss the height of the podiums well in advance of a presidential debate.

  Sometimes you can’t get rid of the podium. It is simply too heavy, or it is connected to the floor with cords or bolts. In this case, you should either ignore it or use it in a deliberate fashion. You might start behind the podium for your first slide, and then move forward. This gesture signals that you are in command of the space and you are intentional about how you are working the room.

  Don’t be indecisive about it! Some people move away from the podium, but only a few feet. This looks awkward, a bit like a child learning how to swim; they are comfortable moving away from the wall, but only so much.

  POSITION THE COMPUTER

  One of the more overlooked tasks when setting a room is deciding where to put your computer.

  It is tempting to put the computer in front of you, on a podium or the projector table. This feels natural and safe. It is the logical thing to do.

  Unfortunately, this is generally a bad idea. If your computer is in front of you, you will be tempted to look at it during the presentation. It is a screen, after all, and we are all very comfortable looking at screens. We do it all day. The bright light attracts the eye.

  Reading from your computer distances you from your audience. You can see your computer; your audience can’t. It also limits your movement. It is tempting to stand in front of the computer instead of moving around.

  When presenting, it is much better to occasionally look at the screen behind you than to look at your computer. It is a natural gesture. At times when you are talking, you want your audience looking at you. When you are referring to something on the screen, you want them looking at the screen. With gestures, you can control this. You can guide your audience through the presentation:

  Look at me, look at me, look at me... now look at the screen... now back to me... and back to the screen again. Look at that number seven and this remarkable bar chart... and now look at me.

  Best case, your computer will be out of sight. It could be on a table off to the side or it might be behind the screen. Either way, you will not be tempted to look at it.

  It is good to have it somewhat accessible, in case something goes wrong. I often forget to plug in the power, for example, so the computer will sound its alarm in the middle of the presentation. With the computer relatively accessible, I can easily address the problem.

  Remember that you should never be typing on your computer during a presentation. The time to work on a presentation is before the event. Once it starts, your focus should always be on the audience.

  Be careful with writing on tablet computers. The concept is great; you can write on your presentation, highlighting certain points. In reality, this doesn’t work well; it encourages you to look down and focus on the tablet. This breaks your connection with your audience.

  COVER THE CONFIDENCE MONITOR

  Presenters love a confidence monitor, a screen positioned in front of them that displays their slides. With one of these, you don’t need to look back at the screen when presenting; you can just look at the monitor in front of you as you deliver your talk.

  Don’t use one.

  When you have a confidence monitor, you will naturally tend to look at it. The audience can see this. If the screen is low, which is often the case, you end up looking down. If the screen is high, you look up. This is an issue because you are focused on something your audience can’t see. This breaks your connection. It is almost as bad as looking at your computer when presenting. TED’s Chris Anderson is quick to criticize presenters who use a confidence monitor. He explains, “Either their eyes are constantly dropping to the stage floor, or they’re lifting above the heads of the audience. It can be deadly off-putting.”3

  If you are presenting in a room with a confidence monitor, you should turn it off or, if that isn’t possible, cover it with a drape. This will eliminate the temptation to look at it.

  FIND A PLACE FOR YOUR NOTES

  For most presentations you will have a few notes. You might have an outline of your key points, or a printout of your slides, or just some key figures jotted on a piece of paper. As I discuss in more detail later, an excellent way to appear smart is to be able to rattle off a few precise facts and numbers. It is good to write these down.

  As you set the room, you should consider where you will put these notes. You don’t want to carry your notes with you. You can’t make natural gestures if your hands are full of notecards. Your notes should be accessible and visible so you can easily refer to them in a relaxed fashion; you don’t want to go off hunting for your notes in the middle of the presentation.

  Don’t use the podium! Putting your notes on the podium seems like a logical move, but this will just draw you back to the structure. If you are walking around engaging with your audience, it is then awkward to walk back for a glimpse at your notes. It is sometimes very clear what you are doing. This makes you seem less confident, less in control of the situation.

  Think about putting your notes on the first row of tables, on the projector table or on a chair. The precise location depends on the room. Most important, the location should be natural and accessible, so you can walk over to the notes and glance at them in the course of the presentation. You don’t want to be seen wandering off. This will just confuse people: Where is she going? Instead, keep the notes close. If you know that your notes are just a couple feet away, you will be confident. If you stumble during the presentation, your notes will be right there, ready to get you back on track.

  SET ASIDE SEATS FOR THE OTHER PRESENTERS

  Very often you won’t be the only presenter; there will be several people participating in the update. You might be going through the overall strategy recommendation, for example, while someone else covers the implementation plan.

  It is tempting
to have all the presenters stand up front during the presentation. The first person speaks, then the next one steps forward. Business school students love to do this. At Kellogg, many of my MBA student teams like to have the full group stand during the presentation, lined up. By doing this, the thinking goes, the group is demonstrating support and is available to help with questions. I saw a team of students from Cambridge Judge School of Business recently present. They formed a line across the front of the room, each person about four feet from the next.

  This is a bad approach. Most important, it is distracting. When someone is presenting, you want the audience looking at them. The focus of the room should be on the person going through the material. You don’t want people looking elsewhere. When you have people standing up, you are providing an enticing distraction. People may elect to look at the team. Perhaps John is wearing a particularly snappy suit, Sylvie might be wearing a distinctive watch or Jose just got a poorly considered new haircut.

  In addition, people standing up listening to someone else pre-sent rarely exude excitement. Why would they? They have probably heard the presentation many times before. There is nothing new here for them. So they will probably look bored. Some might gaze off into the distance, wondering where to go to dinner that evening. Someone might glance at their watch. Worst case, someone might decide to check messages on their phone. This sends the completely wrong message: the presentation is so dull even the team can’t focus on it.

  The other problem is that people standing around may block a presenter’s movement. A room with ample space to move looks very different with four people standing around. The presenter can quickly become trapped.

  You can see the problem in Exhibit 12-4. The presenter is completely boxed in. She can’t move to her left, because she will walk in front of the projector. She can’t walk to her right, because there are people standing there. All she can do is remain in one spot, trapped.

  Exhibit 12-4

  You want to leave the stage to the presenter. This means that you need to identify a place for others to sit. If you have several presenters, you should find a place for them when they are not speaking. A row of chairs off to the side works well; people are out of the way but they can quickly get into position when the time comes, as in Exhibit 12-5.

  Exhibit 12-5

  SET THE LIGHTING

  Lighting has a huge impact on the overall experience. It sets the mood. Bad lighting can ruin a perfectly good presentation.

  In theory, lighting isn’t too complicated. You want the room to be dark enough that people can see the slides projected on the screen, but light enough so people can take notes and everyone stays awake.

  The challenge is getting this balance right.

  The most important thing is to keep the lights up so you can see your audience. Reading the group is critical. If someone has an issue with your presentation, you want to know it quickly. If someone is puzzled, you want to stop and ask if you can clarify something. If the group is bored, you should pick up the pace.

  A dark room makes it hard for you to see people; you can’t make out their faces. This is a problem because you get no feedback. A dark room may also make people uncomfortable because they can’t see their notes.

  The worst option is to shut off all the lights. This turns what should be an interactive discussion into something like a Broadway show, when the presenter can’t see anyone at all.

  On the other hand, you need to make sure the lights aren’t so bright that people can’t see the slides. This is important with a presentation. It is even more important when using videos. If the room is too bright, people may ask you to dim the lights further. At this point, you may not be able to subtly adjust the lighting, so instead you plunge the room into darkness.

  The best case is that you are able to keep the lights up in the room, but dim the lights projecting on the screen.

  Be very careful with preset lighting levels! These are often created by lighting people, individuals who are keen on technology, not by people actually presenting. In my experience, preset controls tend to darken the room far too much. This makes it easy to see the screen but difficult for the presenter to see and engage with the participants. Try the preset lighting controls but don’t assume they are optimal.

  You may need to completely override the preset system. When I present, I usually locate the lighting controls and play with the different options. Can I dim just the light on the chalkboard? Can I turn up the lights in the back?

  The ideal lighting may vary during your presentation. Before the meeting starts, for example, you will probably want all the light you can get; so turn on all the lights! More light creates energy. People don’t like walking into a dark room; they begin to drift off in short order. Just before you begin, you will want to dim the lights on the screen, shifting to a presentation mode. Then, at the end of the presentation, you bring the lights back up again.

  Sorting out the lighting is best done well in advance of the meeting. You don’t want people walking in as you are playing with the lights. Turning the lights on and off doesn’t create a sense of control. By the time your audience walks into the room, you should know exactly how you will be managing the light levels during the presentation.

  FIND THE CLOCK

  Timing is a key consideration; you should always respect your audience’s schedule. You should start on time and end on time. To do this, you need to see a clock. Best case, there will be a large clock on the back wall, so you can look at it while your audience can’t. If there isn’t a clock on the wall, you should put a battery-operated clock or your phone on the table in front of you, so you can easily monitor the pacing.

  Don’t rely on your watch! To look at a watch, you have to turn your wrist and look down. This is an obvious, universal gesture; every time you look at your watch, your audience will know it. They will wonder why you are looking. Are you bored? Looking at your watch as someone asks a question sends a clear signal: their question is not important. They are just wasting your time. You do not want to send this message.

  If your watch is your only timekeeping device, take it off and set it on the table in front of you where you can casually glance down at it as you go.

  WALK YOUR SPACE

  Before a horse-jumping competition, jockeys inspect the course. They come out, dressed in their riding britches, and walk through the series of jumps. They check the turns, look at the barriers and consider the approaches. This is how they prepare for the race; they know what is coming up.

  In the same way, it is important to walk your space before a presentation. After you have sorted out the technology, the room layout and the lighting, you should take some time to move around. Walk the space in the front of the room, then walk all around, noting the different views and angles. Remember that all the chairs will soon be occupied. The space between a table and the projector will look very different with someone sitting at the table.

  You should consider different questions as you walk the space before a presentation:

  Is there enough room for you to move around?

  How far can you walk in different directions?

  Can you get from one side of the screen to the other?

  Can you get to the flip chart or whiteboard?

  What does it look like for your audience?

  Will the people in the back be able to see?

  By walking your space, you learn where you can go. You also become just a bit more comfortable and limit the awkward moments. This all sets you up for success.

  13

  PRESENT WITH CONFIDENCE

  * * *

  Finally, after all the development time and effort, it is time to deliver the presentation.

  If you’ve done your homework, the actual presenting should be uneventful. You head into the meeting knowing you have a solid recommendation, people agree with your point of view and your material is polished. The room is set. With all this going for you, things should go well. You are set up fo
r success. Most of the work has already been done.

  Still, the actual delivery matters. Things can go off the tracks even at a late moment. Someone might change their view of the recommendation. You may have misread a cross-functional peer and have less support than you thought.

  The presentation is a critical moment. If it goes well, you will walk out with an approved recommendation, confidence and a stronger brand. You just have to make that happen.

  Nerves

  Almost everyone gets at least a little nervous when presenting before a group. It is the rare individual that can walk before an audience without a bit of hesitation or concern.

  Even people who present frequently wrestle with nerves. Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway explains, “Like most people I find public speaking more frightening than spiders or the prospect of being mugged in a dark alley.”1

  Academy Award–winning actress Octavia Spencer shares this fear: “I still have stage fright—anything having to do with live audiences is terrifying. I start sweating profusely, and my heart rate gets really, really elevated. It’s the exact same thing every time—the fear never goes away.”2

  Fear is always part of presenting. People in the Confident Presenter segment get nervous, just not as much as other people. Struggling Presenters may find the experience terrifying.

  Many students tell me, “I’m just not good in front of a group; I get so nervous.” The assumption behind the statement is that people who are good presenters don’t get nervous, and people who are poor presenters do. This means that if you feel nervous, you are not a great presenter. Only those who are at peace before a group can claim to be good speakers.