Do you ever feel a bit awkward or uncomfortable when you are on stage but not actively speaking?

With years of practice, I am now reasonably comfortable during my presentations.  When not moving to a new position, I keep my feet parallel, firmly planted, and shoulder width apart.  In the intermittent periods when I am not gesturing, I do one of two things with my arms.  In a casual settings, I allow my arms to rest comfortably at my sides.  When I need to be more authoritative, I hold my hands in a steeple position at navel level with my finger tips gently touching.

The casual position and the authoritative position are fine and dandy for brief moments.  However, they both look and feel strange if assumed beyond the 10 second mark.  That tends to happen at the beginning and at the end of your public speaking performance – when you are being introduced or when you are listening to questions from the audience during Q&A.

This week, I had the great fortune to receive personal coaching from Richard Butterfield at a leadership development retreat.  When I took the stage in my casual base position described above, Mr. Butterfield sized me up and said “Do you know that you have assumed an aggressive posture?”.  I responded “How so?”  Richard explained that the feet square-arms down base position in combination with my height made me look like a linebacker ready to pounce.

He proceeded to make a subtle adjustment that I immediately recognized as comfortable, casual, and invaluable.  I’ll call it the model position – you will see why in a minute.

Step 1: Start in the casual position with your feet parallel and shoulder width apart.  Let your arms rest freely at your sides.

Step 2: Bring your right foot forward just a bit so that your feet are still parallel, but your left toes are parallel with the front of the arch of your right foot.

Step 3:  Keeping your right heel in place, pivot the front of your right foot outward at a comfortable angle – about thirty degrees.

Step 4: Rest your weight on your left (back) leg. This will probably cause your front (right) knee to bend a little.

Step 5: Place your left hand in your pocket with your thumb showing.  You right arm will naturally move an inch or two forward.  (You may want to test the opposite with your right hand in your pocket to see what is more comfortable).

Try It Out!

Don’t just read the steps, stand up and get into position.  When you do, you will feel as though you a posing the way a model does.  Hence, the “model position.”  It is relaxed and casual and will simultaneously make you appear confident and approachable.

A week ago, I watched a live video feed in which three high-ranking speakers gave presentations from behind a lectern.  Each of the three had a different default hand position and a different degree of movement around the lectern.  Though uniformity is decided not a tenet of public speaking, there are several best practices that will make your performance more effective when speaking behind a lectern.

(As every commentator on this topic has done before me, I offer the gentle reminder that a podium is a stage you stand on and a lectern is a stand you speak behind.)

Tip 1: Use a lectern when you need to project authority

Lecterns are neither purely good nor purely evil.  Let’s start by assuming that you have practiced your material and have your content and delivery solidly nailed.  In that case, you are simply making a stylistic decision about whether or not to use a lectern.  In most cases, the best choice is to avoid the lectern entirely since it creates a physical and psychological barrier between you and your audience.  If you want to motivate and inspire, the lectern is your enemy.

However, you should use a lectern when you intentionally need to project power and authority.  In years past, executives would always speak from behind a lectern.  Today, they reserve the lectern for more solemn occasions such as sharing financial performance or delivering bad news.

When your objective is authority, remember to maintain consistency in your other actions.  President Barack Obama frequently leaves his jacket behind and rolls up his sleeves.  However, when he speaks from behind a lectern, he always wears a formal suit and tie with the jacket buttoned.

To maintain authority, make sure that you and the lectern are completely out of the line of fire of projected slides or images.  For the same reason, if you are very short relative to the height of the lectern, either use a hidden stool or avoid the lectern.

A second reason to use a lectern is when doing so is required by the norms of the event or the audience.  For example, some churches require that speakers talk from behind a lectern to maintain a divine aura.  In this circumstance, the lectern also makes it easier to read long passages from a religious text.  The same logic holds true when delivering a eulogy.

A third reason to use a lectern is when you need to rely on notes and you do not have a teleprompter available.  In most instances, this is a poor justification – with sufficient practice you should not need notes.  However, if you speak often and on a wide range of topics, you simply may not have the time to practice adequately.  In addition, there are situations when the stakes are very high and every word matters, as is the case when a CEO is issuing an apology for a consumer product safety recall.

 

Tip 2: Rest your hands gently on the lectern

From what I can tell, the vast majority of untrained speakers grip the sides of the lectern.  Even more egregious are those speakers who grab its front or back edges or rest their elbows on any part of it.  If those are the worst practices, what are the best practices?

Every time you speak, you should premeditate your default or base hand position.  This is the place you are going to put your hands when you are not gesturing.  When speaking behind a lectern, you have two choices.  I recommend loosely and comfortably resting your hands on the lectern – especially if you are referring to notes.  Any of the following three ways of doing that are acceptable.  The most casual is with your hands fully interlaced with the webbing of the fingers of your right hand touching the webbing of the fingers of your left hand.  When using this approach, be careful not to clench too tightly.  In terms of formality, the intermediate way is to interlace your hands so that the finger tips of each hand touch the webbing of the other hand with palms apart.  Most speakers that apply this technique allow their thumb tips to touch.  The most formal approach is to pair the finger tips of both hands – pinky with pinky, pointer with pointer and so on.

If you are not referring to notes, then the other acceptable base position is to stand about a foot behind the lectern and use one of the three hand positions just out in front of you at navel level.

Regardless of whether you choose to rest your hands on the lectern or hold them at navel level, gesture normally and confidently at or above chest level.  By way of reference, this is a bit higher than when speaking without a lectern due to the obvious obstruction.  Also, unless you are a crazed dictator, please do not pound the lectern.  If you are a crazed dictator, then pound early and often.

 

Tip 3: Move away from the lectern if you can

To break the physical and psychological barrier between you and your audience, you want to move away from the lectern.  Your ability to do so will be limited by the formality of the occasion, audio-video considerations, and by your degree of preparation.

In very formal settings, start, deliver, and end your speech without leaving the lectern.  That means that you need to keep your feet planted firmly, square, and straight for what is likely to be a painfully long time.  Of course you can shift your weight occasionally, and I do mean occasionally, for comfort.  Also remember not to lean toward the lectern, sway, or rock.

Audio and video considerations may also inhibit your ability to move.  Most obviously, if the only available microphone is attached to the lectern, then you are stuck.  Additionally, if your talk is being broadcast over a simple, single camera video feed, then your range of movement should be limited if not nonexistent due to challenges with tracking and focus.

If the occasion is not overly formal, you have a wireless microphone, and there either is no video or very sophisticated video, then you are free to move about the cabin.  Though you may choose to start and end your speech from behind the lectern, move with purpose and with pseudo-theatrical staging in mind.  That means that you are not solely moving for variety or to release your nervous energy.

If you move, really move.  Do not remain artificially tethered to the lectern by stepping just to its right, left, or front.  Another amateurish maneuver is to return to the lectern simply to advance your slides or refer to your notes.  Use a wireless slide changer; preferably a very simple one that you can surreptitiously advance by pressing on your pocket.  If you do lose your place and need to come back to look at your notes, then do so while taking a drink of water.  This clever sleight of hand distracts your audience from your true purpose.  Doing this excessively will both undermine your credibility and hasten your need for a bathroom break.

When you leave the lectern, leave your notes, water, and any other materials behind so that you leave the stage with confidence and authority.  You can always come back for them at intermission or get them from your host.

Tip 4: Use notes like a professional

As I mentioned before, the best use of notes is to use no notes at all.  That said, as far as I can tell, 99% of speakers that use a lectern use notes.  If you are going to use them, you might was well use them right.

Your best option is to use a single page outline in very large font with text only on the upper half of the page.  Avoid using ALL CAPS since that is much more difficult for you to read.  In addition, leave the clear sheet protector at home (or hide it before you start) since they tend to catch light and produce glare.

If you do need multiple pages of notes, apply the same best practices that you would for a single page.  In addition, keep the pages loose (not stapled or in a three ring binder) and clearly numbered just in case you drop them.  Finally, advance the pages by sliding them over rather than flipping them to minimize movement and noise that distracts your audience from your message.

Try it out!

If you are going to speak behind a lectern to deliver a speech where you need to project authority, then I strongly encourage you to practice using a lectern as well to come as close as possible to simulating your ultimate situation.  At minimum, premeditate your default hand position and any potential movement.  Once you get up there, let your muscle memory take over and focus on your message and your audience.

At the 2012 Toastmasters International Convention, I had the great fortune to attend Jock Elliot’s educational session.  Jock, the 2011 World Champion of Public Speaking, described his 35 year competitive speaking journey masterfully weaving storytelling and presentation tips.

Perhaps the most interesting insight I gleaned came while watching Jock when he lost his train of thought.  There is actually something heartening about the fact that even world champions suffer the occasional memory lapse on stage.  When he realized what was happening, Jock paused and said “This next part is so important that I need to read it to you.”  He then calmly strolled back the the lectern to glance at his notes making an intentionally audible “hmmm…. yes…” as he did so.  He then took back center stage and continued enthralling his audience.

Although I was very impressed by Jock’s recovery technique, I was on the fence about adopting it for myself.  The issue troubling me was whether or not it had crossed the authenticity line.  Everyone forgets, but you should strive to recover authentically.  Surely, I was not the only one to notice it was a well-rehearsed technique.

We have all seen what not to do when speakers lose their train of thought – “I… ummm… forgot what I was about to say… ummm…”  In addition to Jock’s technique, are there other ways to recover?

As fate would have it, my fellow District 53 Toastmasters and I quite randomly shared a cab to Downtown Disney with Matt Abrahams.  Without knowing who Matt was, we invited him to dinner with us.  It turns out that Matt was leading an educational session the next day on how to overcome your fear of public speaking.  In fact, he wrote the book on the subject – “Speaking Up Without Freaking Out.”

Based on my observation of Jock, my conversation with Matt, and excerpts from Matt’s book, here is how to recover gracefully:

Method 1:  Make It Look Planned

This is what Jock Elliot did by pausing, saying “This next part is so important that I need to read it to you”, consulting his notes, then starting up again.  One key lesson here is that you should always have your notes easily accessible.  I keep mine in my pocket as a safely blanket; I rarely need them, but having them there sure make me feel good.

Method 2: Paraphrase Your Previous Content

From Matt’s book: “You will have to excuse me, but I am so passionate about my topic that I sometimes get ahead of myself.  Allow me to review my previous point.”  Nine times out of ten, retracing your steps will help you find the path forward.

Method 3: Ask Your Audience A Thought Provoking Question

Matt’s recommendation is “What seems to be the most important point so far?”  I feel that this technique would work better in presentation that is highly interactive to begin with.  However you can use this as a rhetorical question to either buy time with a long pause or to precede a review of your previous content (i.e. a lead-in to Method #2).

Method 4: Review Your Overall Speaking Purpose

Every speech should have a central theme – preferably encapsulated in a three to twelve word catchphrase.  Repeating your theme is always welcome by your audience so a memory lapse is a reasonable time to throw it back out there.

Try It Out!

Unfortunately, you are going to experience a memory lapse at some time. In fact, the older you get, the more frequently it is going to happen. However, fear of memory lapses should not prevent you from sharing your ideas with the world.  If Jock Elliot can lose his train of though, then so can I.  Pick one, just one, of these methods and have it in your back pocket the next time you need it.

At the beginning of your speaking journey, nervous energy pours out everywhere – most notably through your legs.  Some speakers are glued in one spot like a deer in the headlights.  Many more dance in place, rock back and forth, or take a random stroll.

Before you can do the best thing – which is to move only with purpose – you need to gain control and awareness of your movement.  Here is a three step process to cure excessive movement while speaking.

Step 1: Give a speech without moving

If you move too much, the first thing you need to do is go cold turkey.  Keep yourself in a single spot with your feet shoulder width apart and your weight balanced. If you are addressing a U-shaped audience, then you should reorient your feet so that your whole body is facing the individual you are engaged with just as you would in normal conversation.

Step 2: Move silently at transitions

Once you have mastered the awareness and control to stand still, you are ready to reintroduce movement.  Start your speech in the middle of the stage as you normally would.  As you transition from your introduction into the body of your speech, take a verbal pause a move to a new location.  Remember to take casual yet purposeful steps and to hold your head up with confidence.  It should only take you a couple of seconds to move and your audience will appreciate the extra mental processing time.  You should repeat the process at transitions ultimately returning to center stage for your conclusion.

Step 3: Move with purpose

Your ultimate goal is to move with purpose.  That means treating the floor like a theatrical stage with specific locations for characters, places, and themes.

Try it out!

Curing excessive movement will take practice.  If you are in Toastmasters and there is enough time, try doing two table topics.  Do the first minute speech without moving.  Do the second one moving only at transitions.  Moving with purpose requires careful planning and should be reserved for your next prepared speech.

A few weeks ago, I listened to a speaker who had his audience in stitches by employing a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor.  Eager to add a new trick to my repertoire, I decided to use the same approach in a meeting later the same day.

In that meeting, I shared several insights on customer behavior that my team uncovered using sophisticated analytical techniques.  At one point, I referenced myself as a “super nerd” and got a pretty good laugh.  I walked out of the room feeling I had mastered the technique.  But that feeling did not last for long…

As I walked away with one of my colleagues, he said “You know you really don’t need to do that.”  When I asked what he meant, he said, ‘Self-deprecating humor is powerful, just avoid using it in ways that undermine your authority on the subject you are speaking about.’

In his excellent critique of Daniel Pink’s 2009 TED Talk on motivation, blogger Andrew Dlugan summed up the same thing: “When using self-deprecating humor, don’t poke fun at your expertise in a way which weakens your credibility.”  In that speech, Dan Pink was using the master metaphor of building a legal case.  However, he referenced his poor performance in law school to get a laugh.

Here are a few quick tips for how you should use self-deprecating humor:

Tip 1: Use self-deprecating humor that does not undermine your authority

Revealing flaws that weaken your credibility on the topic you are speaking about is a sign of insecurity.  In contrast, revealing other information, such as unrelated past errors in dating judgement, will humanize you and build your connection with your audience.

Tip 2: Embed self-deprecating humor in the dialogue of other characters

By implanting humor in the dialogue of other people in your story, you will get twice as many laughs.  Saying “My wife thinks I’m an idiot” is simply not as funny as telling a story where your wife says, “Honey, I love you but you are an idiot!”.  Innocent comments made by children are also particularly effective.

Tip 3: Expose the elephant in the room

In the middle of winter, I arranged to meet photographer and creativity expert Joseph DeRuvo, a speaker that I recruited to present at TEDxMillRiver.  I told Joseph that I am easy to spot since I’m 6’5″, 205 lbs and I wear a big black parka and black ski cap.  Joseph said, “You will have an easier time spotting me since I do not wear shoes.”  Joseph won.  Though he has some valid reasons for eschewing shoes, his decision to highlight that fact was not only funny but also reinforced his personal brand as an artist and an innovator.

Try It Out!

Test out self-deprecating humor in your next conversation, meeting, or speech. Embed the humor in the dialogue of other characters while telling a story.  But, most importantly, steer clear of humor that undermines your personal brand or the perception your expertise on the topic at hand.