Leave The Podium Behind
Professional public speaking requires poise, passion and energy. It also requires emotion to stir the soul and rekindle the spirit. Hiding behind a podium offers a glimpse of greatness rather than an all out spectacular performance. Speakers must learn the skills of platform mechanics to keep an audience connected, engaged and involved.
Too many professional speakers rely totally on power point presentations or podiums as crutches to camouflage their weaknesses and lack of self-confidence. These devices limit the exposure that a professional speaker requires to engage their audiences. It is through our non-verbal body language that we as speakers become real and genuine to an audience. Our voice dynamics and gestures play an integral part of our peak performance. Great speakers use all of their skills in front of an audience.
The platform offers the use of many theatrical techniques that have been used for years in dramatic settings such as plays. Downstage center is for use of opinion pieces with downstage left or downstage right being useful for humor or empathy segments of a script. Placement on a stage can actually allow a speaker to control the audience’s reactions. This together with effective eye contact skills, gesturing and strong voice dynamics can alter speakers from mediocrity to outstanding professional speaking. To be an effective speaker a minimum of 25 tonal varieties to the voice should be used. Vary the pitch, volume, rate, friendliness and confidence throughout a presentation.
It is the role of professional speaking to reach audiences with powerful performances that are memorable and inspiring. That is one of the goals of professional speaking. Once the challenge of speaking professionally is accepted it is the speaker’s obligation to move their audiences with authenticity, sincerity and passion. Standing directly in front of an audience provides the foundation for greatness to follow. When a speaker is in complete view of an audience they are brought into the speaker’s realm and the connection of audience to speaker begins. The audience appreciates the openness, interest and the connection immediately. Leave the podium behind.