Audience-Centered Seating for Your Presentations

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Posted on 20th January 2012 by Kristin Arnold in presentation skills |Set The Tone |U R #1 Visual |Visuals/Props

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You walk into the room and see a traditional seating set-up for your presentation.  Theater-style with two columns of chairs, with a path down the middle.  The overhead screen is at the front in the middle of the room.  Looks pretty good, right?

While typical for many meeting venues, and perhaps most comfortable for you, the presenter, meeting planner, or hotelier, it is NOT the best seating arrangement for an audience-centered presentation.

So what’s wrong with straight rows?

1.  Focus.  The seats directly in front of the speaker are the only decent seats in the house.  Everyone else has to adjust the view to get a direct line of sight to the presenter.  And yet we give up this prime real estate to a multimedia projector table or vacant space for a center aisle.  Whenever possible, place the chairs in front of you, the speaker:

2.  Energy Drain.  Any feng-shui expert will tell you that the energy flows out of the room through a center aisle.  Wherever possible, keep the straight row center section right in front of you, with an aisle in between each outer seating section.

4.  Safety.  You may want to have some ability for people to get in and out of their seats, so you can modify the seating with some extra aisles starting a third of the way from the stage.  This way, the energy won’t flow out of the room!

5.  Blocked View.  Unless you are sitting in the front row, there will always be somebody taller or wider in the seat in front of you.  If you are lucky, you will have a semi-obstructed view of the presenter.  Worst case, you have to lean one way or the other just to get a clear view. Wherever possible, stagger the chairs so they aren’t lined up like soldiers behind each other.

6.  Pain.  Unless you are sitting right in front of the presenter, chances are you must turn your neck slightly to see the presenter.  If you are on the far reaches, then you are probably putting more weight on one butt cheek than the other and are constantly readjusting your seat!  Do this for an extended period of time, and it starts to hurt!  Wherever possible, angle the chairs toward the presenter.

7.  Disconnect. If you want to connect with the audience, the best way is to enable the audience to connect with each other.  They simply can’t connect with each other if they can’t see each other. Straight rows allow each person in the row to see only one person on either side (and the back of somebody’s head – but that doesn’t help connection!)  Wherever possible, curve the seating around the presenter, so the audience can see each other.

Finally, if you can, ask for the overhead screen to be placed on the left, looking at the front of the room (otherwise known as upstage right!).  Since we read from left to right, make it easier for the audience to “read” what you are saying by placing the screen to the left of the stage (downstage right in theater terms).  Place the screen at the same depth as you will be standing and close enough to your center position so that your audience’s eyes won’t have to travel a great distance from you to the screen.  Furthermore, should you have to point to something on the screen, you can use your right hand without turning your back to the participants!

Depending on the venue’s capability, you can transform a ho-hum, boring traditional theater-style room set into an audience-centered seating arrangement.  Being able to view the presentation in comfort, as well as to see each other enhances the dynamics of the presentation.  In the best of all possible worlds, orient the seats toward the front so they can comfortably connect with the presenter and with each other.

 

Creatively Show a Statistic During Your Presentation

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Posted on 22nd November 2011 by Kristin Arnold in Engaging Mindset |Group Interaction |presentation skills |Props |Uncategorized |Visuals/Props

I just came back from the National Speakers Association Strategic Planning Retreat and Board Meeting.  How fun to be on the other side of the table as the Immediate Past President rather than the professional facilitator!

As we were reviewing the data from our recent survey, Director of Marketing Janet Traylor effectively demonstrated the multigenerational mix of our membership:

For every survey response, she placed one of four different dried beans in a container – depending on the age of the respondent:

A Green Pea Bean for Millennials/Generation Y (born approx. 1977-1994)

A Red Kidney Bean for Generation X (born approx. 1965-1977

A White Navy Bean for Baby Boomers (born approx. 1944-1964) and

A Garbanzo Bean for the Traditionalists (born approx 1922-1943).

Janet then held up the container to show the demographic “mix” of our membership.  MUCH more effective than projecting a bar chart.

What do you do to bring a statistic come alive during your presentations?

 

 

Show Where You’re Going with a Team Map

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Posted on 6th October 2011 by Kristin Arnold in Engaging Mindset |Facilitation |Group Interaction |presentation skills |Set The Tone |Uncategorized |Visuals/Props |Word Choice

One and done?  Or, is your team meeting one in a series of meetings to accomplish a specific result?

If it is the latter, I have always found it helpful to put together a “team map” – a graphic or visual representation of the team’s journey.  The team map shows the high-level components of a series of meetings – all leading to the end result.

Use the team map much like you would use a roadmap to drive to a specific destination.  Talk about it at the beginning to get agreement and alignment to the overall process.  Post it on the wall to remind team members where they are in the process. And celebrate when you move from one phase to another!

Here is a simple example of the Shewart Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle:

When improving a process, you can use this simple visual:

Or, you can use a more detailed version.  (I call this the left brained version as it is just a table with no graphics or colors!):

You can throw in a bit of color:

Or add in graphical elements:

Just as you use a roadmap when driving to your destination, try creating a team map to show the critical milestones along the way to success.

 

 

 

Word Clouds in your Presentation

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Posted on 22nd July 2011 by Kristin Arnold in presentation skills |Uncategorized |Visuals/Props |Word Choice

Word Cloud of this blog entry generated using Tagcloud.com

Sometimes, you can’t find the right visual to use during your presentation.

Why not try a “word cloud” – a visual representation for key words used on a website, in a speech, or other intact use of language.  Most of us are used to seeing word clouds on a website, and they make a fabulous fall back when you just can’t find the right picture.  OR, you are introducing a specific group of terms, ideas or concepts to the audience.

According to Wikipedia (the font of all knowledge!), a word cloud typically consists of single words, normally listed alphabetically, and the importance of each tag is shown with font size or color. This format is useful for quickly perceiving the most prominent terms and for locating a term alphabetically to determine its relative prominence.

There are several word cloud generators on the web, and each one is just a little bit different.  Most are easy to use, free and may require a username and password. Check out Wordle, TagCrowd, Taxedo, Word It Out or ABCya.  You might also be interested in Techmynd which quickly scrambles words.

Let There Be Light on the Presenter!

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Posted on 8th June 2011 by Kristin Arnold in presentation skills |Set The Tone |Visuals/Props

There is a rash – no – a virtual epidemic of speakers giving their presentation in the dark.  Well, not in the black dark of night, but out of the limelight.

I just got back from SE Asia where I was speaking at the Malaysian Association for Professional Speakers Convention, the HR Summit, and the Association for Professional Speakers Singapore.  All three venues had the same problem:

The stage lighting was not directed appropriately.  The canned lights in the ceiling were canted anywhere BUT center stage toward the face of the speaker.

Kristin speaking at APSS11

I continue to be flummoxed as to why this is….but it is.  Even though we all know better.

So what happens?  One spe

aker stood on the very end of the stage. Gosh, I thought he was going to fall off.  Another one just stood in the shadows.  Me?  I moved to a place where there WAS light – which happened to be on the floor with the audience.  Fortunately for me, I’m a fairly tall woman (5′ 10″ to be exact and over 6′ with heels!) and so most of the people can still see me.  However, at the HR Summit where I was speaking to 400 people, I danced between being on the stage and working the crowd.

The solution?  Get to the venue in enough time to kindly ask the hotel to reposition the lights.  Sometimes, this is impossible as the ceiling is sky high.  But if you don’t look, nor ask, you’ll be standing in the dark.

Use PowerPoint with a Purpose during your Presentations

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Posted on 12th April 2011 by Kristin Arnold in Engaging Mindset |Facilitation |Group Interaction |presentation skills |Uncategorized |Visuals/Props

PowerPoint slides are an effective tool to complement your speech.  Your slides should visually punctuate one of your points, tell a story, or create a mental link for the participant to grasp a concept.  If it doesn’t serve your audience, here’s a simple idea: Blank the screen either by inserting a black slide or hitting the button on your remote. All eyes should be on you (see #4), not on a slide that is no longer pertinent.

Never turn your back on the audience to speak to your slides; it breaks the fragile connection you have with the audience.  Your slideshow is not a crutch for you to remember which point you are on either.  If you must, look to see what the next slide is, then turn to the audience and talk about the slide.  Don’t summarize the slide (boring!); don’t read us the slide (even more boring!).  Talk about what the slide means to the audience.  You’ll have a conversation going in no time!

Dry Statistics Made to Stick

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Posted on 11th February 2011 by Kristin Arnold in PowerPoint |presentation skills |Stories |Visuals/Props

As we close the “Just Say No to Powerpoint Week”, did you succumb to the siren call of Powerpoint?  And… if you just had to grab the remote, did you tell the story around the Powerpoint flashing on the screen?  It’s all about the story – whether you are sharing a daring-do or a dry data dump.  People can read your PowerPoint.  What they can’t read is your story – your interpretation of the facts, events and images.

Dan and Chip Heath

The Heath Brothers hit the proverbial nail on the head in this month’s issue of Fast Company .  They said, “if you want change, close out of PowerPoint and start looking for the right feeling.”  That’s right.  They said “feeling.” In the article, the Brothers describe the story about Curt Lansbery, CEO of North American Tool who kept harping about how his employees should max out their 401(k) investments.  Then, one year at the annual enrollment meeting, he brought in a zipped bag, unzipped it, and upended it over a table.  Cash  came pouring out of the bag – $9,832 to be precise – the amount of money his employees had failed to claim the year prior.  He pointed at the money and said, “This is your money.  It should be in your pocket.  Next year, do you want it on the table or in your pocket?”  There was a stunned silence….and then a rush to sign up.

Did Curt use PowerPoint to make the point?  Not this time.  He relied on a story.  A pretty impressive “prop” to provide image and context – and to evoke the feeling that the audience should DO something.

What are you doing to evoke the feeling in your audience and inspire them to action?

Use a Microphone for Presentations with More than 75 People

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Posted on 20th December 2010 by Kristin Arnold in presentation skills |Set The Tone |U R #1 Visual |Visuals/Props

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I have been doing a fair number of presentations to different chapters of the National Speakers Association.  Some fill up the meeting room (Go Ohio and Northern California!) and some are more intimate (Yeah Pittsburgh and Tennessee!).  Like most people, I like the more intimate conversations and don’t want to be bothered with a microphone.  HOWEVER, if you are presenting to more than 75 people, do us all a favor and use  a microphone.  Lavaliere or handheld?  No one really cares.  Use a microphone.  Even if you think you have a loud, booming voice.  Use a microphone.  It is not about your voice; it is about the audience’s ability to hear you.  So put away your pride and speak into a microphone.  Even in an audience of fifty it’s pretty nifty for everyone to be able to hear you!

Better yet, learn a little something about microphones.  How to turn them on.  How to turn them off before you go to the restroom.  How your mouth needs to be relatively close to the microphone to be heard.  And how to fish the little wire down your shirt so it doesn’t distract the audience by flopping all around.  (BTW, I use a Samson SE50 Omnidirectional wireless headset – and I highly recommend Bill Johnson at SpeakerTools.com)

While I’m on my micro-rant, please be nice to the A/V people.  Okay, be nice to ALL people, but especially the A/V people.  Find out their first name and use it.  Say thank you every once in a while.  Do your sound check with them.  Wander around the room while you do a sound check.  Note the “hot spots” (too much feedback) with masking tape on the floor – and don’t walk into the hot spots!  Then make sure the A/V person takes a piece of masking tape and notes your sound level on the mixer board – and then writes your name next to it.  If there are multiple people on the program, you will sound perfect – and the audience will be able to hear you!

Change This: 15.5 Ways to Make your Presentation Go From Boring to Bravo

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Posted on 9th September 2010 by Kristin Arnold in Engaging Mindset |PowerPoint |presentation skills |Questions |Set The Tone |Stories |Task Individuals |U R #1 Visual |Uncategorized |Visuals/Props

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I received a call a few months ago from the folks at ChangeThis.com.  Turns out they wanted me to write a “Change Manifesto” on making presentations more engaging and interactive.  Now that’s a good fit!

As part of 800-CEO-Read, they found out about my new book, Boring to Bravo and wanted to highlight the topic.  They only do five business books per month, so this was quite the honor.

So download it here – it’s free – and let me know what you think!

Presentation Podiums, Lecterns, and More!

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Posted on 25th August 2010 by Kristin Arnold in Visuals/Props |Word Choice

I was recently interviewed on Big Blend Radio when Lisa, the host, questioned the practice of speaking from behind the podium.  Not that I really want to mince words here (so I will!), but she really meant to say  “lectern.”  So here’s the lowdown for those inquiring minds who need to know the difference:

A podium is small, raised horizontal surface upon which a presenter stands in order to be seen by the audience – also known as a riser or platform.  Not to be confused with a dais, which is a platform specifically used for “the head table” or for a set of panelists.

A lectern, on the other hand, is a stand with a slanted top used to hold a book, speech, or notes at the proper height for a speaker to deliver his or her program.  The lectern may be placed on the podium, platform, riser, or dais.

And all of these elements are part of the stage – the floor upon which the presenter stands and delivers a speech.

In today’s vernacular, all  these words have mutated into a common a co-mingled meaning – but a few of us still like to quibble over precise definitions!

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