Public Speaking Tips for Walking on Stage
Once again, we are looking at those all-important ‘first impressions’ that can make such a telling difference in Public Speaking.
While working with younger students, I would tell them that, should they ever have to attend an interview, they should act as if the interview starts 5 meters down the corridor before they walk into the room. It ends 5 meters down the corridor after they have left the room, because I have seen interview candidates who slouch into the room without realising that they are already making an impression before they start speaking. Equally, I have seen good interviews destroyed at the end by a sagging of the shoulders and an apologetic exit, completely bursting the positive bubble that they may have created while sitting and speaking.
It is the same with Public Speaking. It is the same in any performing art.
The impression you make starts before you even open your mouth to speak and resonates after you finish.
I have stressed in previous articles how important the opening words of a presentation are,
https://www.ataps.co.uk/about/blog/public-speaking-tips-for-openings.html,
and now we are looking even further back at those extra few moments before you even speak.
I have seen many speakers dragging themselves up to the podium and only then deciding to stand up straight and smile. It makes us feel that there are two people: the positive façade of the person speaking and the ‘real’ person, not so positive, not so convincing!
If the message you want to put across is calculated to suggest that you are a simple ‘unaccustomed as am I to public speaking’ person, who just happens to be forced into the public gaze, then you could get away with the dual on-stage, off-stage projection.
This is an approach that Socrates used to defend himself before his accusers because he wanted to give the impression:
‘My opponents are all expert, polished Public speakers, whereas I am just a simple man telling the truth.’
Only if it is a conscious ploy to make it seem that your words and reasoning are unembellished; the unvarnished truth, devoid of any artifice or calculation, as opposed to those other ‘practised’ speakers who might be using their words to trick their audience.
However, more often than not, any speaker who takes on the pose of ‘unaccustomed as am I to public speaking’ is probably projecting a humility that is less than sincere.
I do remember a student once telling me that when he met me for the first time before a training session he thought that I seemed a nice enough person, but on first meeting he doubted whether I would have the energy and ‘charisma’ to hold his attention over a two-day training programme, but he then noted I became a different person when I stood up in front of the group.
As a trainer, I need to be able to lead a group, and therefore, much of the time I will be the centre of attention, whereas socially I am happy to be much more submissive. The difference in personality before and during the training session were not connected. Initially I was meeting people: I was not training. They are two separate things. However, in those few steps from the door to the centre of the room to start the session, the emphasis had shifted; I knew that those steps belonged to the opening of the training session and would contribute to the first impression of the day.
10 tips for ‘walking on stage’
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Clothing
In the context of training, I will always stress to a prospective trainer that they can do whatever they like as long as they have a purpose and know why they are doing it. If the training programme uses some of the more dramatic techniques of ‘accelerated learning’ and the whole training programme has been themed as a voyage of discovery to a Caribbean island, it might be appropriate for the trainer to walk into the room wearing a bright shirt, cut-off jeans and sunglasses.
We may want to send a message of success, formality, humility, or professionalism
It might help if your appearance underlines the impression you wish to make
If the key message contained within your presentation is the most important element, then you will want to walk on stage, looking neat, professional, and relatable. The clothing should not be the focus of attention, it should merely reinforce an image of professionalism and competence. It should just be enough to save you from walking on stage naked, without trumpeting any confusing message of status or inclination.
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Get dressed before going on stage
Many speakers get to the podium or the centre of their stage and only then do they decide to pull up their trousers, pull down their sleeves or straighten their hair.
in reality of course, what is happening is that they are responding to that massive sense of unease that overcomes us when we have to move from the safety or sitting as part of the group in the room, or standing in the wings of the auditorium to the glare of everyone’s attention suddenly fixed on us.
So the playing around with clothing becomes a natural reaction to the discomfort and is being done to ease the transition from ‘off-stage’ to the centre of attention.
To the audience, it tends to look nervous and lacking in confidence, therefore we need to learn to do all the ‘fiddling’ before moving into the spotlight.
It is uncomfortable to have all eyes fixed on you; therefore, learn to accept it, get used to it, and resist all temptation to fidget.
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Feel the floor
Walking is movement; standing is stationary!
When you are feeling nervous energy, the act of walking out might help release that energy, but the danger is that when you reach your speaking position, the energy is still flowing through you and it becomes hard to stand still. This is why you often see speakers shuffling or swaying, which at best can appear distracting or uncertain.
Some speakers may choose to pace the stage as a way of asserting themselves and overcoming their nerves.
The problem now is that the pacing can look aggressive or even patronising
(As explained in this brief video -
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michaelronayne_should-i-stand-still-when-i-speak-or-should-activity-7289332163311730688-MR2c?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAKva68BpWqMzPAZSHRJ0Ep3jxCv7BWal-g
Therefore, to avoid pacing or shuffling, consciously make contact with the floor.
And then give yourself a moment to establish your stance before you start speaking.
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Establish eye contact
Eye contact helps you connect to the audience and it sends out a message of confidence and honesty.
Looking at your audience lets them know you are ready to communicate with them, looking at the floor suggests a disconnect, that may imply lack of conviction or truthfulness
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Rehearse your opening statement
Walking on stage thinking:
‘OMG I am so nervous, is not going to help, so like the 100 meter runner preparing to start the race, focus on the goal.
Either remind yourself why you are there and the importance of what you are about to share, or
literally, as you step out, repeat your opening line again and again until you are in position and ready to start.
In the same way as the pressure of exposure may cause you to want to fidget, the dramatic shift from walking out in silence to the sound of your first words will make you want to bridge the gap with meaningless sounds: ‘Er, so, um, yeah, hi.’
If the opening line of your presentation is:
‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen’
Repeat that in your head as you walk out;
get in position, pause a moment, gather yourself and declaim:
‘Friends, Romans Countrymen’ – without the ‘so, erm, yeah’ before it.
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Picture a successful outcome
Think about how your message will help your audience.
Will it make them feel better about something?
Will it save them time or money?
Will it make them wiser?
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Walk with purpose
Walk out as if you are going somewhere: not necessarily as if you are in a hurry, but with the briskness of a person who has a goal and a purpose. In his book ‘Think and Grow Rich’, Napoleon Hill pointed out that you could often tell an unemployed person by how they walked: their gait would be apologetic, and they walked with a pace and in a manner that betrayed the fact that they had nowhere they needed to go.
The podium or centre-stage is your goal.
Walk out with purpose.
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Smile
Coupled with picturing a successful outcome and moving with purpose, if you add a smile, it will suggest not only are you happy to be there, you feel confident in being there.
I remember a young ‘cellist in East Germany walking out to play with such a look of dread and defeat that we all tensed up and feared what we were about to hear.
As it turned out, she was brilliant!
As a speaker, you have no instrument to be brilliant on – it is just you, and if you seem full of dread and defeat, we will not recover so easily and will just assume that you or what you are saying lacks merit.
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Hands
Work out what to do with your hands.
Hold your notes (if you have any) under your arm in the same way a Sergeant Major would hold his baton.
Let your arms fall to your sides, but make sure they swing naturally when you walk
(This might take a little practice – it is something we do naturally until we become self-conscious and think about it – Right foot forward with left arm forward and alternate!)
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Breathe
Give yourself a moment before you move out to the middle of the room, to focus on breathing slowly and deeply.
