Non Verbals: Why They Are Killing Your Presentations
(and what to do about it)

Anyone who has ever sat through a briefing or presentation knows how quickly you can lose an audience without saying a word. Here are a few reminders on how to make sure your non-verbal’s are sending the right signals to your target audiences:

1. Come out of hiding
We know it may be more comfortable for nervous presenters to stand behind a lectern. That’s why when we see you behind one, our first thought might be to question your confidence. It’s almost impossible to really connect with your audience from behind a barrier (even a see-through one designed to give the audience the illusion of connection.) Display your confidence first and foremost by not hiding from your audience. If you need to check your notes, or get off track, you can simply stop speaking and do so. Presenting well isn’t about perfection, it’s about connection. (And your audience has no idea what you might have left out.)

2. Natural movements and eye contact signal confidence
The goal is to stand and move as naturally as possible. Pay attention to how you normally move, gesture, and maintain eye contact. That’s what you’ll want to mimic when delivering presentations and briefings in the real world. If you normally gesture freely with your hands, continue to do so. (That doesn’t mean gesturing widely and remember moving without purpose is usually called pacing.)

3. Pauses are refreshing.
We hear at a faster rate than we process information. That means deliberate pauses allows your audience to keep up with you and consider your points. That has the added benefit of making you the presenter seem in control and deliberate. If you naturally tend to be a fast talker, it’s far easier to adjust for that with pauses and some repetition, rather than to try and slow your delivery rate. No audience will complain you are too easy to understand.

4. Connect Deliberately
The advantage your audience has in watching you, is being able to judge immediately whether what you’re saying is relevant and worth exploring. The advantage you have in standing in front of them is watching that judgement happen and adjusting. Are you seeing heads nod? Looks of interest? Good, proceed. If not, pause and ask for feedback. There’s no point in barreling ahead if your audience isn’t ready to go with you. Think ahead of time about any hurdles you want to help your audience get over. Be ready with examples, data, stories to help them get there.
Of course, we hope you’ll seek some professional training to help you make the most out of every presentation or briefing. You can however, improve your own performance by remembering why your audience is there, what they hope to get from you, and how you’re going to meet and exceed their expectations.