Who moved the furniture?
When I arrive at a venue to deliver a talk, I usually find myself rearranging the furniture. I am often met with objections and/or surprise. Yet, the way most rooms are set up are NOT conducive to delivering a good presentation. No matter how good a presenter you are, if the audience can hardly hear you or see you, it's going to be a challenge to connect.
Most rooms are set up all wrong.
They usually have:
a podium or table that the speaker is expected to stand behind
a handheld microphone, sometimes bolted to the podium/table
a short cable to connect your PC to the projector/power (or no cable at all; just a desktop PC)
a screen at the back of the stage, set dead centre
Who moves the furniture? Do you?
David Gurteen wrote on his excellent blog a post entitled 'Burn all podiums'. The photo to the left is his - look closely and you'll see the tip of the speaker's head. I'm sure that was a riveting session!
Podiums tie the speaker to one place and restrict the audience's view to the speaker's upper body. The audience wants to see you! You should want to get closer to them. If you're offered a podium, do you accept?
Handheld microphones - even ones you can move around using - restrict what you can do with your hands.
I have colleagues that use mics in a room that seats 60. This seems to give them licence to mumble and make zero eye contact with anyone. It's really not necessary. If you absolutely need a mic, make sure you can get (or bring) a lapel mic.
Screens are usually positioned at the bottom of the centre of the stage. This means that you need to stand off centre to avoid blocking the projection stream. I love it when the screen is off to one side. Or, as they do at TED, above the speaker (suitable for a very large room).
In fact, the way the stage is set at TED is interesting. It's perfect. If only more rooms were set up this way. The presenter can see the current slide, the previous/next slide, their notes and the timer all without ever turning away from the audience. The audience sees the whole slide, without any blockages and the whole speaker.
So, next time you arrive at a venue to deliver a talk, ask yourself "Shall I move the furniture?"
Most rooms are set up all wrong.
They usually have:
a podium or table that the speaker is expected to stand behind
a handheld microphone, sometimes bolted to the podium/table
a short cable to connect your PC to the projector/power (or no cable at all; just a desktop PC)
a screen at the back of the stage, set dead centre
Who moves the furniture? Do you?
David Gurteen wrote on his excellent blog a post entitled 'Burn all podiums'. The photo to the left is his - look closely and you'll see the tip of the speaker's head. I'm sure that was a riveting session!
Podiums tie the speaker to one place and restrict the audience's view to the speaker's upper body. The audience wants to see you! You should want to get closer to them. If you're offered a podium, do you accept?
Handheld microphones - even ones you can move around using - restrict what you can do with your hands.
I have colleagues that use mics in a room that seats 60. This seems to give them licence to mumble and make zero eye contact with anyone. It's really not necessary. If you absolutely need a mic, make sure you can get (or bring) a lapel mic.
Screens are usually positioned at the bottom of the centre of the stage. This means that you need to stand off centre to avoid blocking the projection stream. I love it when the screen is off to one side. Or, as they do at TED, above the speaker (suitable for a very large room).In fact, the way the stage is set at TED is interesting. It's perfect. If only more rooms were set up this way. The presenter can see the current slide, the previous/next slide, their notes and the timer all without ever turning away from the audience. The audience sees the whole slide, without any blockages and the whole speaker.
So, next time you arrive at a venue to deliver a talk, ask yourself "Shall I move the furniture?"
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