How does presenting link to leadership?
As senior or C-level leaders, many of my clients have given hundreds of presentations, but there comes a time when it’s especially important to make an impact or to manage anxiety effectively. Or it could be a specific audience that’s the challenge, for instance how to create real buy-in from cynical, or even angry, listeners.
So, at some point in our time together, many of my C-level clients want to work on their presentation skills.
And after all, presenting is integral to leadership.
Whether you’re opening a meeting or just giving an update, you are leading and it’s in public. So it’s worth making sure your skills are constantly improving and you gain the outcome you really want each time.
Every time you speak up is an opportunity to consolidate your authentic leadership style and identity.
Why does “7/38/55” have no place?
In the context of presentation the “7/38/55 Rule” often appears. Like an old chestnut, it’s been around for a long time.
First, to be clear, it’s not a rule and it is not true. So, you can forget it and move on now.
But for those who want to know more, I’ll explain WHAT the old chestnut is, why it’s unhelpful and WHY we should finally move on.
The mistaken belief is that:
• words give only 7% of the total meaning in spoken communication
• tone of voice gives 38%
• body language gives 55%
The sad thing is this is a greatly oversimplified mis-interpretation of what Albert Mehrabian (1964) actually stated. It’s not what he said and not what he meant.
Because it’s got numbers in it, people seem to have thought it must be true!
But it’s NOT FACT.
Current research
A couple of years ago I asked an Oxford University academic, specialist in non-verbal communication, what he thought of “Mehrabian’s rule”. Interestingly it hadn’t shown up in his extensive research – he had never heard of it!
His view was words and delivery are equally important “probably about 50:50”. Which is what I believe too.
So, yes words DO matter. Voice and tone of voice matter too. So do body language, facial expression and eye contact.
In other words, we should pay equal attention to our words and how we speak them.
When you present …
- Do you spend equal time on HOW?
- Is your HOW (delivery) up to the standard of your WHAT (notes or slides)?
- Do YOU prepare the WHAT and HOW equally carefully?
Many of us spend all our time on slides or notes, and very little on how we deliver.
Often we even stand in darkness to present, so our facial expression cannot even be seen!
People notice the HOW
But people notice, often subconsciously, HOW you speak:
• tone of voice
• intonation
• volume
• speed
• accent
We notice how you look too. It can help or hinder what you say.
Wearing a suit, where everyone else is wearing jeans, can say something about education, formality, seriousness, even respect, or affluence. It can say you don’t fit in and as a result you may be ostracised – or respected more – depending on the situation.
We’ve all made mistakes of course. Once I went to Norway to give a workshop and realised too late that I was extremely overdressed for the Comms department of an oil company. They were all in jeans. I was in a dress and jacket. I must have looked to them as if I was off to a wedding! All I could do was roll up my sleeves (literally) and get on with giving a good session.
An expressive face adds much to your delivery. Eye contact with the audience is crucial and it’s often in your eyes that we see your passion and sincerity. This “non-verbal language” speaks to us, hooks us in and engages us, so we take in and are more responsive to your message.
A word of warning
Don’t go too far with gestures. I once saw a presenter who used extraordinary gestures throughout her presentation on video. They didn’t seem to fit what she was saying, were over-frequent and did not look at all natural.
Personally, I advise against learning specific gestures, or using anything that doesn’t FEEL and LOOK natural to you.
5 tips for boosting your Presenting skills as a Leader
You’ll find this advice in my next post.
If you want to change your leadership style, to increase productivity in your team or make a difference in some other way that’s unique to you, contact me. I’d be happy to help.
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