Project Managers often have to make a presentation. We report on progress, brief on a new project, or pitch to a change control panel. These are your chances to showcase your insight, authority, and expertise. You will do none of these unless you can establish a ‘presence’ in front of your audience. So, here’s how to command your audience’s attention.
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What is ‘Presence’?
It is that undefinable characteristic of making your audiences vividly aware of you. It is grabbing their attention and holding it; so that other people and other features fade into the background, leaving you in sharp focus. And it is performance chiaroscuro: defining where the light and the dark are in the room, and placing yourself in the light.
How to Create Presence
Here are ten ways to create presence.
Own the Room
Before you start speaking, take your place and pause. Take a few moments to survey the room and wait for everyone to notice you are ready to start speaking, and settle down. This has three effects: it shows your confidence, puts you in control, and means you have everyone’s attention before you start speaking.
Open powerfully
Plan and rehearse a powerful opening. There are many ways to construct an opening that will grab the attention of your audience and my Speaker’s Checklist has twenty ideas. You can find it on page 194 of my book, How to Speak so People Listen.
Choose your words
In a recent video, I gave you examples of some of the words which have the greatest impact. The simple rule is to keep your words simple, short, and concrete. Avoid uncommon, long, and abstract words, unless you use them for a particular reason: you want to emphasize them by making them stand out, or you are going to define them for your audience.
Make patterns
Centuries of teaching students the art of rhetoric – how to construct high-impact memorable phrases and speeches – have given way to the craft of 140 characters. So, we have to study it for ourselves, to become familiar with the rhythms and patterns of our language. Learn to contrast the light with the dark, to use the rhythm of threes, and to end with a punch.
Stand upright
Posture does not just affect how you look, but also how you sound. A good, stable, upright posture changes the balance of hormones in your system, presents a more imposing impression to spectators and opens your chest out, making your voice stronger and clearer.
Control your voice
Of all the things you can control, like timbre, locus, and inflection, three dominate: pitch, pace, and volume. A lower pitch conveys more authority, so breathe deeply and stand tall. Pace is a means to create variety and interest; slow down to impart import, and speed up to exude excitement. Volume is often misunderstood. Paradoxically, if you speak more quietly, sometimes people hear more clearly, because they ‘lean in’ to what you are saying. So emphasize important points by pausing, leaning towards your audience, and dropping your volume a notch.
Don’t compete
Don’t try to compete with other conversations: look at the people concerned and wait. And don’t try to compete with visual aids: learn how to work with them, rather than letting them work against you. Fancy visuals are great, but never forget that it should be you who is the star of the show. Don’t compete with waiting staff, fire engines, or any other distractions: let them pass.
Create silence
The person who is most comfortable with silence can control a conversation. Amplify that across the whole room, and you will get a sense of the power that silence gives a speaker. Use it well and it can create a presence of its own, that clings to the person who created it.
Pace and stand
Pace or stand still: your choice. What is important is that, before you make an important point; a conclusion, a request, an insight, or a question; stop. The change from movement to stillness will signal the importance of what you are about to say, and by standing still, you can control how you project your words to your audience.
Know how to stop
When you have said everything and closed your presentation, there is nothing more to be said.
Management Courses
Our sister channel, Management Courses, has a whole course/playlist about Presentation Skills. You can also watch it on the Management Courses website.
Recommended Videos to Help with Presentations and Presence
Carefully curated video recommendations for you:
Recommended Articles to Help with Presentations and Presence
- Project Management Presentations: The 3 Expert Elements for a Great One
- 12 Simple Tips that will Give You Amazing Professional Presence
- How to Get Project Communications Management Right… Every Time
What Kit does a Project Manager Need?
I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. I added my own.
Check out the Kit a Project Manager needs
Note that the links are affiliated.
Learn Still More
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If you want basic Management Courses – free training hosted on YouTube, with 2 new management lessons a week, check out our sister channel, Management Courses.
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For more of our videos in themed collections, join our Free Academy of Project Management.
