89. Delivering The Perfect Pitch: Eye Contact, Stage Presence & Professionalism (Part 2)

This week, lead UpSkiller Michel Shah shares strategies to boost your presence to deliver powerful pitch presentations, both online or on a stage. 

This is part (2/2) of B) Delivery, in the three-step series of perfecting your pitch: A) preparation, B) delivery, and C) refinement. 

Michel provides practical tips to help you captivate any audience:

• Maintaining professionalism
• Exuding confidence in yourself and your message
• Showcasing genuine passion and enthusiasm
• Using physical space and gestures
• Being authentic and conversational
• Engaging the entire audience, whether live or virtual
• Establishing credibility and building connections

Whether you're speaking on a stage or through a screen, we share how to maximize your presence and deliver memorable presentations. 

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Transcript

0:01

This is part two in a two part series to help you perfect your pitch, whether you're a founder, entrepreneur, or just looking to upskill and sell yourself. Welcome to Upskill Talks, I'm your host, Michelle Shaw, lead Upskill at Upskill Community. Upskill Talks is a podcast for leaders, leaders who are actively seeking innovative and creative ways to interact. Lead themselves and others in every episode through real life stories and enlightening conversations, we will explore the challenges and opportunities real leaders face in today's everchanging workplace. We will present you with real strategies. For you to leverage your soft skills and produce transformative results. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Let us begin.

Michel Shah: 1:00

A well prepared presentation can land flat. With poor delivery and a mediocre presentation can have an incredible impact with outstanding delivery. Want to get a yes on your sale for an investment? Mine on your idea, whatever the outcome you want to get, you need to get good at delivering whatever you've delivery. And that's what we're going to cover in this episode, every presenter, every presentation has a common goal. It is to gain engagement and eventually a favorable consideration for your ideas, business, products, service, recommendations, business, products, whatever it is. Presence is essential to delivering you these results. So what is presence? What do you think presence is? How would you define presence? Presence refers to how you, the presenter, present yourself to your audience. Your visual. I'm going to focus on your visual impact in this episode, that's the ability to light up a stage and draw your audience in with your energy. It's how you demonstrate poise and self assurance. It's your charisma, appeal, confidence, and the energy you bring to that stage or platform when you're performing. Thank It's the level of comfort that you have on the stage. Your ability to connect with your audience and hold their attention. And how memorable you make the experience for them when it's over. It's the ability to relax and enjoy your audience in performance situations. It is the ability to make others feel connected emotionally to you, to yourself. It's the feeling of credibility that you convey to your audience so they feel that you have the authority to address them on this topic. It's your awareness of how you show up. It's how you actually show up in different spaces, in different places for different purposes, in different presentations. It's you recognizing your role as the presenter in the presentation. The presenter is critical to the presentation. Presence is the key to presenting with impact. This is not easy for everyone to do. Even when you have the best preparation, sometimes just showing up on the stage can derail everything. Many years ago I taught a student by the name of Max. And Max was one of the best writers in my course, Speaking with Confidence. Max had already submitted, which is a requirement, the speech and had received a great mark, top of the class. And so I had never heard Max speak. This was his first speech in class, and I was very excited to hear it based on what he had presented. A well prepared speech that hit all of the points. And when it was Max's turn to go up, Max came to the top of the classroom, and he... He shook so hard, his paper was shaking in his hand, he was visibly nervous, he started getting red, he was just so uncomfortable, rubbing his hair, fiddling, putting his hand in his pocket, leaning against the wall. He did all the things that took away from what I saw on paper as an outstanding preparation for this presentation. The preparation of the content was outstanding, but Max may not have spent any time to think about how do I prepare to present myself to have a powerful presence, to be able to take this content and make it come alive and deliver it powerfully to the audience. And that's why I'm going to provide you here 10 steps to a powerful presence. So that way you don't have to do like Max. Now, some of you are way ahead in your presentations and you're already doing very powerful presentations just to go through this list and see if there's one tip that you can take to enhance how you present. All of us can move our presentations forward and sometimes it's just. Hearing the same thing in a different way, that helps you to move your game forward. I know certainly that I have a lot that I can still be working on, that I am still working on. And I encourage you to think about this, because we're all a work in progress, that we're all working on our presence. And so here are the 10 steps that I'm going to offer for a more powerful presence. Number one is professionalism. Maintaining a professional demeanor and professional means different things in different contexts. And so make sure that professional is defined for the context that you are. Because appearance is important. Conduct is important. And certainly that helps you to establish credibility with your audience. Sometimes professionalism is. narrowly thought about as wearing a suit or wearing professional attire. But if you're going to speak at a golf course, for golfers, maybe a golf shirt is the right attire. If you're going to speak at a creative place, maybe you need an outfit that That shows that you understand and embrace that level of creativity. If you're going to sit and read on the floor with kindergarten students, you're probably don't need a suit for that. You need something more comfortable. And so professional attire needs to match the situation. But professional behavior also has to match the situation and your conduct is really important. Not just when you're on stage, but even the way you show up at the event, the way you navigate the spaces, engage with customer service staff, engage with other servers. Everything from the moment you hit the stage. From the moment you arrive at your venue, you are on stage. Be mindful of how you show up, because if you're rude to the receptionist, if you're rude to the person who is processing you, it will impact the organization's feeling of your professionalism. So it's understanding yourself as a professional through to the stage, not just on the stage. So that's number one, understand what it means to be professional in that environment and make sure that you show up as a professional in that environment. Certainly, something we should practice in our general life, but if as a minimum, at least for your performance, make sure it's professional. Number two, it's important that you bring confidence to Your presentation, this belief in yourself, the belief in your message, the belief that you're the right person to be delivering this confidence in your content will naturally enhance your stage presence, a lot of us struggle with imposter syndrome and perhaps show up in spaces where you wonder if you're the right person to be there, if they're more suitable people for you, if people will believe in you. We all struggle with that. You are not going to be alone with this. Try to pause that for the moment and step onto the stage realizing that this is your opportunity. You're going to do this and go ahead and give your best self. Whatever strategy you use to help boost your confidence, make sure you're thinking about that intentionally in your preparation for presenting yourself to others, being mindful of your presence and the confidence that you show. Number three is to showcase your passion. It's important that you demonstrate genuine enthusiasm. In the idea that you bring, what is it that you're going to do to inspire and captivate your audience to, to focus on you, to engage with you, to engage with your ideas. And because remember, ultimately you want a favorable consideration. When you are showing up, presenting yourself to your audience, it's really important that you're intentionally incorporating some physical aspects. Into what you do into your presence, whether those are hand gestures, whether that's walking, whatever that is, make sure you're doing something that you don't look like you're stiff and stuck, but that people feel that fluidity and that brings me to number four. Number four, use the space. If you're standing on a physical stage, be mindful of the size of the stage, where the audience is located relative to the stage, and address the whole audience. Not just the people directly in front of you, which is our temptation sometimes. But make sure to look left, to look right, and if there's an audience up and down, make sure that you're incorporating and considering the whole audience. During your preparation stage, you should be aware of the environment in which you will be presenting, and you should plan to engage the whole audience as part of your preparation. If you're using a virtual platform, be mindful of how you show up virtually on whatever platform you're using, making sure that you're zooming yourself right in so that people can see you, can see your eyes, can see your smile and can engage with you and sure that you're showing your best self. This is not the episode where I talk about. How to make sure the background is clear, what you should be wearing, and contrasting against the background, but be mindful of how you show up on the screen. What I want to flag up is that I've seen presenters on a screen whom I can see their forehead and maybe a piece of their eyes, but I can't see their lips. So I'm having a hard time hearing them. I can't see the full person so I can't connect with them. They need to make sure that within the screen people can see something that looks more like a passport photograph of you. Fully zoomed in, fully connected, right on screen. A good strategy is to make sure you record yourself. Just see how you're showing up. This makes a big difference. If you are doing a virtual presentation, that's number four. Number five is to be authentic, be yourself on stage. Authenticity builds trust and connection with the audience. Just be you. This is harder than it sounds, because particularly if you're not experienced in speaking, you almost bring a different speaking voice, a different speaking tone. In Speaking with Confidence courses, we talk about speaking extemporaneously. That means speaking the way you talk to each other conversationally. Bringing that realness to your message, to your conversation. It makes it easier for listening because people feel like they're having a conversation with you versus when it sounds more like very structured, more like they're reading something to you is harder. Make sure when you are thinking about and planning for your delivery, that you are showing up in a way that's authentic. Onstage authenticity really means showing up as your fun self. If you're a fun person, if you're a serious, go for it. If you're a, whatever it is that you do, if you like to, if you're a light, if you would run onto stage, if you have fun with it, if you have a lot of body movements, whatever it is, be you so that they can see who you are. The person that you are in front of your family and close friends. Try to be the closest, the professional version of that on stage. And if you think about how your friends and family adore you, then your audience can experience that version of you and really connect with you. And like I say, that's hard to do, but that is the goal. You take it one step at a time until you get there. Number six is body language, use open and positive body language, stand tall, avoid crossing your arms, unless that's part of some power pose and make purposeful gestures that support your message, make your presence felt. That's the goal of body language that you make your presence felt. If you're doing a virtual presentation, you can use tools to support this. It's harder to do on Zoom, but you can have interactive tools that engage, engagement tools, annotations, the chat, to get people involved, so that allows them to get a sense of who you are. If you're using slides, make sure that you are not stuck looking at the slides, but that your gaze... And your engagement remains with your audience. Slides are a useful visual aid. They are not the presentation. You are making the presentation and you have to make sure to maintain your connection with your audience at all times. You are the presenter. You can use slides, demonstrations, whatever you use. Those are aiding your presentation. You need to make sure that you're staying stuck on your audience at all times. Number seven is poise. And I'm going to add posture with this one. Proper posture and poise. Poise really suggests that you have composure and self assuredness. And posture supports this. A powerful pose, invites people in. If you're swaying or pacing excessively, it may convey nervousness, but if you're moving purposefully to emphasize key points, if you're being fully present and given the engagement, you will get engagement. So really important to think about how your posture and poise is connected to your content. You don't want to be moving up and down when you're presenting a serious content. So that may require a more steady poise. If you're doing something more lightweight and fun, that may require much more movement. So make sure not just that you're thinking about what my posture is, poise, movement, but how the poise that to. The posture that I typically carry. How does that support my presentation or does not? And how do I modify that to ensure that it fits what I am presenting? So think about your poise. And poise is very, very important for presence. Because before you say a word, People see your poise. When you show up on a stage or on a screen, the first thing that they can see is how poised you are. So this is very, very important for you to consider, be mindful of, and think about how it aligns with the message you want to convey. Because you, the presenter, you convey a message before you make a sound. And your poise is critical to the message that you're conveying. And what you don't want to do is show up and your poise conveys a message contrary to the one that your content is about to convey. So poise is important. Number eight. De centering yourself. It's about your audience. So try not to make your presentation all about you. Make it about them. Think about them, their needs, how you're here to support their needs, how you're here to provide them information that they need, how you're here to provide them something that's going to add value, help them support them, make their lives better. When you're doing that. You're feeling more confident than when you're there wondering, I wonder if they're listening to me. I wonder who they think I am. I wonder if they know that I don't feel worthy. I wonder if they know that I don't have the qualifications that everybody else has. I wonder if they know that I'm not old enough. I wonder if they know that I'm too old. Whatever it is that's bothering you, if you decenter yourself and focus on the value you're bringing to them, How are you going to help them? How are you going to support them? You will see less of yourself and it will make you see more of them, connect more with them, and bring out the very best in you. Most of us tend to want to serve others by nature. And so when we are serving, we're not feeling insecure. We actually feel powerful and worthy and confident. So if you de center yourself and think about how you're acting, In that moment, serving the needs of the audience there to help and support them, you will come into that powerful space, and this is where you'll be able to do your best presentation. And certainly, your presence will be felt. They'll see that you're into them, and they will definitely be connected to you. That's number eight. Number nine. Manage your nerves. I talked about my student, Max, who was incapable of his nerves in front of the class. And Max had a great presentation in front of him that was already evaluated and he knew that he was top of the class with the best script. So how do we find ourselves fully prepared and yet still a bunch of nerves? We have to find strategies, relaxation strategies. The ones I touched on, in number eight, in terms of de centering yourself and focusing on the audience are very helpful tips. Additional relaxation strategies, such as deep breathing before going on the stage, really making sure that you do those affirmations to make sure, you know, I'm going to add value to them. They're going to like me. Picture yourself delivering a successful presentation, picture yourself having them cheer you on, picture the people back home supporting you, the people in the audience, parents, friends who support you, even those who don't know that you're doing this pitch, but you know that they would be delighted to know that you hit it, go onto the stage with that power. Your preparation is complete. You've done a great preparation. You're ready for this audience. The audience is ready for you. They're anticipating what you have to bring. Focus on your audience. It's more about them and less about you. This is going to help you manage your nerves. The audience is rooting for you. They want you to do well. They want to hear what you have to say. They want to see your performance. They're sitting there, and if they were not interested in hearing from you, they would leave. They don't have to be there. They can get up and go at any time. They can switch off. They can exit. They can walk out. The fact that they're there, they are rooting for you. They're supporting you. And it means they want you to feel that and give the best of you. Think about different affirmations, whatever it is that you need to do. Step into the space and really manage your nerves. Nerves do not convey confidence. So please try to make sure you manage it. It does not mean you're not going to have it. Most of the most confident speakers have nerves too. So I didn't say get rid of your nerves. I say, manage it. Don't show it. So obviously like my student, Max. Okay. Try to find ways to manage it. The final step is number 10, eye contact and smiling. Maintain eye contact with different audience members. It helps to create a connection and keeps them engaged. Remember, it's important that you're not making eye contact with one person for the whole presentation. You've got to work the room. But stay with each person for a while, not just scanning, but go to a person, connect with that person. For instance, go to a person, count 1, Then that you've made that connection, go to another person, stay with them for a count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, before you move on to the next person. And if you get in the habit of practicing connect 1, you will be able to know how long to hold your gaze per person before you move on. Given as many people as possible and eyeball each person, depending on the size of your audience. Giving an opportunity to connect with you eye to eye. If you're doing an interview panel, make sure you are sharing your connection, your eyeball time, equally or equitably. If it's a small executive group, if it's investors, take time to connect with each person and don't spend all your time with the person that you believe is the power broker or the person who makes all the decisions. Make sure you're sharing your time because the person who is leading the conversation is not always the most powerful person in the room, is not always the decision maker. That may be the person anchoring the conversation. And if you ignore the decision maker, it may not work to your advantage. If you are doing larger audiences, share the engagement. Be sure that you are looking at up, down, scanning it strategically. You are not going to be able to connect with everyone. So optimize your connection based on the size of the audience, but give people the opportunity to connect no less than 5. Avoid rapid scanning. So while it's essential to engage with different audience members, you want to avoid the sort of rapid scanning of the room. It will come across as nervousness, disinterest, even dishonesty. Instead, establish a connection with each person that you make eye contact with. Before moving on, if it's a large audience, you will not be able to do it for everyone. Do it for as many people as possible. Make sure you're balancing it based on how people are located in the room. And as you're doing eye contact, it's also about how are you positioning your body? Like, turning left and speaking to the people on the left, turning right and addressing the people on the right, looking up and addressing those people looking down, and addressing those people. This is easier if you're a virtual presentation, because the eye camera, the eye contact is the camera, and you can address every person for the whole time. And each person can feel like it's a one on one conversation with them. Eye contact. Is really, really important for making people feel like you are speaking to them. So even if you're answering questions, make sure that even though you're speaking to that one person, if it's a live audience, that you do look at other people in the audience to you speak to that person for most of the response, but do give the rest of the people a scan so that. they don't feel left out of the response, even though one person asks a question, include the rest of the audience in the response and use your eyes and your body to convey that they're also engaged. It's important as well to mirror positive reactions. So when you make eye contact and receive positive feedback, nods, smiles, acknowledge it and mirror. When people are speaking, mirror, use your body to show that you value their engagement and encourage further participation. And here's what's important. Don't overthink eye contact to the point of appearing unnatural. Let it flow naturally and authentically, based on your personality and style. As I said, if this is a virtual presentation, your eye contact is a camera. I know it's awkward to be looking into the camera. So balance the time that you look at different people on the screen and speak to them in the camera. Whenever you're making, eye contact. Remember the only way they experience you is through the camera. So what you can do is to do a recording and look at what happens when you're looking at people on the screen. Versus when you're looking directly into the camera and although it's a more positive experience for you on your end to be looking at the people on the screen, the experience is not as positive on the opposite end when they're looking at your eyes, looking down on the screen, it's much more impactful for them when you're looking at them in the camera. And so as a minimum, balance both. Ideally, keep your eyes locked to that camera and speak to them, record it, and look at what it looks like, and then you will be able to determine that looking in the camera is the most effective for virtual audiences. And that's what you want to do. That is how you're going to optimize your connection and your presence on screen and off screen. Those are my 10 tips, That's tips 1 to 10. Then, here is the most powerful thing to add to all of what you do with your presence. Add one gift to all of this, add a smile, a genuine smile can make you appear approachable, create a positive atmosphere, warm people up and make them feel like you're approachable, engaging, that they will trust you. There's so much you can get out of a single smile. Now, a smile is not appropriate in every context. If you are entering a space like a funeral, a sad occasion, clearly a smile is not appropriate in that environment. In most environments though, a smile can light up the room, add volumes to your presence, and really remember it's about presenting yourself before you present the content, presenting yourself as someone that's professional, confident, approachable. Really authentic and therefore has the authority to deliver on this is really, really critical before you open your mouth. What's your visual impact? How are you showing up? That's what presence is all about. Are you showing up in the ways that you need to be showing up in order to deliver this content impactfully in order to get positive consideration for whatever you are delivering? Those are the 10 steps. And so here are my final thoughts. Powerful presence happens both for extroverts and introverts. I know sometimes someone might think, I'm shy so it's harder for me. This person is so outgoing, it's easier for them. Not all audiences value the same thing. Every audience has shy people, introverts, and extroverts in it. And they are looking for who you are, the authentic you. If you're shy, if you're quiet, if you're quirky. Whatever style you are, that's who needs to show up. There are people who are looking for and feeling connected to you exactly as you are, your uniqueness, your brand. That's the presence that they're looking for. Not everybody wants to have the person who is loud, the person who can dance and prance on the stage. That's a great brand. Those who can do it. That's great. But most people are not able to do that. And most people want to see someone that they can resonate with, that they feel connected to. show up introverted and confident, managing your nerves, professional, authentic, authoritative, powerful, poise, ready to deliver. Winning the audience over before you open your mouth, stand out, bring your quiet, cool, and relaxed presence. If you are animated and excited and passionate, bring your animated, excited, passionate self. Bring you. That's what's going to set the tone for your presentation. It plays an essential role in how an audience receives, engages with you, connects emotionally with you and your material. And after preparing your content, it is so important to take time to ensure that you show up in the manner that You are able to best present your content so that it lands with your audience and gets you the outcome you deserve, which is favorable consideration for what you're offering. That's it. Take these 10 steps to improve your presence. A powerful presence is a great starter for what's to come. The content.

32:49

Thank you for listening to this episode of Upskill Talks. We bring you new episodes every Monday. Please take a moment to subscribe. Leave a five star rating and a written review at Apple Podcast or follow us on Spotify, Google podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Don't forget to share Upskill talks with other leaders like yourself, so they too may gain the skills and insights to produce amazing results. Please go to upskill community.com to review show notes, and learn how you can join a community of leaders from across the globe. Collaborating to lead in a more meaningful and impactful way. I'm your host, Michelle Shaw, and again, thank you for joining me on this episode of Upscale Talks.