Civiello Communications Group Blog

Pies for the Eyes - the key to talking to a crowd

Most of us know that good eye contact is important, but what do you do when you have a hundred eyeballs to connect with? It's not scanning back and forth. The answer is viewing your audience as half a pie and divide it in 3. Think about your opening. You say, "good evening everyone" to the slice straight ahead. Turn to the right slide and say, "It's really great to be here.." Turn to the left and say, "we have a lot to talk about tonight.." This "pies for the eyes" helps to ensure you connect to the whole audience and it helps pace you..Starting a little slower than you might normally makes you look and feel more confident.

Thumbs up for Gestures

One of the biggest questions for executives preparing for a speech, is what to do with their hands. It seems even our President is similarly challenged. President Obama has delivered just 2 speeches from the Oval Office and they were dramatically different. In his first "oval" address after the BP oil spill, he gestured on every single phrase. In the second, this last week, he was in complete lock down. Speaking about "turning the page" on Iraq, Obama kept his hands clasped prayer style. Only once did they move and that was to quickly lift his thumbs up. As a coach, I give a thumbs down to this choice. It made him look like an automoton, disengaged and uncomfortable. While his words were chosen to calm and reassure, his body language had the opposite effect. The solution for the President and others grappling with the gesture, is a balance. Gestures should be deployed to emphasize as one would boldface a word or thought in a word document. The caution here is not to overdo it. If you boldface every word in that document nothing stands out. Gestures can also illustrate and when speakers combine an image with text people are more likely to remember your point. Maybe Obama's third time out will be the charm.