This is sure to elicit an “OK Boomer” from some but I am going to say it anyway.

Don’t stand in front of the room as a presenter or emcee and read off your iPhone to your audience. Not for a quote, not for a special point, not for something you can’t remember and especially not for an introduction.

I think this is the equivalent of saying to them “I didn’t have time or the interest to either memorize this or print it off or, at the very least, put it on note cards. And I am not going to worry about eye-contact either.”

I have seen this a number of times recently as an emcee reads an introduction from their iPhone and it sucks. They are looking down, frantically scrolling thru their messages and very spottily (is that a word?) reading tiny type on their 4-inch screen. It does not come across well to the audience members who have put in the effort to be physically sitting in front of them. Is it disrespectful? Is it rude? Is it better on an iPad?

You decide. I am just putting it out there as one boomer ranting about something.

I patiently await your pushback…

I sat and watched as one-by-one, everyone of the presenters tried to figure out where the heck to stand to deliver their pitch.

It was a small conference room with about 20 seats arranged around a U-shaped table. At the head of the open end was the screen. The projector was overhead. I have seen this bad setup dozens of times and I think you may have also. It seems to be the standard for a room like this. Arrrgh.

The big problem is there is no good place for the speaker to stand.

The power position, the place where the audience is focused on you and your big message, is smack dab in the projector beam. Very distracting. Try standing to the side of the screen and you become second billing to your slides. It is a much weaker position and you are often in the shadows.

What to do?

Well first thing, get there early and check it out. (There are a dozen other reasons to get there early but this is a real good one.) Test out the positions you think would work well.

Consider building in blank or black slides in your presentation. These would be actual black slides where there would be nothing on the screen, except possibly your subtle branding. Then at the times these slides are on the screen you can step from the shadows to the center power position and deliver your critical information.

This works very well for your opening when you want to establish your authority to the group. It also works very well when you are telling a story. Turn off the slides. Get all the focus on you.

After all, you are the reason everyone is sitting there. They are waiting for your brilliance. Let ‘em have it!

I sat and watched as one-by-one, everyone of the presenters tried to figure out where the heck to stand to deliver their pitch.

It was a small conference room with about 20 seats arranged around a U-shaped table. At the head of the open end was the screen. The projector was overhead. I have seen this bad setup dozens of times and I think you may have also. It seems to be the standard for a room like this. Arrrgh.

The big problem is there is no good place for the speaker to stand.

The power position, the place where the audience is focused on you and your big message, is smack dab in the projector beam. Very distracting. Try standing to the side of the screen and you become second billing to your slides. It is a much weaker position and you are often in the shadows.

What to do?

Well first thing, get there early and check it out. (There are a dozen other reasons to get there early but this is a real good one.) Test out the positions you think would work well.

Consider building in blank or black slides in your presentation. These would be actual black slides where there would be nothing on the screen, except possibly your subtle branding. Then at the times these slides are on the screen you can step from the shadows to the center power position and deliver your critical information.

This works very well for your opening when you want to establish your authority to the group. It also works very well when you are telling a story. Turn off the slides. Get all the focus on you.

After all, you are the reason everyone is sitting there. They are waiting for your brilliance. Let ‘em have it!