Does the Bigger Man Win?

When speaking in front of an audience, does size matter? Specifically, do you appear more powerful and thus more persuasive when you are taller and/or larger than your competition.

On his NeuroScience Marketing Blog, Roger Dooley states, "There’s data from business showing that tall men are more likely to be promoted than shorter guys, and that they also earn more money."

Dooley provocatively suggests "Politics is Simple: Vote for the Tall Guy".

He justifies that statement with this opening:
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"Our decisions aren’t always as rational as we think, and choosing a presidential candidate is no exception. Researchers at Texas Tech have found an innate preference for candidates who are more physically imposing. This tendency is considered to be an example of evolutionary psychology, in which modern-day humans still exhibit behaviors developed in our hunter-gatherer days. (Or, simply put, “caveman politics.”)"
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Politically incorrect or not, there appears to be a correlation between an individual's height and possibly body size and their perceived leadership abilities.

In my experience observing, training and coaching speakers, I've noticed this same relationship. Specifically a speaker who appears to be larger often projects more power and thus is more effective as a presenter.


Regardless of your size, how might you use this information?

The key to remember is "relative size". How large or tall or powerful do you appear to your audience as compared to your competitiion. Even if you are not a political candidate you are still competiting.

If you are a large person, flaunt it.

If you are a smaller person, you can appear to be larger by:

• Standing closer to the audience
• Standing as tall as you can
• Walking confidently
• Talking in a deeper voice
• Moving your arms in bigger gestures
• Speaking from a raised platform
• Not hiding behind the lecturn
• Speaking slower
• Moving about the stage to consume all the space

My friend and mentor, Peter Urs Bender, used these techniques to appear much larger on stage than he was. He remarked to me that after people watched him speak on stage they often approached him to speak with him. Peter noticed that many people did a double take in suprise when they realized how short he was.

When he was on stage he appeared powerful because of his presentation skills. Because he appeared powerful people assumed that he must be tall.

If you want to appear more powerful when presenting, use these techniques to appear larger.

Read the full article Politics is Simple: Vote for the Tall Guy by Roger Dooley

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Presentation Tips for Political Candidates

Are you running for election? Congratulations to you on your initiative.

As a candidate for political office you need to do your homework and prepare. Learn the issues, take a position and build a network. One more thing – learn how to present your message well. And do it better than the competition.

The mayoral candidates spoke at a community meeting. Four of the five candidates attended. They were each allowed an opening and closing statement. In between they were asked to answer several written questions from the audience. The candidates were allowed up to 90 seconds for each answer.

As a professional speaker and executive speech coach I was under impressed by the candidates. But I was not surprised by the lack of presentation prowess. It would be so easy for political candidates to improve their presentations skills. Why do they neglect such a powerful tool of persuasion and success?

Let’s be clear. The purpose of these community meetings is to demonstrate that the candidates understand the key issues of the audience and that they can do something about it.

Here are my presentation tips for these mayoral candidates in particular and all political hopefuls in general.

Learn How to Use Microphones
The first speaker tested his microphone by blowing on it before he spoke. That is both annoying and unprofessional. The best way to test a microphone is to speak. Don’t say “TEST, TEST” or “Is this thing on?” Just speak normally.

First be Human
Only one speaker (the incumbent) thanked the organizers and complimented the other candidates in the room. That’s a sign of experience, confidence and compassion.

Talk to the Audience, Not your Notes
One speaker seemed to read everything he said – his opening and closing and even the answers to questions. In between he was busily scribbling notes while the other speakers spoke. He clearly was not in the room. He might be a good back room researcher and thinker but not a leader.

Don’t Look Angry
One candidate displayed his anger a few times. He also complained that current council had been divisive. He promised to correct that by forcing them to be more efficient. How? By getting angry at them?

Focus on What’s Relevant
This same angry candidate included a rant about federal politics – on a totally unrelated issue. He went so far as to encourage the audience to contact a local MP about his pet federal issue. What does that have to do with this municipal election? Do you want to be mayor or do you just want to rant?

Conclude
Ninety seconds might sound like a short time to speak but successful politicians need to speak in sound bytes which can be 5 to 30 seconds. For this program they received signals from the timer at 60, 30 and 10 seconds – yet they missed the opportunity to conclude. Most of the time the speakers trailed off and sometimes they ended so meekly that we wondered if they were done speaking. Conclude every mini speech and end strong.

Smile
A smile indicates confidence, warmth and trust. Why didn’t these candidates smile more? Every mini speech should have ended with a smile and steady gaze at the audience. Instead they frowned, looked down and glanced sideways at the MC. No one looked happy with their message. The sound in the room was bad. Just imagine that no one understood the words spoken and saw only the speaker. If you looked up at the speaker at the end of their mini speech you would have felt like it was another disappointing answer.

Make me Laugh
The surest way to connect with anyone is to make them laugh. So why didn’t you make us laugh? There were a couple of weak attempts from two of the candidates during the 90-minute torture session. We don’t expect you to be Seinfeld. However, a chuckle goes a long way.

Repeat or Reframe the Question
By the time we heard from the third speaker the audience might have forgotten the original question. Some questions were long and multipart and some of the speakers went off on tangents. Repeating or reframing the question will remind the audience of the question and help you stay on track.

Be Prepared
Some of the candidates seemed to be winging it at times. It looked as if they had never thought about or considered the questions before. Yet, none of the questions were surprises.

Yes, I know that substance counts as well as style. But when there seems to be little difference in substance we gravitate to style. Unfortunately we don’t ask our political candidates to write an exam. So we need to judge them on style because that’s all we can see.


© George Torok is the Speech Coach for Executives. He helps business leaders deliver million dollar presentations. Claim your free Power Presentation tips at www.SpeechCoachforExecutives.com To arrange for private presentation coaching call 905-335-1997 To arrange for presentation skills training for your team visit www.Torok.com


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So You Want to be Mayor of Burlington

Why should I vote for you?

I attended a public meeting to hear from the candidates for mayor. The sound was bad in the auditorium and none of the candidates impressed me. I labeled each of the speakers to keep it simple for me to remember. This is what I noticed and remember.


The Incumbent
He conveyed the most confidence. That comes from years of experience in politics. He knew the issues and spoke openly and clearly. He was positive. He highlighted the accomplishments of his council and was smart enough not to tangle with the red herrings that were dangled by the other candidates. Yet there was a lack of charm.



The Reader
He read his opening and his closing statements and almost all of his answers. While the other speakers were speaking he was nervously scribbling notes. When he spoke he was reading instead of talking to the audience. He was simply reading his notes. He might be a good back room researcher but not a leader. He couldn't speak without notes.


Mumbles
I heard and understood less than half of what he said. He seemed to be winging it. He often looked anxiously at the MC and his statements seemed to end without conclusion. His only strengths seemed to be that he was totally inexperienced and unqualified. He seemed the least likely winner and most likely will attract the protest vote. That means people will vote for this person to waste their vote but hope that he doesn’t win. What’s in it for him – I wonder.


Mr. Angry
Parking, parking, parking! That seemed to be his mantra. Was that intended to help his downtown business? He encouraged the audience to call the federal MP. Why? For some private cause of his. He criticized the current council and promised to fix it by forcing them to work together. How? By getting angry at them? He refereed to himself as a business man (not a business owner) while ignoring the females in his audience. It was difficult to like this cold and angry person.


George Torok

Executive Speech Coach



Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives.