Move from Left to Right
English and other languages
originating from Europe read left to right. That means that these people
naturally move their eyes from left to right when reading.
They prefer to absorb information
in the same manner.
When you speak before an audience
you can use that principle to enhance the acceptance of your message.
First you must realize that it's
the audience's perception of left to right and not your on-stage left to right
that counts. It's not what you thought you said. It's what they thought you said
that is important.
How can you use this principle in
your presentation?
Timeline
If you asked these people to draw
a timeline of a project they will likely draw it from left to right. The left
represents the beginning while the right represents the end or the future.
Here's how you can move while
talking about your project or proposal. Talk about the past while standing on
the extreme left side of the stage (your right). Stand in the middle of the
stage when talking about the present and move to the far right of the audience
when describing the desired future.
Instead of walking around you
could also simply gesture to your right when talking about the past and to your
left when talking about the future. Another variation is to make a quarter turn
to your right to talk about the past and a quarter turn to your left to talk
about the future or goal.
Objections and
Obstacles
You can use the same methods to
place problems in the past and solutions in the future. When you acknowledge an
obstacle or an audience member raises an objection place them in the past - your
right.
Place the strengths, benefits and
desired outcomes of your idea or product in the future - your left.
Practice
You are reversing your movements
for the benefit of your audience. This is not natural so you will need to
rehearse these movements. The benefit to you is that they will be more willing
to accept your ideas when they can SEE the progress.
Remember to also look in the
direction in which you are gesturing to complete the picture. If you do this
well the eyes of the audience will move in the direction you intended. That
leverages the internal programming of the brain associated with left to right
eye movement.
Of course when you present in the
Middle East you will need to reverse everything
above because they read from right to left.
George
Torok
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Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives
