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You can learn a lot about meeting presence from
the chair of a news anchor. You read that
right. Next time you’re in a news studio, check
out the actual chair where the anchor sits.
The chairs are funny things that the viewer
never sees but have a big impact on the anchor’s
presence. The chairs have no backs. Instead,
they are shaped to cup the anchor’s rear end and
push him up and forward, so that if he tried to
lean back he would fall off the seat.
The chairs are also set very high, so that the
anchors always appear to be relatively tall. In
fact, we know one news anchor who is constantly
told “You’re a lot shorter in person than on T.V.”
That’s because the chairs are set very high to
make her look taller.
In other words, the chairs force the anchor
sitting in them to have good physical presence:
sitting up above the table, leaning slightly
forward with the hands on the desk, not under.
What does this have to do with you? You can use
the chairs in corporate America to give you
greater presence in meetings. Here are some
tips.
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Adjust the seat up high so that your chest is
above the table. Sitting up high gives
you a greater sense of presence
and confidence.
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Don’t lean back. Many chairs can be set so
that they won’t let you lean back. Leaning
back can make you look disinterested.
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Make sure that you keep your hands on top of
the table. Putting your hands underneath
makes you look small and one-dimensional.
At Speechworks we help our clients learn how to
give presentations that connect with the
audience. If you’re interested in becoming a
great communicator give us a call at
404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net |
