The great lectern debate
Nick R. Thomas adds his two cents to the "great lectern debate," as he has christened the recent discussions on public speaking blogs.Here's a great quote from his post:
"...whatever your height, you must be bigger than the lectern: in other words, be lively and animated in your delivery and don't bury your face in your written materials..."
More on lecterns here:
Another reason to avoid the lectern
Using a lectern: Do or don't?
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2 comments. Please add yours! :
Oh my! What a large collection of words about such a trivial topic! I think that we all fall into one of two groups: those who like a lectern and those who don't.
If you are wearing a mic, then it really doesn't matter - go where you want to go, stay if you must. However, as Nick mentions, if the mic is built into the lectern, then you are pretty much fixed in place.
I view this as being similar to a professional sports team playing an "away" game - the conditions are not ideal, but you've still got a job to do. I try to make the most of the situation and when I'm tied to a lectern I focus on using BIG hand gestures and lots of eye contact to make up for the loss of full body language. Every presentation is a learning experience.
- Dr. Jim Anderson
The Accidental Communicator Blog
"Learn How To Calm Your Fears, Wow Your Audience, And Get Your Point Across"
It's not about whether a speaker likes or dislikes the lectern; it's about what benefits the audience most. And most of the time, speaking from behind a lectern doesn't benefit the audience, unless the speaker is larger than life (and larger than the lectern, as Nick suggested).
Much of the time, the speaker has a say in the room setup. So why not request a setup that doesn't stick you behind a lectern? I do it all the time.
I don't think any topic is trivial if it can help someone become a more effective speaker.
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