What Successful Women Presenters Do Well
 
I attend lot of events in Tokyo and probably the vast majority of business audiences that I see here have a 70/30 male female ratio. For any presenter understanding your audience is a key part of the preparation and delivery. I have noticed a few commonalities amongst the most successful women presenters in this male dominated environment here in Japan. Here is what I have seen work well for businesswomen when speaking in public.
 
Confidence is the overwhelming positive first impression. This is communicated in a number of ways. The voice is strong and clear. Even relatively soft female voices can become powerful enough, through using the microphone technology available today, so there is no excuse for letting a weak voice derail the presentation.
 
Funnily enough, many macho male businessmen seem clueless about how to use microphones. You see them actually wave off the offer of the microphone, because they have a fear or distaste of it. Now if your voice is strong and the venue not so cavernous, then that may be OK. If not or you have any concerns, spend some time with the microphone to understand how to use it properly, before the audience arrives. Tapping the microphone at the start of your presentation and asking your audience if they can hear you at the back is the mark of the amateur. Also, consider a lapel microphone or a hand microphone, as good options for mobility during your presentation.
 
Eye contact is another useful tool. Looking at the audience allows us to connect with them. This might sound obvious, but sometimes looking at the many faces in the crowd peering wistfully back at us may suddenly trigger nervousness and self-doubt. The successful women I have seen in action pick out members of the audience, look straight at them and speak directly to them. They are constantly doing this throughout their entire talk. They are only holding the gaze for about 6 seconds, so it is neither too short nor too intrusive. Good eye contact allows the speech to improve from being a one to many, to one to one. It is so powerful because when the speaker looks directly at us, we feel they are personally connecting with us.
 
Looking at our laptop screens , the big screens behind us or our notes, takes our eyes off the audience. We don’t want that. We need to see the audience to ascertain whether they are buying what we are selling or not. Studying their body language, their faces helps us to read how we are doing with our audience. Are they following us, are they bored, are they in rabid disagreement? We need to know so we can adjust our delivery accordingly. Absolutely do not let some helpful venue staffer turn off the lights, so the room becomes darker.
 
This happens all the time. In my own case, last week I was presenting to a visiting delegation of lubricant distributors from Vietnam and sure enough the Hotel staff member suggested to me that we turn off the lights to make the screen easier to read. No, no, no! We want the audience to see us and we want to see them. The projector technology today is very good, so we can leave the lights on and everyone can still read the screen. If someone suddenly turns the lights off, stop presenting and politely request they turn them back on again.
 
The successful presenters want to use all of their body language to assist their communication so they are not trapped behind the podium. Podiums can be a danger for shorter ladies. Trust me, having seen this a number of times, your carefully arranged coiffure bobbing just above the waterline of the top of the podium is not the best look. If the podium is too high, ask for small platform to stand on, to give yourself some air space. Don’t apply a vice like grip to the podium, this negates our ability to use gestures to emphasis key points we want to make. Standing apart from the podium, to the side or in front of it also works very well. You can turn the podium around ninety degrees, so that you