The art of giving a compelling presentation is a difficult one to master. You have to be able to project your ideas confidently to a group of people, even if you don’t know any of them personally. You need to understand what your audience wants to hear before you see them. And you need to get experience with every aspect of presenting, from how you prepare, to how you act during the speech. One way to give yourself a boost is to always lecture from the same podiums – a portable podium or lectern from ProProducts™ for example!

When you are at podiums giving a presentation to your audience, there are certain things you want to avoid. You can sabotage your own presentation without knowing it! For instance, never abandon the podium. That doesn’t mean that you have to give your entire speech from behind the podium. However, before and after the speech, the podium needs to have an owner. When you come on the stage, you take over the podium from the event organizer or emcee. When you are finished, don’t just walk off stage! Stay at the podium until it’s clear that someone else is onstage to take over for you.

When the audience isn’t sure who should be holding their attention, they get confused. You don’t want anyone’s final impression of your presentation to be confusion or awkwardness. Make sure you hand off the podium when you’re done.

Don’t attack podiums! An energetic presentation that engages your audience is wonderful, probably just want you want. But remember that the podium is part of your connection to the audience. If you strike the podium with your fist or an open hand, your audience will feel as if you are striking them. You have to be an accomplished, masterful speaker with a specific message to get away with that. Likewise, if you lean on the podium, you’re going to appear lazy or unenergetic to the audience. They’re going to be paying more attention to your posture than they will to your message. You want to stand just behind the podium, and you can consider resting your hands on it while you speak. Just don’t give it a white-knuckled grab!

Don’t prepare your lecture notes at podiums. If you need to take the time to unstaple them, or pull them out of your jacket pocket, then you’re setting a bad first impression. Your notes need to be ready to go and on the podium before the presentation.  Once you’re behind the podium and in control, get out of there! Podiums are home base, but once you get out from behind them, you’ll engage with your audience much better. If you have to stay behind the podium, make sure not to crowd it – stand a short distance back. In situations like this, making eye contact with your audience becomes crucial – otherwise you’ll lose their attention.

Finally, start and stop on time. Do not extend your remarks past the time allotted. This means that while you’re at the podium, you’ll have to keep track of your progress against the clock, and make adjustments as necessary. If you go over, your audience will tune you out and move on. Follow this advice on how to give a presentation behind podiums, and you’ll be a pro in no time.