It’s all about the nipples (yes, I said nipples)

It’s all about the nipples (Yes, I said nipples) 

Hello, sweetie, how is this happy Monday treating you? I hope your week is off to great start!

But you don’t want my friendly introduction, do you? You want to cut to the chase and get to the ‘nipples’ part. This, my friend, I understand.

As you may (or may not) know, I train people in the art of public speaking. I help politicians, CEOs, TED speakers and artists rock their presentations. And guess what? Many of them forget my ‘nipple’ rule.

Let me explain (before you call the police and have me arrested). If you are giving a presentation, many people have the need to use notes (except for TED talks, as those are done from memory)  onstage.  It’s not a bad thing to have notes during your presentation. Not at all. It is, however, a bad thing to focus on your notes instead of your gorgeous audience.

If you have notes with you, then make sure you use them correctly. I have seen the hairline, the back of the heads and the foreheads of so many of my clients (before they started working with me, of course). Why? Simply because they LOWER their heads to see their notes, which they are holding down towards their waist, or are on a low table near them. This is not a good thing.

If you have notes, pick them up and BRING them up to your lovely face. But don’t raise the paper above the line of your nipples. (Yes, I said it again. I love that word. Nipples!) If you raise it higher, you will start blocking your face and fragmenting the line of communication. Trust me, it makes a big difference.

If you look closely at news reporters, you’ll see that their face is unobstructed at all times while they are talking. If they have notes, they are below the nipple line or below the camera line. When you present, you need to pretend you are a talking head on TV and nothing should get in the way of that view.

If you’ve worked hard on the content of your presentation, you should work just as hard at delivering it. Make sure that you create and maintain a connection with your audience at all times. Feel the love, and don’t block the box!

If you’d like more advice on how to rock your presentation, come join me at my Presenting Comfortably Masterclass on November 9th in Amsterdam. Nancy Poleon and Astrid Rose are joining me and will give you personal feedback to help you create your own presentation style.  I’m happy to give you, as my favorite newsletter reader, a 15 euro discount! Click hier. This is the last Presenting Comfortably Masterclass for this year, and the last time I can offer you a ticket for 75 euros.
Do join me next Monday! I hope to see you then!

And the next time you give a presentation, remember this handy quote that I just made up right now:

“If you don’t block the nipples, your communication triples!”
(Yes, you can tweet that.)

Looking forward to slipping into your inbox next week!
Stay fabulous!

Wit lof from buffi x

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