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I joined Toastmasters International a few weeks ago and recently gave my second talk in a set of ten to obtain the CTM (Competent Toastmaster) award. At the request of my club’s members, I talked about PowerPoint (in the allotted 5-7 minutes, yet).
Our talks are videotaped, an invaluable tool for improving your delivery. And I noticed one thing that I did that didn’t work — I looked at the screen!
Reviewing the videotape, I realized that this meant turning away from the audience. Each time I did it, I lost contact with them and my voice diminished as I turned away from the fixed microphone.
If you need to see the slides, look at your laptop, not at the screen. This way, you don’t turn your back to the audience.
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Yes, turning your back to the audience is bad. However, there is a right way to do it. When you introduce new content to the screen, you want the audience to look at the screen, not maintain eye contact with you. This is the right time for you to gently turn the gaze toward the screen. The audience will follow your eyes and will look at the screen too, which is exactly what you want. Give them a few seconds to grasp the new content, which also gives you a short moment to recall what to say next, look back… Read more »