Be Real at the Front of the Room

Authenticity means being real at the front of the room as well as in the hallway afterwards.  Your audience needs you to be real if they are going to trust what you have to say.

Authenticity means being real at the front of the room as well as in the hallway afterwards.  Your audience needs you to be real if they are going to trust what you have to say. If they are going to follow your advice, change their thinking, or do something as a result of your message they will need to trust you first.  If your actions don’t match your words you will appear to lack integrity and trust will never happen. Getting your message across is the reason you’re speaking so you’re going to need to ‘be you’ at the front of the room. If ‘being you’ at the front of the room means you say um or ah a few times, so be it. The audience will forgive you for ‘being you’. They will not forgive you for being a phony. 

​If you feel yourself going into presenter mode when you get in front of the crowd you’ll want to work on this. It’s easy to feel as though you are performing or having to turn on the charm when it’s your turn to speak, but I caution you to be aware of how this is coming across. If you’re concerned with perfection you will need to work through your deep interest in being flawless. The more flawless you are the less personality you have and that is an energy killer.  The audience wants you. Vulnerable, imperfect, goofy you. They want to know what you have to say and they want to know that you’re the real deal. Use humor to bring personality out and ease nerves whenever possible. Again, consider your audience and what they need from you.