This is the final installation for the three-part post on upping your stage presence. Here’s a quick recap. In White Dog vs. Black Dog, I gave you an analogy of the eternal fight between two dogs. The white dog is kind and benevolent while the black dog is ferocious and wicked. Whichever dog you feed the most, wins.
This post is a continuation of White Dog vs. Black Dog. So… have you done your homework? Have you think about what your black dog says to you at the critical times of your presentation? What are the top five that comes up all the time? How do you react physically, emotionally and mentally? Here are some of mine.
Black Dog says…
You don’t deserve to win Eric.
They are laughing just to humor you… the truth is, you are boring.
The audience has no time for you. Hurry up and get off the stage.
Awww.. Eric trying to do his thing again. Don’t you remember how you failed the last time?
You will never be good enough.
You are such a disappointment.
One time a Zen master shared with his students a story. He told them that he has two dogs. The first one is a white dog, benevolent and kind. The second one is a black dog, ferocious and wicked. Everyday the black dog will fight with the white dog. Out of curiosity, one of his students asked “Which dog wins?” And the Zen master replied “Whichever I feed the most.”
Earlier, I shared with you two physical exercises to activate your stage presence. Today I am going to introduce to you another one. This exercise is derived from a book titled “Peak Performance Presentation”. If you have the chance, go borrow the book. There are many more exercises in it that can help you optimize your peformance on stage. However, if you want the essence of it, then continue keeping track of this week’s posts.
If this is the first time you are visiting this blog, welcome! This week I am focusing my posts on how you can activate your stage presence and command the listening of your audience. So before you read this post, you may want to start with the following posts:
Backtracking >>>
Stage Presence: A gift for the lucky few?
Introducing the Foundations of Presence Part 1 - Stay Present!
Great! How did the relaxation technique come along? What are some of the immediate effects you experience? Remember, like any technique or tool, its effectiveness comes from daily practices. So keep working on it until it becomes second nature.
One of the fundamentals of stage presence is staying present. Let me give you a counter example that most of us can relate to. Right before your presentation, all that you can think of is getting it done and over with. All you are present to is your nerves and inner voices, like “What if I forget my speech?” or “What if the audience gets bored?” Even during your presentation, all you can think of is rushing through so that you can get back into your seat. And right after your presentation, you have no idea what happened. Did your audience get your message? Were you on time? Did you finish what you wanted to say? All you can remember is saying thank you and getting back in your seat. You don’t even recall if the audience clapped for you and all you can feel is relief that it is all over. Familiar?
Have you ever encounter speakers who have incredible stage presence and can mesmerize the audience just by being on stage? There is an indescribable aura or energy around the speaker that simply commands your attention. He draws you into his speech almost immediately and it takes ten Hercules to break the connection. Hours turn to minutes and minutes turn to seconds. When the speaker leaves the stage, you feel the inexplicable sense of disappointment.
Imagine if this speaker is you! Every speech you give will be mind blowing and you will have the audience eating from your hands as you desire. Now, won’t that be a gift you will die for?
