Presenting yourself internally

Photos: Madison Inouye on Pexels and (insert) Matthew Henry on Burst

This area of the site was written for very experienced trust fundraisers.

It’s not necessarily appropriate to present yourself in a higher-status, assertive way. So, it needs careful judgement. However, sometimes you can need to compensate for an actual low status organisational position to get what you want in a meeting. 

In the Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast, Professors Matt Abraham and Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stamford University’s Business School say that to create presence, you should be:

• Big – take some space, physically, rather than hunching. Stand up to your full height. Look people in the eye. When you’re gesturing, they can be a bit more forceful. On Zoom make sure you’re well lit, fill half the screen, look like you’re looking at the person. 
• Balanced – don’t tilt your head. Be natural, don’t seem to be reading a script
• Still – don’t fidget. Relaxed stillness, rather than frozen. Avoid filler words like “ums” and “ahs”.

Turn up warmed up, physically and vocally, if you can and calm yourself down. So you’re ready to go. We’re so focused on what we say, we don’t prepare our bodies and minds to actually say it.

It’s also worth looking at Amy Cuddy’s TED talk, Your body language may shape who you are. It presents a very easy, body language-based way that you can give yourself a sudden, quite quick confidence boost. (It’s weird, but it works for me!)

For meetings on Zoom/MS Teams, Abraham and Pfeffer say, put a picture of someone you like near your webcam camera, to encourage you to connect emotionally. Also, sit near enough to the camera that you occupy a lot of the frame, but not so close that you can’t see your hand gestures.

Nerves

If you read the section on phone manner, I give a LOT of advice on nerves, quite a bit of which you can use for internal meetings, as well.

Speech

The Stanford podcast advises you open with flattery, showing how much you admire the listener. The research suggests there’s no amount of flattery that’s too much for that individual!

Use concise, simple, direct, vivid language where you can, they say. Speak from conviction and passion. Lead with the most important point. Link what you’re saying to something important to them. 

A Harvard Business Review article (Conquer your self doubt in meetings) suggests you:

• Claim space with an announcement: When people are shy, they tend to start quietly, losing some of the impact. If you preface what you’re saying with “Can we pause to look at this from the funder’s perspective?” “Let’s step back and take a longer-term view,” or “How might we think differently about our actions if we viewed them in the context of…” You’re giving your speech a bit of a drum roll, getting you warmed up and when your big point follows, it’s more likely to command attention.
• Name your idea: if you encapsulate your underlying idea in a name, it draws more attention to it, e.g., “fundraising ready perspective”
• Explain your idea once you’ve encapsulated it and named it. As with proposals, people know where you’re going, so your content will make more sense and can land better. It doesn’t matter so much now if you waffle a bit because you’re nervous. 
• If there are no responses afterwards, invite feedback. “How many of you feel this way?” “What are your thoughts on this topic?” Then it’s hopefully squarely on the agenda.

Another HBR article (How to become an authentic speaker) is designed for better presentations, but I think the advice works as well for a big meeting in which you need to make a significant intervention. it’s to mentally rehearse, by visualising, meeting each of four aims in turn:

1. Being open with your audience – envision what it would be like to say your piece to someone whom you’re completely comfortable with. This leads to more natural, open body language, such as smiles and relaxed shoulders.
2. Connecting with your audience – Imagine a young child isn;t heeding you. What would you do to capture their attention? It’s about going with what feels natural and appropriate to you (such as leaning forwards or raising your voice) rather than preparing strategies
3. Being passionate about your topic – ask yourself what in the topic you feel deeply about? What’s at stake? What results to do you want to produce? Focus on why you’re making your intervention and how you feel about it. let the underlying emotion come out as you practice saying your bit. 
4. Listening to your audience – Think how your audience is likely to be feeling. As you practice saying your piece, imagine watching them closely for their reaction.

And from the above HBR article: if you practice body language, there’s a risk it will seem insincere, because people’s body language naturally precedes what they say slightly, whereas if you;re repeating rehearsed moves it may come slightly later.

To repeat some good advice from the Stanford Business School communication podcast: don’t try and learn a particular set of words that you’ll say, as you’re more at risk of going blank if you forget the precise wording. rather, get the meaning right, but say it in different formulations as you practice.