I've just spent a day in the company of a professor from the University where I work sometimes. The fact that she's a female prof is “neither here nor thereâ€: she's the world expert in what she does and her gender is no more important than the colour of her eyes.
Except that it is.
Why? Because she's a woman and I was traveling with her to watch her make a presentation.... and being a woman has certain specific issues when it comes to presenting. First things first, let's deal with the obvious issues about being a female presenter before we start to think about the complicated stuff.
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Avoid necklines that show cleavage. I'm not saying you need to wear roll-neck sweaters all the time but remember that the audience is there to hear what you've got to say, not get distracted.
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Big and/or dangly jewelry has the same issues. Necklaces and ear-rings are particularly distracting if you're not careful. Anything that flashes, hangs or dangles isn't a good thing. It's about your message, not your looks.
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Wear something as neutral as you can manage. What I mean is this: don't give people an excuse to “write off†what you're telling them. After all, remember that you're the expert and you've got something important to say. (otherwise you'd not be saying it, would you!). With the best will in the world however, you're always going to get someone who doesn't want to hear your message: why make it easy for them by giving them something use as an excuse.
Okay, that's the obvious stuff out of the way. Now let's talk about some of the more complicated and controversial stuff.
First the complicated thing.....
Women's voices tend to be higher than men's That's because women's vocal folds work at almost twice the rate of men's (yes, I hate that kind of generic average too, but you get the idea). As a result of this, amongst other things, women's voices are more susceptible to 'shrieking'. Shrieking is what happens when things get tight around the chest and throat. The pitch of the voice rises slightly but more importantly the tone changes too..... tension will tend to sound like nerves, or even fear, and sometimes also uncertainly, insecurity and – perhaps most importantly of all – a lack of authority.
If you're the speaker or presenter, you start with authority and sounding like you don't mean it is the last thing you need. To make matters worse it becomes a vicious cycle: knowing you don't sound like you're in charge makes you more tight, which in turn makes you even more tense-sounding, giving rise to an increased amount of “I'm not in charge†being carried in your voice.
So what do you do about it?
Well let's get back to stating the obvious for a moment: if you're the presenter, you're the main authority, be definition. Remembering that will help. So will this tip: it's good for women in particular but useful for men, too...
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Breathe out before you give the first words of your presentation and start your first sentence half way through your out-breath. It's important that you don't stop and breathe in again before you start to speak. It might take a bit of practice.
The reason behind it is this. As you breathe in you'll use your diaphragm muscles and your intercostal muscles to move your rib cage. The former is good, the latter less so – they're the muscles associated with your “fight of flight†syndrome and making you feel more nervous. The air held in the top of your lungs is under the greatest pressure and is also the 'nervous' air. Letting it out before you start to speak means that the rest of your exhale (out-breath) is at a lower pressure – the air flows more slowly and you sound much, much more calm.
Combine that effect with this:
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Know your first couple of sentences absolutely off by heart so that you can say them clearly and calmly without thinking about it (practice, practice, practice)
and you'll be away!
Now for the controversial point......
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Check your bra fits you perfectly.
That's generally good advice at most times but you'd be amazed at how easily your breathing can be inhibited by an ill-fitting bra. Not being a woman I can't give anything more specific than that in a public forum but rest assured, although it might sound silly it can be a very significant problem. :)
