Speakers, are you using these 6 common ‘hiding’ tactics?

When giving their presentations, many people try to conceal or camouflage their insecurities. If these ploys sound familiar, perhaps some adjustments are in order.

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Playwright Harold Pinter said, “One way of looking at speech is to say it is a constant stratagem to cover nakedness.”

Perhaps that’s the origin of the lectern and why so many speakers stay tucked behind it.

Speakers, those clever beings, have found many things behind which to hide. Lecterns are the least of them.

Here are six things you might be hiding behind when you speak:

1. Certainty: In “Without a doubt,” Seth Godin says: “Certainty is a form of hiding. It is a way of drowning out our fear, but it’s also a surefire way to fail to see what’s really happening around us.”

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