Most people outside Toastmasters don’t ever use a lectern or even a podium when speaking. But I think dealing with a lectern is interesting to someone who never has to deal with one, because it’s an excellent case study highlighting what are to me some of the key themes of public speaking. These are themes I’ll return to because many speakers (myself included!) screw them up again and again:

 

• You as a speaker (whether a Toastmaster or not) have more control over your speaking environment than you think. You can’t change how large your stage is unless you control time and space or more realistically can make phone calls to someone with a bigger venue. There is a lot of small stuff you can change without superpowers or connections, though.
  
• If you get enough small stuff right people will be tricked into thinking you know what you’re doing, even if you don’t. It’s worked for me!
• You can only do so much as a speaker. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from the master of ceremonies or an audience member.

 

The Humble Lectern

Most Toastmasters clubs have a lectern. You can buy one here for $70 (in 2007) that’s sturdy, has the TM logo, and folds up for storage. When I helped found a new club, it was a priority 2 item for us to purchase. It gave the club an official look, but obviously you can give speeches without one.

 

Which gets me to my point. Just because the lectern is magically waiting for you at the beginning of a TM meeting doesn’t mean you have to use it. This is true too for outside a TM meeting where there is a podium bolted to the floor. You may not be able to move a podium (barring space/time continuum powers or teamster buddies) but you don’t have to stand behind it, either. Unfortunately many speakers should not be using the lectern but are because it’s “just there.”

 

Below I’m going to say “lectern” mostly for word economy, but a lot of what I write applies to lecterns and podiums. This annoys the snobs who get excited when someone confuses the terms - too bad!

 

When to Avoid It

Think about what the lectern literally is. Don’t think in terms of symbolism - quiet projection of power, having your act together, having a spare $70 to spend at the TM store. The lectern is a big chunk of wood. It may have a nice finish, it may have a cooler seal even than the TM one, but at the end of the day it’s a chunk of wood.

 

If you’re trying to establish some sort of emotional connection with your audience, you’re looking to break down that “fourth wall” between you and them. The lectern is a chunk of wood smack dab in the middle of that wall, right between you and your listeners. Furthermore, we think about the lectern in terms of formality. Why do you need it when telling your story about your trip to Hawaii? And the lectern gives us something to hide behind. This can get us into the habit where we give our entire speech from within a tiny box - even on a huge stage - rather than moving around.

 

Finally, if you’re talking at some organization that doesn’t use a lectern and you bring your own, you’ll look silly. I know this goes without saying (who keeps a spare lectern in the car?), but the image of someone fumbling around with one in an inappropriate venue makes me chuckle for some reason.

 

Disposing of the Lectern

Assuming that you don’t want it and can move it, make sure the lectern is out of the way before you take the stage. In Toastmasters, we have a Toastmaster of the day (think master of ceremonies) who introduces speakers. Here you should ask him to remove it for you before you speak. Outside Toastmasters, just show up prior to the meeting and hide it. Make sure you’re not messing with it at the beginning of your speech no matter what.

 

I’ve seen countless Toastmasters who know the value of getting rid of the chunk of wood but don’t get help. They walk up and say, “Good morning, everyone!” Then they look at the lectern and decide to get rid of it. They try to push it to the side only to realize there’s no room. Then they lift it up, only they’re not prepared for it folding over funny on them. It takes forever to lay it down and when they do, it clangs loudly. Then it’s back to, “Good morning, everyone - uhm, again!” It’s all like something Kramer would do in a Seinfeld episode and is a great way to blow your opening.

 

Having someone else do this - especially if it’s during a short break between speakers - avoids the risk of uncooperative lecterns.

 

When to Use It

President Bush has an important announcement to make about the war on terror. He comes out in his socks, flops down on a chair, spits some tobacco in the spittoon, and starts talking. Right? Of course not! No matter what you think of the President, he has some common sense. When he wants to project power and authority, he stands behind a podium that has the Presidential Seal on it and that cost considerably more than $70. Many teachers like standing behind lecterns for the same reason. If you’re going for that same effect, the lectern/podium is in some sense a visual aid for your speech that people won’t even realize is a visual aid.

 

The lectern is also handy if you need notes. It’s better to have them sitting on the lectern, hidden from your audience than to have your chicken-scratch writing lying on a table where anyone can see. Your notes will be closer to your eyes and angled up, another advantage. Finally, when you’re a beginning speaker it’s perfectly all right to hide behind the lectern - you have enough other things on your mind to start with. Just try to wean yourself off it while you wean yourself off your notes.

 

Theme Redux

Who would’ve thought the humble lectern could remind us of so many good lessons?

 

• You have control over your environment. If a lectern is there and doesn’t need to be, make it go away.
  
• No one will say, “Wow, Bob moved the lectern out of the way, how awesome!” But enough small things right like this will leave people with the impression that, “Wow, Bob halfway knows what he’s doing” even if they can’t list out the elements one by one.
• Get help getting the lectern out of the way if needed. It’s not a hardship on whoever you ask and can save you from looking like Kramer.