“I’m glad you had to speak in your casuals...”

– DTAC Abu Dhabi Participant

Casually Connect? A Real Life Presentation Lesson from Abu DhabiBy Darren LaCroix

Ever have lots go wrong on the way to a presentation? Then that leads to even more? How do you handle it? Does it fluster you? Can people in the audience “sense” something is wrong based on your delivery?

New line of questioning: What if the problem is the best thing that could have happened?

There I am, on my way to Abu Dhabi to inspire and teach at a conference of fellow speakers. I did not make my flight connection in London so I was re-routed through Bahrain (I’d never been re-routed though another country before). Though I made it there late the night prior to my convention opening, keynote speech…my luggage did not.

Now, this is not the first time this has happened to me. However this IS the first time I did not get my bags the next day. This time they were promised to arrive overnight. When I woke in the morning my luggage had still not arrived. Though many of my friends following me on Twitter were concerned, I was not. Why didn’t I pack a suit in my carry on? Why didn’t I wear a suit? These are very fair questions which, at this moment, did not matter!

When we take the stage we are authority figures and should act and dress accordingly. I have always taught my students to dress “one level” above your audience. By this I mean, if the audience is “casual” then dress business casual.  What if I was wrong in that lesson?

As the opening speaker, and struggling to wake up after thirty hours of travel and a brief sleep, there was no time to buy a new suit. I took a shower, ate breakfast, and proceeded to hack myself shaving with the hotels version of a razor. Ouch! Still, there is no reason to worry. Fellow speakers are the most forgiving and understanding audiences. They are there for my content and to enjoy my enthusiasm. They are not there to judge me (though there will always be some of that going on. It is human nature.)

As I took the stage, though usually I start with a question, or right into a story, for this speech I felt I needed to acknowledge my situation.  My reason for opening in this manner was due to a multi-cultural audience.  With six countries represented, I felt “clarity” was more important then a dramatic opening. I wanted to make sure they knew I was a professional, and took their conference seriously.

After explaining the reason I was in jeans, I said, “It does not matter what you are wearing. It matters where your heart is and what the audience leaves with.”  I was okay with it, so they were okay with it. I did not let my “situation” create a barrier between myself and the audience.

In fact, just the opposite happened. One of the members of the audience pulled me aside and told me he was glad my luggage did not make it. He felt a closer connection to me because of my casual attire. He said, “Sometime suits can separate us.” Wow! That was brilliant, honest, and revealing. I never looked at it from that perspective.

As a World Champion, individuals can at times put us on a pedestal and think what we accomplished is unattainable by an average person. The goal of my presentation is to inspire people. I’m an average guy that committed himself to learning. Not only that, I made a conscience decision to not try and figure it out on my own, but instead, learn a proven process.

It is our responsibility to bring hope and inspiration to our subject.

How do you do that? I learned sometimes suits separate, and casuals connect. We must always crave feedback because we may be surprised what the perception of our audience is.

To answer the “fair questions” I like to travel in jeans, so I do. A suit would crumple in my carry on. I don’t worry about it! It is life, it is part of my business and I’m cool with the consequences! Let’s all be “in the moment” and not worry about being perfect!

Stage time,

Darren LaCroix, 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking

Copyright 2009 The Humor Institute, Inc.

Darren LaCroix