The Presentation Thespian

The Credible and
Trustworthy Presenter
A Tutorial for Presenters and Slide Designers
By
Glenna Shaw

This tutorial is organized
into sections.
Each section contains an
introductory page and
multiple instructional pages.
Instructional pages are
organized into text and
images.
Use the navigation buttons
Click on the menu items to jump to different sections
shown below to move
through the pages.

The Theatrics of Presentations | The Roles | The Wardrobe | The Props | The Script | References
Main Menu | Introduction | Using this Tutorial | Life is a Play | Source Credibility

"All the world's a stage" is one of
William Shakespeare’s most
frequently quoted passages perhaps
because of the simple truth of those
words.
In every interaction we play a role for
that specific interaction and
presenting is no exception.
By recognizing this truth and
planning for it we can gain a great
deal of “bang for our buck” in
ensuring the success of our
presentations.
By simply wearing the right clothes,
using attractive props and rehearsing
effectively we can significantly
increase our audience’s ability to
accept and retain our message.


A Yale University multi-year,
multi-project research into
persuasive communication
showed the speaker should
be credible, trustworthy and
attractive to the audience.

Speaker Attractiveness
Two subsequent studies
have verified these findings.
This is valuable information
for a presenter since it offers
an easy and effective
method for increasing the Speaker Credibility & Trustworthiness
impact of your
presentations.


The Roles | The Star | The Audience | Casting | Casting Guide

Obviously the presenter is
the star of the presentation.
As the lead character,
presenters have a
responsibility to ensure they
appear knowledgeable on
the topic of the
presentation.
A presenter dressed as a
rapper speaking on the topic
of banking would lose
credibility fast, regardless of
their level of expertise on
the subject.


Unlike movie stars, who are
dressed solely for the role they
play, presenters must directly
connect with their audience.
An astute presenter takes into
account what the audience will
be wearing as well as the topic
of the presentation when
planning their wardrobe.
A presenter who’s dressed
casually while the audience is
in suits won’t garner as much
respect or trust.


For this tutorial I’ve identified the
Topics Styles most common topics and styles
of attire for presenters and their
Business Professional audience.
Sales Shirtsleeves While not comprehensive, it
provides an effective starting
Scientific Academic point for planning your wardrobe.
Research Medical The casting guide on the next
Medical Business slide provides recommendations
Casual to get you started.
Technical
You should experiment since you
Social Technical may find a combination of styles
Political Casual are more effective. Steve Jobs is
Uniform a great example of this, utilizing
elements of academic, technical
and casual to create his own
personal brand.


Presentation Topics
Business Sales Scientific/ Medical Technical Social/
Research Political
Professional Professional Professional Academic Professional Professional Professional

Shirtsleeves Professional Shirtsleeves Academic Shirtsleeves Shirtsleeves Shirtsleeves

Academic Professional Professional Academic Professional Technical Business
Audience Attire

Casual
Medical Professional Professional Medical Medical Technical Business
Casual
Business Business Shirtsleeves Academic Business Technical Business
Casual Casual Casual Casual
Technical Business Shirtsleeves Academic Medical Technical Business
Casual Casual
Casual Business Shirtsleeves Academic Business Technical Business
Casual Casual Casual
Uniform Professional Professional Academic Medical Technical Professional
Uniform Uniform Uniform Uniform
Presenter’s Recommended Attire


While stereotyping is usually
considered to be negative and
narrow minded, by matching
your appearance to your
audience’s expectations you
gain instant credibility. A
speaker is more trustworthy if
they meet our archetype for
the topic on which they are
speaking.
Commercials for health
products use this with great
success by simply putting a lab
coat on the person endorsing
the product.


The professional is well-
groomed and wears a
business suit. Hair is
neatly cut and styled. The
suit jacket is always worn.
Shoes are high quality and
polished. Men wear ties.
Think banker, lawyer and
politician.


Shirtsleeves is a slightly
more relaxed professional.
Shirtsleeves is a dress shirt
and dress pants or skirt.
Basically it’s a suit without
the jacket. Ties can be
loosened or removed.
Sleeves can be rolled up.
Think “Let’s get more
comfortable even though
we’re wearing a suit.”

The academic looks
scholarly. Button down
shirts with sweaters,
textured jackets with
semi-casual slacks and
glasses all work well. Hair
can be more casually
styled and beards on men
enhance the effect.
Think college professor,
scholar or scientist.

Medical attire is
comprised of a lab coat,
and/or scrubs and
optionally a stethoscope.
However, if a medical
presentation is outside
the medical environment
such as a conference, a
professional suit is the
better choice.
Think Doctor.


Business casual attire is
typically a shirt and less
formal pants. A tie is
optional for men. In many
organizations, the
business casual “suit” is
comprised of a polo shirt
and khaki pants most
likely because of its
association with golf, the
stereotypical
professional’s sport.


Gone are the days of the geek
with horn rimmed glasses and
pocket protectors. Today’s
technical experts are well
served with a dress shirt
(usually light colored) and dark
pants. Preferred is any attire
that advertises expertise such
as a branded shirt or a jacket.
Certification pins/badges
increase credibility.
Think techie or modern geek.


Jeans, loose shirts and T-
shirts are the hallmarks of
casual attire. Although your
audience may be wearing
jeans, it is almost never
desirable for a presenter to
be casually dressed when
speaking.
There are exceptions such as
a dress shirt paired with
“dress” jeans but typically
casual clothes detract from
credibility.


No other attire gives instant
credibility and trustworthiness
as much as a uniform when it
matches the topic. Firefighters
and police use this to their
advantage when speaking
before classrooms. If you have
the right to wear a uniform
and it matches your topic you
should always wear the
uniform regardless of your
audience’s attire.
Think police, firefighters and
military.


I have a jacket that showcases badges and pins
recognizing my expertise in PowerPoint. I always
wear my “PowerPoint Nascar” jacket when
attending events even if I don’t wear it when
presenting. This jacket, combined with my techie
clothes and trademark long ponytail, creates a
brand that immediately identifies me as a
PowerPoint technical expert. If you are a
frequent presenter a brand is a great thing to
develop.
Examples of effective branding include:
Steve Jobs, with his long sleeved black crew neck
shirt tucked into jeans, neatly trimmed beard and
wire-rim glasses, appeared the geeky scholar.
Nigel Holmes, with his trademark bright blue
framed glasses and shoes as well as his engaging
use of props, leaves the impression of a brilliant,
approachable, semi-mad scientist. And Dave
Paradi, with his trademark business suits, brands
himself as the presentation expert for
professionals.


The Props | The Bio | The Slide Show | Business Cards

A short, one or two
paragraph bio is usually your
first introduction to your
audience.
If you have expertise in
several disciplines (as I do),
showcase the
accomplishments that are
directly relevant to the
presentation topic and leave
the others off.
Your bio is your first step in
credibility for your audience.

Business cards are a
tangible representation of
your expertise and you
want them to accurately
reflect your credibility.
Effective business cards
are attractive and, if
possible, stand out in
some unique way.


The Script | Rehearsal

You must rehearse your
presentation. No matter
how gifted a speaker you
are, just “winging it” will
inevitably expose your lack
of preparedness and
severely damage your
credibility.
Rehearse your script in front
of a mirror and be sure to
include a dress rehearsal in
the clothes you plan to
wear.

The Script | Rehearsal

References | Sources

• Hovland, Carl I. “Reconciling Conflicting Results Derived
from Experimental and Survey Studies of Attitude
Change.” American Psychologist, Vol 14(1), (Jan 1959): 8-
17
• Shailendra Pratap Jain and Steven S. Posavac.
“Prepurchase Attribute Verifiability, Source Credibility, and
Persuasion.” Journal of Consumer Psychology .Vol. 11, No.
3 (2001): 169-180
• Eagly, Alice H., and Shelly Chaiken. "An Attribution Analysis
of Communicator Characteristics On Opinion Change: the
Case of Communicator Attractiveness." Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 32.1 (1975): 136-44.
• Joffe, H. "The Power of Visual Material: Persuasion,
Emotion and Identification." Diogenes 55.1 (2008): 84-93

References | Sources

The Presentation Thespian

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