The other day I gave a long presentation and I stood in front of the audience the entire time. The end result was that I finished with a real pain in my lower back. This is obviously the result of a combination of the natural tensions involved in giving a lecture, and posture – and they may just go hand in hand.

I have given this some thought and the fact that speakers must stand in front of the audience really concerns me. There must be some way to ease a presenter’s time spent on the platform. The audience is privileged enough to be able to sit in comfortable chairs, so why do we have to be exposed targets on the stage? I would like to start a movement to ease the suffering of presenters. Is in not sufficient that half of us are quaking in our boots at the idea of having to stand behind the lectern – or worse, wander around the stage – as we chatter? Why can’t we have a more comfortable arrangement? This seems to be a long-standing social issue and it is time we changed our approach for the benefit
of presenters.