How to command a room

Speaking to a group is tough. People have short attention spans. They’re on their phones. Some may not even be in the room. Yet great leaders can control a meeting or presentation. How can you get everyone focused on you?

Common advice is to enter the space with intention, expand your body, project your voice, have a polished introduction, be concise, and have an opinion.

All good tips, but if you want a hack that gets people focused on you, start with them. Get them out of their heads and into their bodies.

There are many ways to do this, but the key is to get them to do something physical.

Last week, I was speaking to a room of 40, all seated at round tables in a large room. I asked them to stand up and come together in the center of the room. That was enough to get them focused.

You can ask them to take three deep breaths.

Or shake and stretch, jump up and down, touch their toes, you get the idea.

By doing something physical, you’re helping them use the mind-body connection to become present, so they can focus on what’s happening in the here and now.