Want to Be a Better Speaker? Change the Room First

In my latest workshop called “Command the Room: Build Presence in Meetings and Presentations” I help people develop the skills needed to grab (and keep) the attention of any audience.

Whether you're trying to run a meeting more effectively or hold the attention of an audience of 500 people, the principles are exactly the same. If you don’t hold their attention, your message (or whatever information you're trying to get across) will be lost.

Speakers often launch into content or worry about what the audience is going to leave thinking. And while those are important elements of any talk, speech or presentation, the forgotten element is one of the first things people should think about.

Setting the Scene

One of the most overlooked and undercooked elements in any presentation is what I call setting the scene, which in simple terms, means setting up the space, priming the audience, and shaping the tone right from the start.

Something every good stage show will do, but most speakers forget.

Setting the scene means creating the conditions for your audience to participate in the way you want.

Sometimes this means setting up the physical space (what configuration are the chairs in? Are there even chairs at all?) and sometimes it means setting up the expectations of what you want your audience to think or do.

Let’s break this down…

Why is the audience there?

Have they come to learn something? In that case, you better start spitting facts so they buy into what’s happening and don’t think you have nothing worthwhile to say.

Have they come to contribute something? Are they sitting in an arrangement that allows them to interact with you and/or each other?

Are they comfortable?

Sometimes physical comfort is beyond the control of the speaker as to where the seating is, the temperature or lighting. But if you explicitly allow your audience to move or adjust, you may prompt them to find their own comfort.

Mental comfort, however, is entirely within your control. By being open and transparent about what is about to happen, you allow the audience to relax. Instead of scanning for tricks, they can focus on your content.

Have you told them what is coming up?

Audiences settle when they understand the shape of what’s ahead.

Agendas can be frightfully boring and often very prescriptive. More pedantic audience members might even pick them apart if you don’t follow them exactly.

That’s why offering a broader outline or signposting what’s coming up can be far more effective in setting expectations and calming nerves.

Consider more flexible ways of ordering your content – enough to orient your audience, without locking yourself into a rigid structure.

How is the physical space set up?

The way a room is set up sends a message.

A circle signals equality. Rows facing a stage suggest hierarchy. Tables can be useful as workspaces – or act as barriers people hide behind.

If you can’t control how the space is set, your own position becomes even more important.

Are you standing, seated, moving? Your proximity to the audience shapes how they relate to you and your message.

"You’re not just working in a space – you’re performing in it."

Audiences don’t like being pushed or tricked into looking silly or feeling uncomfortable, no matter what lesson the speaker is trying to teach them.

Setting the scene helps allay their concerns. It shows respect. It builds trust. And it prepares the audience to actually listen. Great speakers don’t just focus on what they’re saying – they shape the environment so people are ready to hear it.

So next time you step up to speak or lead, pause first. Look at the space. Think about how it feels to be in the audience. Then take a moment to set the scene – and watch how much easier it becomes to command the room.