This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 1518.
Be bigger, one key way to improve your business presentations on Zoom.
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 200 million times.
Are you feeling stuck with your English?
We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.
Are you giving more Zoom or video conference presentations these days?
We all are.
So today we show you how to create your stage voice in English, so that more people will listen to your presentations and respect you as a business person.
Listen in today.
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Hey, Michelle, how's it going today?
We are on YouTube today.
So exciting to be here.
Hey, guys.
Yes, yes, yes.
Good to see you, Lindsay.
How's everything with you?
Good to see you.
Good to see you guys.
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So good.
Absolutely.
Love it.
It's really fun to do these episodes.
I know.
This is awesome.
And today we are talking a little bit about business, right, Michelle?
Business on video calls.
So it's very appropriate for being on a video call today.
Absolutely.
That's right.
That's why I thought this one would be a good one to do on video.
So let's get into it, targeted in one direction a little bit more, but it can be used for anything with video guys.
Okay.
And this question comes from one of our loyal listeners, Keisuke, who's based in Connecticut.
He helped us with our website redesign by giving us input, and he always comes up with some great business questions.
So thank you and shout out to Keisuke.
I think he's back in Japan at this point.
He was living in Connecticut for a while, back in Japan, but I'm sure he's listening in.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
OK, Lindsay, you want to read this question?
All right.
So Case Case says this week we had an online international conference on WebEx.
It was fun, but sometimes it was tough for us because we were not able to see the audience and had to talk to the PC instead of people.
Yeah, that seems like that would be hard.
Right, Michelle?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
So I moderated a session at the conference.
We were using English, of course, by the way.
And I felt like I was podcasting like you guys, especially when I was picking up and reading a question.
Eventually I noticed that I was trying to talk like you guys, probably to try to brighten up the atmosphere.
I was able to not only learn English, but also to talk online, how to talk online at conferences.
All right.
I think due to this situation, there will be a lot of opportunities to talk online.
I think he means the pandemic, right, Michelle?
Okay.
I think so.
So here's the question.
Do you have some words, phrases or tips that you can share with us to improve online conversations and video conferences?
All right.
So that's a great question, Michelle.
I'm really glad that he asked that.
He says, Right, Michelle?
Hmm.
Yes, yes, absolutely.
And also he says I'm wondering how you guys feel when you're talking to or asking us something while you are recording.
So we can talk about that a little bit.
So anyway, I love this question, guys.
I mean…
Today is really going to be about being really, really effective over video, right?
So it could be for a presentation.
You know, sometimes you might be able to see people, but even like, let's say, you're giving a presentation on Zoom, you don't, you're not able to like focus on every person, right?
So in a way, even if you can see them, it's not the same, right?
It's just not the same.
Oh my gosh, it's true.
A lot of us do rely on that eye contact from the audience to get energy and to get motivation.
But we just don't have that on Zoom or on some kind of WebEx platform, right?
Right, right, right.
So let's just answer that question, right?
How do we feel when talking to the audience about something?
Because we can't see you guys, right?
So that was one of the questions.
Well, I mean, I personally just imagine our listeners, I try to keep them in my mind all the time.
You know, we're not just talking to an audio recorder Audacity, we're talking to actual human beings.
I think more of people maybe walking to the train in Japan or driving to work in Brazil.
I think of you guys.
I imagine you on your way to work, on your way home, walking your dog, doing laundry, whatever it is, and just tuning into us, because I'm a podcast listener too.
What about you, Michelle?
How do you experience that yourself?
Yeah, I think that – I mean honestly.
I mean I think in the beginning it did feel a little funny, because it's like – it's hard to imagine.
It is hard to imagine that people – the people listening.
But now that it's been a while and we've also done live events –
And we do YouTube and we've done a lot of web classes.
Yes.
Things like that, like where we do get to interact and hearing from you guys, it makes it a lot more natural feeling.
So I understand this feeling of like, oh, I can't see people.
Right.
And that's true.
But I know you're there.
Yes.
I, like Lindsay, try to imagine it.
That's a good point, Michelle.
Actually, we've been doing this for so long that it's kind of hard for us to not know what it's like to podcast.
But yeah, in the beginning it was weird just turning on the microphone and who's going to listen?
Who's out there?
No one's out there.
It was strange at first, for sure.
Right.
Definitely, definitely.
But we love it, of course.
Otherwise we wouldn't do it to get a better response over Zoom from colleagues classmates, whatever it is.
And some people mentioned that they don't feel confident.
And our listener, you know, it sounds like he kind of has this feeling of not being sure about it, right?
So I'm going to share something that I noticed today, Lindsay.
Yeah, I want to know.
Yeah.
You can let me know if you agree.
And this is just, this is more general.
So we're going really the tips route for this question today.
Okay.
So this is my Michelle tip.
Be bigger, right?
So be bigger.
What does that mean to you when you hear that, Lindsay?
Well, yeah.
So I want to know a little bit more what you think of that to mean.
But be bigger.
I think of a bigger voice, a bigger presence.
I think of being a little more animated, because I would say that we are a little more animated on the show than we are in real life, and that's what makes it easier for you guys to understand our voices.
We speak at a normal speed, but we draw out our words a little more so it becomes a little more clear.
Yes,
Yes, exactly.
I agree, Lindsay.
I mean, there's a lot to convey over the computer.
And similar to like the phone when you're on the phone with somebody, or like we're podcasting.
If we weren't on the video today, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's just – it's totally different than being in person.
So you have to really make up for what you're missing.
Yes.
And what I mean what you're missing is you're missing that real face-to-face time, right?
So you have to kind of fill that in another way.
And so, like, Lindsay, if we were –
I mean, it's one thing to talk on video, not on the podcast.
And then it would be even another thing to be in person.
But overall, this idea of being a little bit bigger when you are on a video or on a call is important.
So to be bigger, I mean, what should we make bigger?
Yeah.
I mean that's a good question Michelle, because I like the way we're taking this episode today, because we really don't have like nonverbals quite as much.
Right.
So we're going to talk a little bit here a lot about the voice.
The use of the voice and the face, but we don't have as much of the hands and the moving around and physically moving around in front of an audience.
So we could go and put a microphone up to someone.
That's what would be expected in at least in the US of a good presenter, but we can't do that.
So it's about the voice.
So all right.
So the first thing is volume.
Tell us about that, Michelle.
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Well, so if I'm sitting right next to you in a room, right, I can speak a little bit quieter.
Now, if I'm giving a presentation, I'm going to be louder as well.
So in some ways, this can go for presentations in general.
But online.
I really think it is important to use your voice to make up from what you're missing, from not being in person.
You just want to make sure because if I get on the video and I'm like, Oh, okay.
So Lindsay, um, you'd be like, Michelle, like, are you like, hello?
Exactly.
That's like part of, I hope what attracts you guys to this show is like the energy that we bring.
Yes.
So if we came on and we weren't energetic, if I were with students as a tutor, just one-on-one, I might be able to lower it a little bit.
So that's what's different there.
Right, Lindsay?
Yeah.
So it's kind of like you're using a stage voice.
Right.
You're not using a conversation voice because you would be a little quieter, a little less.
It's like we we push our voices out into the microphone, into the camera.
We project our voices a bit more than we would.
And so is that the recommendation?
So volume, but also I think projection.
Right, Michelle?
Projection is huge.
I mean, that's something I'm very passionate about.
I think it's.
Yeah.
It's funny because I'm talking about how you have to do this and it's different from your regular voice.
And then I'm realizing I think I'm always loud.
I think, yeah, you have a big microphone voice, Michelle, just naturally, I think.
I don't think I can help it.
I'm just like, I think it's from my dad.
He has a very loud voice and I think I can't help it.
I did theater.
I can't help it.
After like 10 episodes.
If you listen to the first 10 or so episodes of All Ears English, I didn't quite have it yet.
At some point, I just turned it on.
I just said, oh, I have to be on stage on the microphone.
And so I started using that voice a little bit more.
It's interesting.
Yeah.
Definitely.
And this really leads into the next one, which is I kind of mentioned on it.
I mentioned, munched on it.
I meant to say touched on it.
I was going to say mention it and then I wanted to change it to touched on.
So I munched on.
Anyway, to really have this energy going.
And you can almost like kind of picture a ball of energy in your head, just like you know, just going and going because you want to showcase your personality and make people interested in what you're saying, right?
Because especially online, people are online all the time.
And guess what?
Some people are, I mean, I think a lot of people are really sick of it.
Well, especially if you get them anytime between like the hours of one and three after lunch, people are drowsy.
Worst case scenario, even when you're in person giving a presentation.
Yeah.
I mean, the last position you want is right after lunch at a conference, right?
Imagine how much worse it is, guys.
When people are drowsy, they're tired.
They got 25 browsers open on their computer.
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
It's just so many hours on the line, like things get fuzzy, right?
So it can be really easy to lose interest.
So you have to make sure that you have that energy that's going and, like you can think of a bouncing ball right.
And try and let your voice, your personality be like that ball.
Don't go crazy.
I mean, like...
But, you know, just bump it up.
Whatever you think.
Maybe you're not feeling energetic.
You have to make it seem like you are feeling energetic.
Yeah, you gotta fake it till you make it, as they say.
Right, Michelle?
Exactly.
I think the volume and the energy come together.
It's almost like they go hand in hand here.
You need both.
Both feed into each other really nicely to create that stage voice that you need.
Okay.
Yeah.
You know what?
And I think all of these kind of go together in a way.
So the next one is about facial expressions.
And Lindsay, you mentioned that a little bit or you munched on it a little bit.
I munched on it.
Guys, that's not a word.
That's not a thing.
That's not a word.
That's not something you would use in this context.
I'm just joking around.
You could say chew on it, which is – we'll do that another day, another episode, Michelle.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Something – ooh, that's a fun one with chewing and stuff like that.
This is a good old chew on that.
But anyways, let's get back to it, Michelle.
Okay.
So tell me about facial expression.
I touched on it briefly.
Yes.
Yeah, I mean –
It matters.
A little bit goes a long way.
So I mean right now.
I'm very aware that you guys are looking at my face and you are making certain judgments based on what you are seeing.
Luckily, I'm a generally pretty optimistic person, so I usually smile.
But people watch your face and they read things.
As human beings, we have mirror neurons.
We are designed to read faces constantly.
Instantly.
Okay.
Yes.
It's so important.
Like, if we were on YouTube and we were like, hey, Lindsay, like.
So boring.
No one's going to, like, what?
That's not good.
And you know what?
As far as the smiling goes, I mean, that's one of the most basic things that I've heard is that you know if you, if you're like like, let's say, you're a phone salesperson and you are calling people, you know.
To try and smile like that smile.
People can hear that even if it's not on video.
Absolutely.
And that brings up a really interesting question in my mind around gender though, and smiling, because I think that women in our society are taught to smile more.
And that like your default, if you're on stage, should be smiling.
Whereas I wonder if men are taught the same thing, at least in our culture.
Maybe another day, Michelle, we'll go into that.
Something about gender in the workplace and the business world.
Really interesting.
Yeah, that is interesting.
Yeah, I haven't thought about that.
That's cool.
Yeah.
All right.
And then guys, don't forget about eye contact.
So this is an interesting one.
You can't make eye contact with everybody.
And of course, in some of the situations, if you can't see anyone, you can't really make eye contact, but you can.
You don't want to look away.
Like I've had Zoom meetings.
It wasn't with a student or with a colleague, but with a friend.
And I kept on noticing that person just looking away.
Just not directly at the screen.
Yes.
Yes.
It can be hard because, I mean, even for us like recording this.
You know the camera is in a certain spot and you might want to.
It might be a little awkward because in that way you're not, I'm not looking at anyone.
I'm trying to look at the camera. camera.
So sometimes I, you might catch me looking at different places and we have notes too.
So we look at our notes.
So our scenario here is a little different, a little bit different, but in general, you know don't, don't like I mean yeah I, I just I do remember talking with this person and it kept on like, looking down like this, looking down like that.
That's strange.
This goes for in-person too, guys.
I mean, Zoom and in-person, they're different, but some of the stuff is very similar, right?
And I think culture really comes in here in a major way.
I mean, I spent some time living in Tokyo and I know that in Japanese culture, at least very traditional Japanese culture, my understanding was that making too much direct eye contact for too long is a lack of respect.
You know, showing deference by looking down sometimes.
I had some students that would do that a lot and it really made me feel weird sometimes that they looked down a lot in the classroom and it was strange.
Guys, you have to let us know.
Let us know what that is all about in terms of eye contact in your culture, but be aware of the culture you're presenting to and what they consider respectful, and know that that does translate to online and offline.
Right, Michelle?
Definitely.
Definitely.
Oh, absolutely.
So Lindsay, overall, do you agree with this bigger is better online thing?
Or have you had any positive or negative experiences with online meetings with people?
Like, tell us a little bit about it.
Good question.
You know, nothing really comes to mind.
As I mentioned, in Japan a few times, I had students that would drop eye contact and that made me feel strange very, very strange in person.
But online, not as much.
All I would say is that when I – if my friends hear me recording my podcast –
They'll say, you don't sound like yourself as much.
Like your voice does sound a little different.
Guys, again, it's real English.
It's normal speed, but our voices are a little more projected.
We don't go out on the street and I wouldn't go order my coffee right now and say I'll have a tall, dark roast.
But again, guys, that's not necessarily just about it being like a teaching English podcast.
Like if we were hosting a podcast about anything.
We would have that projection in our voices as well.
Yes, completely.
But I like this, Michelle.
It sums it up really nicely.
Be bigger.
So figure out what that means for you.
But you have to make a little bit of a change.
You have to do a little shift from your normals, your personality on the street or at a party versus your personality on the stage.
Absolutely.
And just real quick, before we go to warm people up, make sure you say things like oh, I'm really happy we're meeting or talking or, of course, anything like great to see you.
And then if you're leading a meeting.
A fun tip that I've heard is some people do like group stretches, even online, or games or dance parties with colleagues, even.
Yes.
It depends on your company culture, but something to think about.
Yeah.
I mean they say that even just like raising your arms can make us feel more comfortable, can like let out some stress that kind of thing.
So whatever structure you can create.
Michelle, this has been a really good business episode. right?
Yeah, this is important for business, guys.
So definitely, if you are in that business situation, this episode is for you, for sure.
Yeah.
And I do want to let our listeners know, guys, we have a new business English level quiz for you.
We just created this quiz where you can find out what level you are in the business English world.
Okay, so to get that quiz right now, and it's just seven questions, and I'll tell you your level.
Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash work quiz, W-O-R-K-Q-U-I-Z.
It's really cool, Michelle.
You should see it.
It's very easy, very quick.
You get your level, and then you get resources for your levels.
Yeah, exactly.
I love it.
I love it.
So Lindsay, what's the takeaway for today?
All right, Michelle.
The takeaway for today is guys, definitely you know, when you get invited to present, take it on.
Don't turn it down, right?
Take advantage because it's a time to grow as a person.
But always focus on connecting with that audience.
Think about being bigger.
Think about body language.
Think about culture.
Because all of those things are still there, of course, as well as eye contact.
Right, Michelle?
Definitely, definitely.
I love it.
So, you know, don't don't shy away from things on Zoom or WebEx or whatever it is.
And if you can't see the people, imagine that they're there.
But follow our tips from today and let us know how it goes for you.
And you know, what other ways you've tried to improve your relationships on Zoom.
So I'm curious to hear about those differences.
Yeah, it'll be really interesting to see Michelle, if we're doing more lessons like this in the future, if business doesn't go back into majority in person, or do we end up staying online.
Oh, yeah.
How will the pandemic change our work lives around the world?
Literally the entire world, I think, is wondering this.
Definitely.
It should be really interesting to find out.
So we will see, but we'll be here for you guys to show you how to connect, no matter what, whether it's in person or on the computer.
All right, Michelle, let's take off for today.
Have a good one.
Thanks, you too.
Bye, guys.
Bye.
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