Presentation Advice from Titian

January 13, 2010 by Jerry

titian

Titian (1490-1576), the influential Italian Renaissance artist, painted a portrait of Pope Paul III that established a point-of-view technique used by today’s photographers and cinematographers; a technique that presenters would do well to heed.

In the portrait, currently on display at the Louvre museum in Paris, Titian, the painter—and therefore the viewer—is looking up at the pope, emphasizing his high social status. Conversely, the pope is looking down at the painter/viewer.

The audio guide to the exhibit calls this position the “Sociological Role” because the angle reinforces the pope’s exalted position. To prove the point, the guide goes on to describe the impact of the portrait: “When Titian brought the painting out in the open air for varnishing, passersby bowed down and removed their hats in reverence.”

In presentations, the goal is to create empathy rather than reverence with an audience; and that occurs when the presenter is at the same eye level as the audience, the subject of a prior blog. To paraphrase the old adage about real estate, where location, location, location is paramount; in presentations position, position, position is paramount.

But eye contact trumps even position. If the size of the audience or the sight lines of the room impede eye contact, the presenter must stand so as to be able to look every member of the audience straight in the eye. When you do, they won’t remove their hats in reverence, but they will find you empathic.

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