One difference between acting and presenting

Recently I was reminded about one MAJOR difference between acting and presenting. When you are acting, you are portraying a character who is not you. When you are presenting it is YOU in front of the audience.

During a recent speech by a local politician on our Coker College campus, some of the theater folks were wondering what he was doing out shaking hands with the audience in a a jovial meet & greet posture. They were not sure that was a good strategy. They were certain it was not something they would do prior to going on stage in a role.
Important Distiction
That is an important distinction between a person making a public speech and a person taking on a role. The speech maker is standing before the audience and in that stance is saying, "This is me." When I am talking with people about ways to minimize some of the anxiety, fear or discomfort they feel about giving a speech I often suggest getting to know some of the audience members. When I am fortunate enough to be giving a presentation to a group I try hard to be at the location early enough so that I can say hello, meet some of the people and carry on some short, pleasant conversation. For one thing it helps me get to know who is in the audience and for another thing, it helps the audience get to know a 'me' as me and not as the "speaker."

Actors have the job of creating a character for their audience. Speakers have the job of conveying themselves to the audience. Meeting prior to the presentation is often a good strategy for paving the way for presentation success.