The Cambridge dictionary cites ‘dominance’ in a psychological sense as having ‘natural authority’, which we all strive for when we formally communicate and especially when presenting.
In their 2010 seminal research paper titled ‘Estimating dominance in small Group meetings’, Aran and Gatica- Perez concluded that a combination of audio and visual cues is necessary to optimise dominance, and hence our authority, in achieving the best performance. Ten years on Aran and Gatica-Perez’s conclusions are very relevant. Our online meetings, webinars, presentations, pitches and videos need both meaningful audio and visual content.
We spend over 80% of our prep time fine-tuning slides and very little time scripting and rehearsing the actual messages and storytelling. Relying on slides to tell a story will not optimise dominance and can not project natural authority.
Only you can do that.
Balancing your preparation time equally between the audio and the visual aspects of your presentation, pitch, webinar, or video achieves your best natural authority.