I was chatting with a prospective client, a sustainable investment policy lead, about some presentation coaching I might do with him. I asked him what portion of his presenting happens online versus in-person. His answer – around 70% – is pretty typical.

Online vs. In-Person

He told me he enjoys presenting online. He feels more comfortable, confident and in control speaking into his webcam from his desk, with his notes and supporting materials spread out in front of him.

‘But there is one problem,’ he said to me. ‘I find after a long stint of working online I get pain in my shoulders and neck. The other day a meeting I was in overran. By the time it was my turn to present, we’d already been going for 90 minutes. I felt really sore. After the meeting my line manager gave me some feedback. She said I’d looked and sounded really tense. What could I do differently next time?’

Shoulder Tension

‘Shoulders are the most common place people put their tension,’ I said. ‘And that tension is even more visible online, when the head and shoulders is pretty much all we see of each other. That’s why your line manager picked up on it. And she’s right, shoulder tension will have a ‘strangulating’ effect on the voice.’

‘But you asked for a ten-second reset! Here are my three top tips:

1. Take your elbows off the desk! Look what it’s doing to your shoulders. Rest your wrists on your desk instead.
2. Take away tension by lifting your shoulders high, right up to your ears, and letting them drop them with a sigh. Do two or three quick lifts-and-drops, then do one really slowly. Feel the tension melt away.
3. Turn your camera off, stand up and have a big yawn and stretch. Trust me, it’s magic medicine!’

I’d noticed at the beginning of the call that my prospective client was propping himself up on his elbows. A lot of people do it. But it creates considerable (and obvious) tension in the shoulders. The third principle of Tai Chi is ‘drop the elbows, sink the shoulders’, and it’s a good rule of thumb: if your elbows are heavy, your shoulders are relaxed. Try it out!