When a Leader Reads

When a Leader Reads, the Room Switches Off

There is so much wrong with this picture, I don’t know where to begin, but the worst sin of all is reading a presentation.

Picture this:
You prepare carefully. Your slides were polished. Your script is tight.

And for twenty minutes, you read.

Occasionally, you glance at the room, but the glance is logistical, not relational, a quick head lift, then back down again.

By minute two, the room had changed.

Not dramatically.
Not rudely.
Just quietly.

People lean back. Pens stop moving. Phones appear face-down on the table, the polite version of disengagement.

Nothing has gone wrong.
And nothing is happening.

This is the moment many leaders misunderstand.

Reading a presentation feels responsible. Accurate. Safe.
But it removes the very thing communication depends on: engagement.

Communication is not the transfer of information.

It is the exchange of attention.

The uncomfortable truth is this: when a leader reads, you are no longer communicating, you are broadcasting.

Broadcasting does not invite thought.
It does not invite alignment.
And it does not invite trust.

The body tells the truth before the words do.
Eyes down signal closure.
Eyes fixed on the slides signal priority elsewhere.
Neither say, “I am with you.”

Leaders often believe the content is what matters most. What actually lands is the relationship being formed, or not, while the content is delivered.

There is a clear contrast here.

Leaders think reading shows preparation. What the room experiences is distance. Strong presence is not created by perfect wording.

It is created by shared focus and eye focus is not a performance trick. It is a biological signal.

When your eyes move between people, the nervous system of the room responds. Attention sharpens. Faces lift. Micro-feedback begins the subtle nods, shifts, expressions that tell you whether your message is landing or sliding past.

When your eyes stay on the page, funnily enough, there is a different eye focus to that when you are engaging with people. You can’t do both and are forced to choose one. Choosing the page, the communication loop is broken.

And once broken, no amount of well-crafted language will repair it.

This is why even technically “good” presentations so often fail to move anyone.

If this vignette feels familiar, three quiet actions change everything, without adding polish or theatre.

First
Have a framework that you remember, not words. If you cannot hold the spine of your message without a script, you do not have a logical flow.

Second
Let your eyes rest on people, not objects. Slides and notes are supports. Humans are the audience.

Third
Leave space for response. Communication only exists when something can come back.

None of this is about confidence. It is about respect.

Reading a presentation protects the speaker. Speaking to people honours the room. And leaders are always read more closely than they realise.

Take the risk and ask me about masterclasses, coaching and programs.

Let me hear your thoughts. 

Love,
Dr Louise Mahler