Public speaking is a powerful, effective, and efficient marketing tactic. It works in nearly all practice areas. It’s a tool you want to employ if you’ve got it in you. Public speaking makes the phone ring.

But you need to do more than deliver words. You need to project energy, enthusiasm, and warmth. One speaking tactic that works is moving forward and getting closer to the crowd. Getting out from behind the podium is a big help in connecting with your audience.

Getting off the stage, away from the podium, and out among your audience turbocharges your performance. There’s no reason to be locked in place. There’s no reason to be stuck behind a barrier. There’s no reason to avoid touching, moving among, and connecting with people.

Physical objects and distance between you and your audience create an emotional distance between you as well. They make it harder to connect, relate, and build rapport.

Don’t get stuck back there behind the podium. Set yourself free. Go. Get moving. A bad speaker wandering the crowd is better than a medium speaker behind a podium. Pacing back and forth is annoying, but bringing yourself closer to the audience focuses attention, builds connection, and breaks down barriers.

Five Steps to Break Free of the Podium

Here’s what you need to do to get moving:

1. Know the material.

It’s tough to set yourself free if you need your notes. You’ve got to immerse yourself in the material and know it well. A notecard with a few key points—the big picture—can travel with you as you move. But you’re going to have to really know the stories you’ll tell, the points you’ll make, and the statistics you’ll cite.

2. Deliver the same speech.

Being able to use a stock speech comes in handy if you’re going to roam. Use a speech you’ve given many times before, and it will just flow from memory. That makes it immeasurably easier to work the room as you talk. Professional speakers use old material over and over and introduce a bit of new material with each new presentation. They don’t expect themselves to deliver a fresh speech at each event, and you shouldn’t either. Recycling is your friend.

3. Step forward, but go back.

Spend some time moving around, but also take some time to go back and hang out near the podium as well. Your audience will be deeply engaged as you come toward them. They’ll feel your presence. But they’ll also need an emotional break. Go back to the podium when you’re telling your most riveting story. Let them lean into you rather than you coming to them. They’ll feel the pull of your story and focus in on you.

4. Touch people.

Don’t be afraid to put your hands on people as you move. You can even work the touching into your talk. Shake hands and touch shoulders, but—and this is important—stay away from faces. Don’t ever touch anyone on the face. Hands and shoulders are as far as you need to go. You’ll find that touching people will dramatically increase your audience’s positive impression of you. Go for it.

5. Consider technical issues.

Be aware of technical constraints like the need to be near the microphone. In an ideal world, you’ll go without a microphone, or you’ll pre-arrange for a technology that allows you to go mobile (be sure to take it off before you leave the room and head for the facilities). You might also need to arrange for a mobile slide advancer if you’re using presentation software.

Free Yourself, and the Rest Will Follow

Getting out from behind the podium brings you physically and mentally closer to your audience. It builds connection, and that’s exactly what you want.

Set yourself free, and you’ll have a more powerful impact. That’s exactly what you need.