Stay in your light

By Alastair Greener, presenter of Present Yourself in a Minute · Updated 5 November 2026

A speaker who looks sharp on stage is often a speaker standing in the right place. The lighting team sets a state for the talk, and the speaker's job is to live inside it.

Ask for the lighting plan

Ask the organiser or the lighting designer what is lit, what changes during the talk, and when. Ask whether there are cues for your slides or your entrance. Knowing the plan means you will not be surprised when the light moves.

Find your marks in the tech rehearsal

Use the tech rehearsal, not the first minute of the talk. Stand at your opening spot, then at each place you will stand for a section. Ask for a check from the back row, because that is where a problem shows. If you are being filmed, ask for a check from the camera position too.

Mark it, then move with the light

Once you have a mark, make it visible to you. Where the venue allows it, a small piece of gaffer tape on the floor works. Practise moving between marks so that you arrive on the light rather than chasing it. On the day, glance at the mark, not at the floor.

Steps

1. Get the lighting plan and any cues from the organiser or the designer.
2. In the tech rehearsal, stand on each planned mark and ask for a check from the back.
3. If you are filmed, ask for a check from the camera position as well.
4. Mark each spot with tape, if the venue agrees.
5. Rehearse your entrance, your moves and your exit so the light finds you at each one.

Safety

This is general guidance only. Stage lights run hot, and cables cross floors and steps. A competent person must assess the actual venue and rig before you move around it. Do not touch lamp heads or stand on cable runs, and tell the stage manager at once if a light or a cable looks wrong.

Common mistakes

• Drifting sideways to look at the audience, so the light falls off your face.
• Standing with the light behind you. The room sees a silhouette.
• Arriving late on a mark because you did not rehearse the walk.
• Treating a checked mark as permanent. A cue change can move the pool of light.

For planning how you move through a talk, see using the whole stage, moving with purpose. For the basics of handheld, lectern and head microphones, see mic technique. If you are speaking at an event that uses event AV production, the lighting plan is a question for the production team, so ask them first.

Related guides

• Mic technique: handheld, lectern and head mic
• Using the whole stage, moving with purpose
• Write the introduction the MC will read
• Handling interruptions and the elephant in the room
• Q&A without losing the ending
• All guides and tools

The picture at the top of this page is an illustration, not a photograph of a client or a real job.