Visual staging can shape how technology CEOs are perceived

Production choices such as seating, lighting, camera angles and physical proximity can influence the way technology CEOs appear to an audience. A camera looking down can make a person seem smaller and weaker, while a low angle can make them look heroic; a Dutch angle may create an unsettling impression.

At Dreamforce, CEOs moving among the audience rather than speaking only from a formal stage was described as an unusual directorial choice that creates a more familiar, familial image of corporate leaders. Production teams are also said to sometimes adjust chairs or use booster seats to balance differences in height, though the specific executives and teams involved were not identified.