Use of Your Body
As you stand before an audience, be confident and be yourself. You are probably the expert in the room on this subject. If not, why are you the one making the presentation?
You need to consider not only what you say, but also how your body will support you and your words. If your platform behavior includes mannerisms unrelated to your spoken message, those actions will call attention to themselves and away from your speech.
Here are five areas on which to focus as you plan, practice, and present:
- 1. Rid Yourself of Distracting Mannerisms: Eliminate vocal and visual impediments. Some common faults of inexperienced or in effective speakers are:
- Gripping or leaning on the lectern
- Finger tapping
- Lip biting or licking
- Toying with a pen or jewelry
- Frowning
- Adjusting hair or clothing
- Swaying
- Chewing gum
- Head wagging
These all have two things in common: They are physical manifestations of simple nervousness and they are performed unconsciously. When you make a verbal mistake, you can easily correct it, because you can hear your own words. However, you cannot see yourself, so most distracting mannerisms go uncorrected. You cannot eliminate distractions unless you know they exist.
The first step in self-improvement is to learn what you want to change. In speech preparation, nothing is as revealing as a video of your self. The first step in eliminating any superfluous behavior is to obtain an accurate picture of your body’s image while speaking. This should include:
- Posture
- Gestures
- Body movement
- Facial expressions
- Eye contact
The next step is to free yourself of physical behaviors that do not add to your speech. This can be accomplished by simply becoming aware of your problem areas. After you have viewed a video of yourself speaking, review the video several times and make a list of all the distracting mannerisms you notice. Once you have completed these reviews, go over the list of all the distracting mannerisms you saw and heard. The next time you are having a conversation with someone you know well, try to notice whether you use any of these distracting mannerisms even in casual circumstances. Tackle each of your negative points one at a time.
- 2. Build Self-Confidence by Being Yourself: The most important rule for making your body communicate effectively is to be yourself. The emphasis should be on the sharing of ideas, not on the performance. Strive to be as genuine and natural as you are when you speak to family members and friends.Many people say, “I’m okay in a small group, but when I get in front of a larger group I freeze. ” The only difference between speaking to a small informal group and to a sizable audience is the number of listeners. To compensate for this, you need only to amplify your natural behavior. Be authentically yourself, but amplify your movements and expressions just enough so that the audience can see them.
- 3. Let Your Body Mirror Your Feelings: If you are interested in your s