If you’re ready to kick your career or business up to the next level,
then make it a goal to become a powerful presenter. People view savvy
communicators as being more capable, intelligent, and knowledgeable than
those individuals who have difficulty in communicating their ideas. You
can quickly gain the status of an expert in your field when you are able
to present your ideas effectively.
Although many things go into giving a successful talk,
I’d like to focus on one area that is very easy to apply – using body
movements and gestures. When you use body movements and gestures
appropriately, your presentation takes on a certain sense of aliveness
that is often hard to accomplish when you use words alone.
Harness the Power of Gestures
Gestures include your posture, the movement of your
eyes, hands, face, arms and head, as well as your entire body. They help
to support or reinforce a particular thought or emotion. If our gestures
support our statements, we are communicating with a second sense. People
tend to understand and remember messages better when more than one sense
is reached.
Winston Churchill was a master at using gestures to
powerfully bring home his point. During World War II, Churchill rallied
the citizens of Great Britain to continue their fight against
overwhelming odds. He often visited the neighborhoods of London, which
had been devastated by bombs and walked through them with his fingers
held up in the sign of a “V”. This victory sign accompanied his famous
message, "Never give in. Never, never, never give in." This gesture so
powerfully communicated Churchill’s message that soon people gained
greater resolve to continue fighting whenever they saw the victory sign.
Another reason that using appropriate gestures is so
critical to your presentation is that communication does not just
consist of words. Less than 10% of the words we use in speaking gets
through to others. On the other hand, over 55% of our body language is
communicated to others very clearly. Whether you are trying to sell your
product or service to a client or you are trying to persuade a group of
people to change their behavior, it is critical that your words and
gestures match. Many people have sabotaged their messages because their
words were saying one thing, while their bodies were saying the exact
opposite.
Can you think of a time when someone told you that he
would be able to do something while his head was shaking no? Which did
you believe, the words or the gesture? When your body movements are
congruent with your words, your message will have a very powerful impact
on your audience.
Make the Most Out of Movements
People will begin to make judgments about you as soon as
you stand up. The time to begin using effective body movements is when
you walk to your position in front of a group. Stand up tall and walk
with a strong posture. Let your body communicate that you have something
important to say and the audience needs to hear it. If your posture is
slouched, they will feel that you aren’t convinced about your message
and they will begin doubting you before you have uttered a single word.
When you get to the front, take a deep breath, calmly
look at your entire audience and smile. One of the biggest mistakes
presenters make is to begin talking as soon as they get up to the front,
or even worse, as they are walking there. When you take time to look at
your audience before you speak, you begin to establish that critical
connection with them. You also give the audience sufficient time to
focus on you and what you are about to say.
Look directly at the faces of your audience members, not
over their heads. Eye contact is one of the most important aspects of
speaking. An easy way to get over stage fright is to look at the faces
of individual audience members and just talk to that one person instead
of the entire audience. Rotate the people you talk to – someone on the
left, someone towards the middle, a person on the right, someone in the
front, etc. This will help you maintain rapport with the entire group,
while allowing you to feel at ease.
A further advantage of maintaining good eye contact is
that it will help you gauge how your message is coming across to the
group. If you are trying to explain something and members of the
audience give you blank stares, then you need to adjust your words so
they can better understand you.
Use Conversational Gestures
Like Winston Churchill, you should strive to incorporate
gestures into your talk. People naturally use gestures in conversations.
They are not on the spot, so they easily move their arms and hands and
make facial expressions to illustrate the points they are trying to
make. However, an amazing thing happens when people stand up in front of
a group to speak. They suddenly think, "Oh no! What am I going to do
with these things attached to my shoulders?" and they either don't move
them at all or they move them awkwardly. Gestures should be a natural
extension of who we are. Presenters should strive to be themselves. They
should be as spontaneous with their movements as if they were talking to
their family or friends.
Practice Makes Natural
A good way to be comfortable with gestures is to know
your speech well. Several of the most outstanding speakers offer the
same piece of advice: "The key to effectively using gestures is to know
your material so well, to be so well prepared, that your gestures will
flow naturally." Practice your speech and know it well so that you can
enjoy sharing your message with others.
Become a master at using your body to support your
words. Have fun with gestures, be yourself, and you will certainly
present your message with power and pizzazz.
About
Della Menechella is a speaker, author, and trainer who
inspires people to achieve greater success from the inside out. She is a
contributing author to Thriving in the Midst of Change and the author of
the videotape The Twelve Commandments of Goal Setting. She can be
reached at
della@dellamenechella.com. Subscribe to free Peak Performance
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