Public Speaking: Body Language, Pt. 2

There are a couple additional points I wanted to discuss around body language and appearance.  Last time, we looked at gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.  The first thing I’d like to look at today is your general appearance.

The way you look says a lot about you, and communicates volumes about your subject.  It’s an unfortunate fact that people tend to make snap judgements based on first impressions – we’ve all done it, so as a speaker we need to be aware that how we present ourselves is important.

How you’re dressed and your grooming has very much to do with your audience.  A good rule is simply, people should not walk away from your discourse remembering your appearance.  I don’t mean to say they shouldn’t remember you, but rather they shouldn’t leave your discussion with only how you were dressed, or how you hair was styled as the key thing they recall.  On one hand appearance can be disheveled or unkept; on the other it could be too formal or too extravagant.  Unless your appearance is integral to something you’re talking about, it should not detract from the general discussion.

Finally, everything we’ve looked at for the last few blogs, both from a voice and body perspective, lends to your overall poise.  A poised speaker is a composed and comfortable speaker.  It’s apparent in your stance, in how you move.  For example, if you have not practiced your speech, or perhaps are not as familiar with the material as you should be, it tends to make you anxious.  An anxious person can show that through their physical bearing, by fidgeting, maybe your hands or knees shake, your voice may break, and your overall delivery will suffer.

So how do you channel that anxiety into poise and confidence?  Look at the things we discussed previously, like being well prepared, practiced, and familiar with your material. Put together the very best introduction you can – often your nerves are worst at the beginning, and once you get started, they melt away as you start digging into your topic.  Having a great introduction helps you quickly overcome your initial anxiety.

And the bottom line – the more you do this, the better you’ll get at it, the more comfortable and poised you will become.  Don’t let early perception of failure keep you from future public speaking opportunities.

Next, we’ll look at using hardware – audio/visual, software, etc.