In a presentation situation, body language is so powerful because your audience empathizes with you as the speaker and mirrors your emotions and feelings. If you appear relaxed, confident, and smiling, your audience will relax, feel confidence in you, and usually smile back at you. If you appear nervous or frown (even unconsciously) they'll get fidgety and frown back at you.

Besides communicating your feelings and attitudes body language does several things:

1. It makes messages more meaningful and memorable.

   People are easily bored with things that don't move and naturally focus on things that do. People remember more of what they see than hear and even more of what they see and hear.

2. It punctuates your presentation.

   Gestures, body movement, and facial expressions are to speech what periods, commas, and exclamations points are to written language.

3. It relieves nervous tension.

   Public speaking activates the adrenal gland, creating an overabundance of energy which tends to sneak out as nervous mannerisms. Gestures and body movement, however, harness this nervous energy and make it work for you.

Following are the five main elements of body language and key points about each.

Posture

Without a word or even a movement, your speaking posture communicates whether or not you're confident, enthusiastic, and in control of the situation. Good posture enables you to breathe properly and project your voice effectively. It also minimizes nervous tension.

To achieve an effective speaking posture, stand erect but not stiff, relaxed but not sloppy. Relax your shoulders and knees. Let your arms hang naturally at your sides with your fingers relaxed. You should feel alert and comfortable. Immediately before your presentation, take a few deep, slow breaths and consciously relax your shoulders, neck, and jaw.

Gestures

Gestures, used correctly, are the most evocative form of body language and can tremendously enhance your words. There are four basic types of gestures: Descriptive gestures clarify or illustrate your words. Emphatic gestures emphasize your words, e.g. clench your fist or pound the podium. Suggestive gestures create a mood or express a thought, e.g. shrug your shoulders to indicate ignorance or perplexity. Prompting gestures evoke a response, e.g. raise your hand or applaud if you want the audience to do the same. Gesturing reflects each speaker's personality; what works for Zig Zeigler probably won't work for you. Here are six things to keep in mind about gesturing:

1. Gesture naturally according to what you think, feel, and say.

   Regardless of your personality or cultural background, you have a natural impulse to gesture to emphasize things you feel strongly about. Don't inhibit that impulse. Be genuine and spontaneous. Don't concoct artificial gestures or your audience will peg you as a phony. If you're naturally reserved, try emphasizing your gestures a bit more than seems natural.

2. Create the conditions for gesturing -not the gesture.

   Involve yourself totally with your message-not in thinking about your body movement-and your gestures will arise naturally from your thoughts, feelings, and attitudes.

3. Suit the gesture to the word or occasion.

   Make your gestures appropriate for the words you're expressing or you'll appear artificial, or even comical. Match the frequency and vigor of your gestures to your message, and don't overdo it. Powerful, vigorous, animated gestures are fine for young audiences but may threaten or irritate older or conservative audiences.

4. Make your gestures convincing.

   Each gesture should be a distinct, clearly visible movement. Hand gestures should involve the total arm and shoulder. Keep your wrists and hands relaxed. Use broad, slow, expansive gestures for large audiences.

5. Make your gestures smooth and well-timed.

   Timing is as important in gesturing as it is in comedy. The gesture must come on the correct word-not before or after. Don't memorize your gestures or they will appear canned. Simply practice your presentation until the gestures become natural.

6. Make natural, spontaneous gesturing a habit.

Relax your inhibitions, and practice gesturing during informal conversation with friends. Have fun with it, and soon gesturing will be a natural part of your presentation toolbox.

Body Movement

Whole body movement is the broadest, most visible movement you can make as a speaker. It automatically attracts audience attention, can reinforce your message, and is the quickest way to burn up nervous energy. Audiences stay alert with speakers who move. On the other hand, too much body movement distracts the audience. Be aware of the reasons for body movement, then follow the rule: Never move without a reason.

Substitute purposeful movement for nervous movement such as rocking, swaying, or pacing. Step forward to signal that you are arriving at an important point. Step back to conclude an idea or let the audience digest what you've said. Step sideways to signal a transition from one thought to another. Dramatize physical action like throwing a fastball or running from a grizzly. If you move to your left, lead with your left foot. Never cross feet to begin a movement. Make your movements easy, natural, and smooth.

Facial Expression

Audiences scrutinize speakers' faces, eager for visual data to add meaning to their words. Your face--more clearly than any other part of your body--reflects your attitudes, feelings, and emotions. Your audience wants you to be confident, friendly, and sincere and watches your face for evidence of these qualities. Effective speakers must communicate these qualities. The key to conveying a warm, sincere attitude is smiling throughout your presentation, not constantly--or you'll be labeled a lightweight-- but every time it's appropriate.

Be sure to remove expressions which don't belong on your face, those nervous mannerisms which distract from your message. These include licking, biting, or clicking the lips, tightening the jaws, frowning, or twitching any part of the face. Audiences attribute these expressions to nervousness or unfriendliness and become less receptive to your message. To reduce your apprehension about speaking, believe your message, practice it thoroughly, relax, and let your face reflect your good thoughts, attitudes, and emotions.

Eye Contact

After your voice, your eyes are your most powerful tool for communicating. Your eyes either bind you to, or separate you from, your audience. Every listener wants to feel you are talking to him or her. Eye contact accomplishes this. In most cultures, direct eye contact signals sincerity; lack of eye contact signals insincerity, disinterest, or lack of confidence--all message killers. Your eye contact directly influences the attentiveness and concentration of the audience. If you don't look at them, they probably won't look at you or listen to you.

Here are three keys to using your eyes effectively in presentations:

1. Know your material.

   Practice your verbal message until you don't need to strain to remember the sequence of ideas and words. Doing so frees you to concentrate on the audience, not on an inner mental turmoil.

2. Establish a personal bond with each listener.

   Every audience will have energizers--those people who are with you, alert, and usually smiling in agreement. Choose energizers in every section of the audience and focus on them. Maintain eye contact with and speak directly to each one for the time it takes to say a sentence or complete a thought, then shift to the next. Doing so will energize and encourage you, and everyone around these energizers will think you're looking at them.

3. Monitor visual feedback.

   If the audience isn't looking at you, they're probably not listening, and you need to regain their attention. Do they look puzzled? Bored? Can they hear you? Is the microphone on? Visually monitoring your listeners enables you to make adjustments necessary to most clearly communicate you message.

Conclusion

Videotaping one of your presentations is an excellent way to discover your strong, effective body language as well as any unconscious, nervous mannerisms. Watch great speakers for ideas of how to maximize your own body language. Develop a strong message you firmly believe in and are excited about. Practice it thoroughly. Relax, be natural, and let your enthusiasm and sincerity project naturally to your listeners. Finally, have fun, and you'll do fine as a presenter!

Note

This brief snapshot of body language comes from "Gestures: Your Body Speaks" published by Toastmasters International. To acquire the booklet, or for more information, contact Toastmasters International, Inc., P.O. Box 9052, Mission Viejo, CA 92690, USA.