Communication Skills: Body Language

In the last post, we talked about solving problems helping to make your talks more interesting. In this post, we are going to talk about the most critical of communication skills, body language.

There is a bit of a misconception about the phrase “public speaking”. The misconception that the technique of becoming good at public speaking is all in HOW you speak.

The truth is that your voice is only part of what you need to be successful in giving a presentation to a group of people.

To be an effective public “speaker”, you should use every resource you have including your body language, your arms and your legs to capture the attention of the crowd and hold it.

There is nothing more boring than a speaker who stands in one place

and never moves his arms and speaks softly just putting out the information of the talk. To avoid this curse, learn to communicate with your entire being when you’re in front of an audience. Learn to express yourself with facial expressions, with gestures of your arms and with movement. Because that extra effort is what can make a fair presentation good or a good presentation a great one.

A good public presentation can be compared to eating a meal in a restaurant.

A good chef knows that there is more to fine dining than just food because you also must have good service and ambiance so the presentation of the food makes the meal delightful to eat. The same is true of a public speaking situation.

It isn’t enough just to stand up there and speak out the information.

You’re not just speaking because you’re only successful when you’re communicating. To communicate, your audience must grasp what you’re saying and be prepared to make it real in their own lives.

Movement is probably the most underused public speaking method but it is also one of the most effective.

To put it bluntly, when you speak to a group, don’t just stand there.

Get out of the podium and move around a bit. Walk from one side of your speaking area to the other. Use your hands to help you describe an illustration or to gesture with an emphasis toward the crowd when your text fits that kind of expression. This movement is good for you because it’s a way of walking off your nervousness

It’s good for the audience because it keeps them interested. And it’s very good for your presentation because it is a powerful way to get your point across and to assure you’re being understood.

The relationship between public speaking and public performance is unmistakable.

When you watch a speaker, the key word is “watch”.

Taking in the presentation of a speaker is an event that brings in all the senses. And the more your audience actually “experiences you” rather than just hear what you say, the better they will like your presentation and the more likely they will be to agree with what you have to say or take action in the direction you had hoped they would.

Your first time can be nerve-wracking

Of course, it can be a nervous moment the first time you decide to step away from the podium and use your body as part of your presentation.

If you walk and move in front of people, there is always the chance an accident can happen. You Could:

• swing your arms in emphasis and knock something over.
• trip over a microphone cord
• trip and fall
• or your wardrobe could malfunction because of the increased stress and that would be a horrible thing to deal with when everyone is looking at you.

You can take some extra measures to be sure your wardrobe is secure.

I mean, it may now turn out for you as well as it did Janet Jackson. Seriously,

evaluate the speaking setting so you’re aware of potential causes of accidents. But the possibility of a mishap is just a risk that you should be prepared to take because the movement you use is so powerfully effective that the rewards are too great to pass up.

The other risk is that by stepping away from the podium, you step away from your outline.

To enable yourself to wean away from having to have that outline in front of you all the time, select one or two sections where you will depart the outline and share a personal story. Then your movement will be confident and effective. When you can integrate confident movement into your presentation, your public speaking skills will go from good to great instantaneously.

 

In this article, you have learned the reasons communication skills, body language, and movement are critical skills to learn if you are to become an excellent public speaker.  Polishing these skills will also net you more speaking gigs.

Are you getting anything from this post? Please leave a comment below and let me know How I am Doing. If there is something you’d like to see a post about, let me know below! Thanks!

Make sure you look for my next post soon. We will be talking about reading to your audience.

Until then,
Keep The Shiny Side Up,