Body Language

What is Body Language?

Body language is the unspoken or non-verbal mode of communication that we do in every single aspect of our interaction with another person. It is like a mirror that tells us what the other person thinks and feels in response to our words or actions. Body language involves gestures, mannerisms, and other bodily signs.

            Would you believe that in real life situations, 60% to 80% of the messages that we convey to other people are transmitted through body language and the actual verbal communication accounts for only 7% to 10%?

Our ability to use body language in a positive way and to read other people's minds through their body language separates the men from the boys (or women from girls), and can be a powerful tool to our overall personality development. Imagine creating a great impression for work, business, and love by being knowledgeable in this not-so-common yet powerful field of study. It is the unspoken tool to a successful life

 

Here are some of the movements exhibited by people who are interested in what you are saying:

·         They maintain eye contact more than 60% of the time. The more wide-opened the eyes are, the more interested the person is. In fact, a person maintains eye contact more when listening than when talking. 

·         Their heads are inclined forward.

·         They are nodding their heads. Such action means that they're agreeing with you. That means they're attentive and listening.

·         Their feet are pointing towards you.

·         They smile frequently. But take note, not all smiles convey the same feeling. An oblong smile is not genuine. It is used to show courtesy, but not necessarily happiness or friendliness. The lips are withheld completely back from the upper and lower teeth, forming the oblong shape. This is usually the smile that many people exhibit when they feign to enjoy a lame joke.

Learn more about communication and body language through Toastmasters.  Find a club near you and check out how to improve your body language.

 

To your speaking Success

Fran Watson

 

P.S.  Click here for more info

 

 

Face Your Fears

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES." -, Nike ad

 

Do you "feel the fear" when asked to do some Public Speaking?

 

Public Speaking is still one of our greatest fears and it turns grown men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere thought of it turns our tongue to cotton wool, causes our internal plumbing to act up and turns our knees to jelly.

 

Well, there's no need for all of this because help is at hand. All you need to remember are your P's and Q's.

 

Let's start with the P's

 

Preparation -

When you sit down to write what you're going to say, bear in mind who you'll be speaking to. Will they understand what you're talking about; will they understand the technical stuff and the jargon? If in doubt remember the old saying - "Keep It Simple Stupid".  

 

Make sure that what you say has a beginning, middle and a conclusion. Think of some anecdotes that help reinforce your story. People think visually so paint verbal pictures for your audience. And always remember, people want to know what's in it for them - so make sure you tell them!

 

Place -

Have a look at the venue before the event if you can. It's not always possible, however, even if you get there half an hour before, you can check out where you'll be speaking.  Stand at the point where you will deliver from, imagine where the audience will be and check that they can see and hear you. You may even wish to place a glass of water where you'll be able to find it.

 

Personal Preparation -

Before any Public Speaking event, think about what you are going to wear; when in doubt dress up rather than down. You can always take things off for a more casual look. Men could remove their jacket and their tie. Women could remove items of jewellery.

 

Part of your personal preparation should include some mouth and breathing exercises. Practise saying some tongue twisters to give your speaking muscles a good work out. Take a deep breath and expand your diaphragm. Then breathe out, counting at the same time; try and get up to fifty and not pass out.

 

As part of your personal preparation, write your own introduction. Write out exactly what you want someone to say about you, large font, double-spaced and ask the person introducing you to read it. Believe me they won't object and will probably be pleased and impressed.

 

Poise and Posture -

Whenever you're called to speak, stand up or walk to the front quickly and purposefully. Pull yourself up to your full height, stand tall and look like you own the place. Before you start to speak, pause, look round your audience and smile. You may even have to wait until the applause dies down.  Remember, you want the audience to like you, so look likeable.

 

Pretend -

I'm suggesting you pretend you're not nervous because no doubt you will be. Nervousness is vital for speaking in public, it boosts your adrenaline, which makes your mind sharper and gives you energy.  The trick is to keep your nerves to yourself. On no account tell your audience your nervous; you'll only scare the living daylights out of them if they think you're going to faint.

 

Some tricks for dealing with nerves are: Before you're called to speak, get lots of oxygen into your system, run on the spot and wave your arms about like a lunatic. It burns off the stress chemicals.  Speak to members of your audience as they come in or at some time before you stand up. That tricks your brain into thinking you're talking to some friends.

 

Have a glass of water handy for that dry mouth. One word of warning - do not drink alcohol. It might give you "Dutch courage" but your audience will end up thinking you're speaking Dutch.

 

The Presentation -

Right from the start your delivery needs to grab their attention. Don't start by saying - "Good morning, my name is Fred Smith and I'm from Smith Associates." Even if your name is Smith, it's a real boring way to start a presentation.  Far better to start with some interesting facts or an anecdote that's relevant to your presentation. 

 

Look at the audience as individuals; it grabs their attention if they think you're talking to them personally and talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get the message. Funnily enough, it's also good for your nerves.

 

PowerPoint -

And for those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a software programme that's used to design stunning graphics and text for projection onto a screen. As a professional speaker, I'm not that struck on PowerPoint. I feel that too many speakers rely on it and it takes over the presentation.  After all, you're the important factor here. If an audience is going to accept what you say then they need to see the whites of your eyes. There needs to be a big focus on you, not on the technology.

 

Use PowerPoint if you want but keep it to a minimum and make sure you're not just the person pushing the buttons.  Why not get a bit clever at using the faithful old Flip Chart, lots of professionals do.

 

Passion -

This is what stops the audience in their tracks. This is what makes them want to employ you or to accept what you're proposing. Couple this with some energy, enthusiasm and emotion and you have the makings of a great public speaker.

 

Give your presentation a bit of oomph and don't start telling me - "I'm not that kind of person." There's no need to go over the top but you're doing a presentation to move people to action, not having a cosy little chat in your front room.

 

That's the P's finished, so let's look at the Q's.

 

Questions -

Decide when you're going to take them and tell people at the start. In a short speech it's best to take questions at the end. If you take them as you go then you may get waylaid and your timing will get knocked out.

 

Never - never - never finish with questions; far better to ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end. Deal with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat.

 

When you're asked a question, repeat it to the whole audience and thank the questioner. It keeps everyone involved, it gives you time to think and it makes you look so clever and in control.

 

Quit -
Quit when you're ahead. Stick to the agreed time; if you're asked to speak for twenty minutes, speak for nineteen and the audience will love you for it. Remember, quality is not quantity. One of the most famous speeches ever - "The Gettysburg Address", by President Lincoln, was just over two minutes long.

 

Right, that's my cue to quit when I'm ahead. Now that you're armed with this information you too can minimise your fear of Public Speaking.

 

To your public speaking success

 

Fran Watson

P.S.  For more tips on public speaking, Click here



Public Speaking - Connect With Your Audience

Although speaking in public is really a monologue of sorts, this monologue is addressed to a ready, able and receptive audience who wants to learn from you as much as you want to learn from them.

Obviously the message would be more effective if it is listened to. Check out the following tips to maintain that necessary contact with the audience.

Greet them

Take some time before your actual speaking engagement to walk around the venue and familiarize yourself with the people who will be listening to you. As the people and the attendees arrive, give them a warm greeting. It is much easier to deliver a speech to a group of people whom you consider as friends than to a bunch of anonymous faces.

Be positive

Honestly, people expect and want you to succeed. Audiences want to be as informed, stimulated and entertained as they could be. If you fail, they cringe with you. Succeed and your audience benefits from your great speaking performance.

Do not apologize

If you mention to the audience that you are nervous or if you express your apologies about any problems you think may exist about your speech or your speech delivery, you may be setting them up to focus on that very thing you are apologizing for. You do not have to mention this to them, chances are they haven’t noticed this and won't notice unless you bring it up. Relax and be silent. Your audience will relax with you.

Establish eye contact

Connect with your audience, appear natural. Or better yet, be as natural as you can be, without overdoing it of course. You should be able to get the audience to nod their heads as an acknowledgement of what you are trying to convey. Choose one person from each area of the room to focus on and make eye contact with them at various points throughout your speech. Do not breeze/race through your speech. Pause for a brief moment, especially at those points you want to emphasize. This is also a good time to establish eye contact with your attendees as well as to catch that much needed breath.

Do not debate

If during the question and answer part of your speaking engagement an audience member expresses disagreement with any part of your message, you need not aggressively prove your point to him or her. A debate is not only a futile means to get your point across, but it also could just as well never be resolved. Acknowledge the audience member and invite him or her to talk with you after your speaking engagement, instead.

To your speaking success!

Fran

P.S. Overcome your fear of public speaking - click here

Body Language in Public Speaking

Body language is very important when delivering a speech.


Have you ever seen our great leaders fidget or make unnecessary movements while addressing the nation?

Since you are the center of attention while making the presentation, you should mind every move that you make so as not to bore or distract the people listening to your speech.

You already have a speech prepared, you know the topic well and you are now standing in front of the audience.  They are in for a treat because you have prepared a great presentation, yet you also know that they have a very short attention span.  How would you keep them interested with what you are saying?

The answer is to maintain eye contact.  This is one public speaking technique that great speakers use when addressing a large group of people.

Here are some tips on how you can use this "trick" to keep your audience interested while delivering a speech:

Once you have started speaking and have delivered your introduction, take a look at your audience.  Do not be nervous if you see one or two people frowning as you are not sure of exactly what they are thinking.  Instead of looking out for unfriendly or blank faces, search for the people who are smiling and nodding their heads.  Try to focus on this person for a couple of minutes and look him or her in the eye.

This way, you have an immediate "friend" in the audience to whom you can look and gain confidence from.  This will not just increase your confidence but also help relax you in the course of your speech.

Gaze steadily at your audience, moving from one part of the room to another, catching one person in each section.   This way, you would immediately grasp their attention as each person feels you are speaking just to them.

Make it a practice to never read your speech. Just make an outline of the important points that you can expand on.

If you have visuals, do not read the bullet points word for word as this might imply that your audience cannot read that themselves.  Allowing them to read what is on the screen creates a "bond" with your audience as a speaker since you do not have to keep on looking at your notes through the course of your speech.

The key to delivering a great speech is to know what your message is for your audience (why this message and why this audience) and then to just breathe, relax and make eye to eye contact with your audience.  Thus, you are not just making a physical connection with them but you are also ensured that you come out as a sincere speaker who wants to inform and interact with the audience through your speech.

To your successful speaking
  Fran   P.S.  Check out John Maxwell's books for more tips on public speaking and leadership - Click here