Body Language: Watch For What They Don’t Say & Know How To Present Yourself Effectively

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Body language, the nonverbal form of communication that everyone uses, most of the time without realizing it. Psychology Today author Ronald E. Riggio discusses some common body language cues such as fake smiling, self-soothing, posture, and gaze behavior in his article 10 Ways Your Body Language Gives You Away.

Riggio says that “Body language is not a true “language.” In other words, there is no single meaning to a particular nonverbal cue. There are, however, some cues that an astute person can use to infer what you are thinking or feeling.”

What They Are Doing on Purpose

When trying to understand someone’s body language, look at what they are doing on purpose. Some facial expressions are accidental, but a lot of the time we are choosing how to respond and react. Did someone give you a fake smile, trying to show that they were impressed with what you were saying, but they actually weren’t?

Are they trying to seem more intimidating by changing their posture and making their body larger or raising their voice? Are they purposefully having their gaze behavior be directed at you with no variation? People have a lot of purposeful control over their body language, and it is important to pick up on it.

What They Are Doing on Accident

Some of the most telling signs of body language are the cues that are on accident. Some of this could be posture, such as if they are slouching because they are tired, or they are feeling closed off or uncomfortable, so they have their arms crossed.

A large cue is any self-soothing behavior. Are they rubbing their hands together, playing with jewelry, tapping their foot, or something else? They could be doing this because they are feeling anxious and subconsciously, they are trying to soothe themselves. Are they having a hard time looking at you in their gaze behavior? They could be nervous or anxious about something, or they might not like what you are saying to them.

Noticing the body language signs that people do on accident is important because they are most true to how the person is feeling. Purposeful cues can be curated, but accidental ones are raw and pure.

What They Aren’t Doing

Noticing the body language cues that people have is important for understanding how they are feeling. But you also need to notice what they are not doing. A lack of these cues is just as important as having them.

A lack of self-soothing cues could mean that the person is anxious, or it could mean that they are past the point of feeling. Are there no fake smiles? Is there only minor gaze behavior? All of this is important and insightful information.

Knowing exactly how a person is feeling or what they are thinking is hard. But by looking at their body language, you can start to get a grasp on that. There are many cues or things that people do, and they can mean a variety of things. This, of course, is looking at humans generally. Generally, a fake smile means that they don’t actually care.

Generally, self-soothing behaviors are used when the person is feeling anxious. These are not hard and fast rules because all people are different and cues might not be represented the same in everyone.

But generally, these body language cues give the observer a feel for what a person is thinking. What they do on purpose and on accident as well as what they don’t do is important. Like a giant puzzle, you must put all the pieces together to see the big picture.

While these are all worthwhile points and things you should look for in others, let’s discuss how you can use your own body language to exude confidence while giving a presentation or speech. After all, you aren’t the only one who is aware of the importance of monitoring body language in those around you. As you are speaking in front of a group, many will be closely watching your body language. Make sure you present yourself well.

How You Can Use Body Language Effectively While Speaking or Giving a Presentation

What you say in your speech or presentation is important, but how you say it, is equally important. Oftentimes, it’s your body language that can transform a dull presentation or even informal talk into a vibrant delivery of ideas and information.

Your body language while presenting includes the gestures you make, the eye contact you use, your facial expressions, placement of your arms and even how you choose to move through the room. Do you feel comfortable enough with your material to walk freely, or are you tethered to the podium with your notes? Do you make eye contact with your audience in a casual but purposeful manner?

Even something as seemingly small as the number of seconds you maintain eye contact with your audience (without signaling out one individual, which becomes awkward and is viewed as a crutch) or your hand placement when presenting can make a difference.

So, while your speech or words are just as important as your body language, everything comes down to the impression the two facets make together. And as researchers have discovered, first impressions are formed in seconds and tend to be accurate. In a well-known study led by the late Tufts University psychology professor Nalina Ambady, students who watched two-second muted video clips of college professors formed nearly identical impressions to the ones drawn by students during an entire semester in their classrooms.

Of course, there are many elements to body language, experts agree they are best separated into five distinct categories:

  1. Facial expressions
  2. Eye contact
  3. Posture
  4. Gestures
  5. Position and movement

Facial Expressions

People will travel around the world for a “face-to-face” for a reason – experiencing a person’s expressions is vital and provides an immediate opportunity to form a first impression.

Animated and dynamic speakers know how to use the more than 40 muscles in their face to grab and command the attention of their audience.  

Widely cited research found that your audience will assign specific traits to you throughout your presentation or speech based on your facial expressions. These include assumptions relating to your intelligence, trustworthiness, expertise, authority and even your own confidence.

To elevate your next talk or presentation, use the following tips to better communicate with facial expressions.

Smile

Smiling throughout the presentation or lecture conveys not only competence and an overall comfort with your source material, but helps your audience feel at ease. That will allow you to better connect with them and hold their engagement. Of course, if the subject you’re discussing requires a serious tone and expression, don’t smile. Smiling throughout a speech on domestic violence will certainly hold their attention, but only because you’ll look cold and heartless.

Be Expressive

No one is suggesting you take a quick course is pantomime, only that you take full advantage of those forty facial muscles to relay your passion and enthusiasm for the subject matter while reinforcing your key points. Think about your facial expressions the same way, as a good presenter, you think about your vocal range. After all, you expand your vocal expressions to avoid a monotone and boring lecture.

Observe Your Audience

Pay attention to those in front of you – how do they look? What is their body language telling you? Are they bored or disinterested? Just as your audience picks up cues through your facial expressions, you too must use the same knowledge to know when your hold over their attention is slipping.

Hone Your Talent

As with any language or skill, using and practicing it leads to mastery. Nonverbal language is no different. As you rehearse your speech, consider what your facial expressions are conveying and if they are effective. Do they align with your content? Do you appear confident and genuine? Do your expressions support your main points?

Eye Contact

Now that you’ve strongly considered what your face is doing throughout your presentation, it’s time to dig deeper – what about eye contact? Eye contact, and to what extent and for how long, is critical when it comes to communication.

The way in which you use eye contact and look at your audience depends on the size of the room and the audience. However, expert presenters agree on the following tips:

  • Make sure you look at everyone – Staring at the same spot throughout a presentation is not only dull and unengaging with your audience, but can come across as awkward and uncomfortable. Make sure that by the end of your presentation, you have made eye contact with everyone at least once. If you’re talking to a large crowd, you’ll want to make eye contact, at least once, with each section.
  • Don’t be afraid of eye contact – Prolonged eye contact can make people nervous, but that’s because it’s so powerful. You may be perceived as aggressive if you hold eye contact too long. Instead, try a brief glance. That conveys that you care about how your message is being received by each individually, as you’re clearly monitoring their expression as you speak. It may be tempting to find a single spot on the back wall and focus on that throughout your event. But that doesn’t instill confidence in your content, and it certainly doesn’t help you create personal connections with your audience. But remember…
  • Don’t stare – No one wants to feel uncomfortable or that they are being put on the spot. Keep your gaze moving and engage as many people as possible.

Again, remember that different situations call for different approaches. Use your judgment, after all, no one knows your material better than you. But if you are consciously using eye contact, you’ll be well on the way to making your presentation as engaging and inclusive as possible.

Posture

We’ve talked about facial expressions and eye contact, now it’s time to look at the bigger picture: posture. Whether you’re sitting or standing, the way in which you hold yourself is incredibly important and sets the tone for the whole presentation before it’s even begun.

With this in mind, here are a few Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to posture during a presentation:

  • DON’T slouch – In almost all presentation situations, your posture should be upright and open. This will make you look and feel more confident, and it will invite your audience in rather than pushing them away. Most people perceive a presenter who is not sitting or standing upright as someone who is not engaged in his or her own material. And if your material isn’t important enough to you, why should it matter to your audience?
  • DON’T be tense – It’s important to look and feel relaxed during a presentation. If you’re standing upright but look rigid or stale, you won’t make a good first impression. You may be nervous (most speakers are) but you still must convince your audience that you’re completely at ease in front of them. Pause and take a deep breath before you begin, and remind yourself to relax at different points throughout the presentation. This will help you win the trust of your audience. You may choose to pause and give your audience time to think about what you just said (not too long of a pause) which is a valuable tool to help absorption of the material. That’s the perfect time for you to consciously relax and re-set your expression and posture.
  • DO think about your audience – A formal presentation to the board of a company is very different to an interactive talk with brand-new employees just starting out. While you still need to be upright, open, and relaxed in all situations, remember that different situations require different levels of formality. And formality can either convey comfort and security or make you appear unapproachable based on the purpose and goals of your presentation. Do you want to be interrupted if someone has a question, for example, or will you only take questions at the end of your presentation? Adapt your posture to be more open or more formal accordingly.
  • DO be adaptable – If you have a lectern for your presentation, don’t hold onto them for support or let them get in the way. Visually, this is often seen as a nervous crutch by those watching. You need an open and communicative posture, no matter the specific physical set-up. Be prepared to adapt to unexpected situations. You may need to use a microphone, which could cause you to have to remain at a lectern. Or you may find yourself holding a microphone, which will restrict your gestures and potentially offset your practiced body language. Be prepared for any last-minute change brought on by technological issues or venue changes – be ready to adapt.

The correct presentation posture if you are standing is to …

  • Square your shoulders with the audience
  • Stand tall
  • Relax your stance. This isn’t a military presentation – you’re not standing at attention.
  • Face your audience directly instead of tilting your body away from them. There’s one exception to this rule, and that is when you’re soliciting feedback. In which case, turning your body at a slight angle can encourage engagement.

The correct presentation posture if you are sitting is to

  • Avoid slouching in the chair
  • Lean forward slightly to display your own interest in the material
  • Plant your feet firmly on the floor to display confidence

Gestures

Varied and sometimes, vibrant facial expressions, proper eye contact and strong posture will help you present a powerful and engaging speech or lecture. But, of course, if you’re standing still the entire time without moving any other part of your body, you’ll leave the audience with a strange (and not too flattering) impression of you. On the other hand, over-rehearsed or exaggerated hand gestures can be off-putting and look unnatural to the point of dramatized and comedic.

So, you must find that happy medium of the two extremes.

The purpose of using gestures when giving a presentation is to highlight your message and make it more interesting. Essentially, each gesture should mean something.

Hand gestures during a presentation can be used to do many things, including:

  • Adding emphasis to a word or point
  • Pointing something out on a slide or other visual support
  • Reinforcing a concept

For example, if you’re making a comparison between large and small, you can use hand gestures to create visual representations. When discussing a numbered list, you can show the numbers with your hand so that both people’s eyes and ears are engaged. Alternatively, if you want to address the audience directly, you can gesture towards them (never point as though you’re directing an accusation at someone in particular). If you have a slideshow or other visual aids, use gestures to draw people’s attention to them.

When your presentation is reaching a major, important point, you can use gestures to build up to that point by incrementally exaggerating them until you reach your apex point. This communicates to your audience the things which you say that are the most valuable to you.

The Science of People blog’s article on hand gestures gives some great insight into this aspect of presentation, along with several additional helpful ideas.

Most importantly, work to keep your gestures looking relaxed and natural. It never hurts to film yourself presenting or ask your friends to give you feedback.

Position And Movement

 This last area is more variable depending on the specific set-up of your presentation. This is about functionality and your goals. The presentation space itself may be limiting, so be prepared to adapt.

For example, if you’re giving a presentation on a large stage in front of a big audience, movement around the stage itself will create visual interest and continued engagement. Likewise, if your presentation has interactive elements, you could move closer or slightly further back from the audience depending on whether they’re involved or not.

The golden rule is that any movement should be obvious, purposeful, and directed. Never let yourself look like someone who is wandering around aimlessly. You may begin by engaging with your audience immediately by walking to the front of the stage and asking a question – “Who can tell me…”, “Put your hand up if you have ever…”, etc.

This technique gives you instant insight into your audience. It helps you determine about how much your audience already knows about what you have to say while including them in the start and setting a tone of interaction and connection.  Most people are much happier if they feel a speaker is “talking to” them rather than “talking at” them. After all, everyone wants to feel that their opinions matter and asking a few questions is the best way to keep their engagement while providing you ample opportunities to get to know your audience members.  

The five distinct categories above give an overall sense of how you can use body language to make your presentation clearer, more engaging, and more powerful. Remember that body language is not something you apply later to a pre-written script. It’s a core part of how you present. It must work with every other aspect of your presentation including your content and the tone of your voice to create a compelling experience for your audience while successfully conveying your material.

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