Body Language in Presentations

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
Body Language in Presentations
BODY LANGUAGE IN
PRESENTATIONS
Communicate authority without saying a word

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Attribution: All images are from sources where a Creative Commons license exists for commercial use. All icons are on subscription
from thenounproject. All clipart is from free sources. The MTL Professional Development Programme is copyright of Manage Train
Learn.
Body Language
in Presentations
Introduction: Although people listen to your words and engage their brains in
what you say, it is what they see that makes the biggest impact on them in a
presentation. Your appearance and how you use your body to support your
message is what most people remember. In this topic, we’ll show you 7 key body
language techniques that you can master for fluent and impressive presentations.

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1. WALK WITH
AUTHORITY
When you are invited to speak, your walk to the
front is the first impression people get of you. By
slowing down your pace and showing people
that you are in control and not rushed, you send
a message of authority. It’s the same thing that
champion boxers do when they walk to the ring.
Practise your walk on stage so that you look confident
Flickr attribution: /tedxmonterey/6970678148/

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WhenYou Present,YourAppearance Matters Hugely
A whole industry has grown up based on
personal image management. The rich,
famous and popular employ style
consultants to tell them how to look,
what to wear and even how to change
their appearance. We live in a visual and
televisual age when what we see is what
we believe.
Much the same is true of those who
present before a live audience. The first
impression an audience gets of a speaker
is what they look like. We expect
congruence: if a speaker wants us to
believe in their ideas or products, we
expect them to dress the part and look
the part too.
The rule is to dress as best you can and
appropriately, showing respect to your
audience and a humble recognition that
while you are speaking, you are on show.

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2. LOOK THE
PART
In presentations, the rule is to dress as smartly as
you can in the same style as your audience. Be
well-groomed. Cut or trim your hair, clean your
fingernails and look for signs of cuffed shoes,
dandruff, and fluff (cuff, dandruff and fluff). Wear
what is in fashion but not ahead of it. Avoid any
badges or signs of allegiance and check yourself
for overpowering scents and body odour. The
last thing you want is for your audience to
remember you for all the wrong reasons.
Smart, well-groomed, neutral, restrained
Flickr attribution: /mdgovpics/14675126639/

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Appearance and Dress Tips for Male Presenters
The rules for what looks appropriate in the way a male speaker dresses and looks are dictated by fashion, custom
and the attitudes of those in the audience.
As a general rule, men should...
1. Wear a jacket and do the button up when
standing.
2. Use a handkerchief not a tissue
select a pocket handkerchief that is not the
same design as their tie.
3. Wear their ties to waist length, not more, not
less
4. Have an expensive-looking belt drawn at
midriff level.
5. Show three-quarters of an inch of shirt cuff
below the jacket sleeve.
6. Wear socks which are the same colour as
shoes or trousers.
Be in fashion but not ahead of fashion, smart
but not distractingly so.

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3. TAKE UP A
RELAXED
STANCE
You should look relaxed for your presentation.
Think of having a spot which is your home base.
This is where you start and where you end up.
Your basic stance is the ready position, known in
martial arts as the judoka position. In this
position, your feet are about 18” apart, pointing
outward slightly with your weight on the balls of
your feet. There should be a bit of give in your
knees and your neck and shoulders should be
free of tension. This basic stance allows you to
move anywhere you like easily and smoothly.
Take up the judoka position
Flickr attribution: /ufv/13701780993/

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Appearance and Dress Tips for
Female Presenters
The rules for women speakers are less rigid than
those for men, possibly because women are allowed
a greater licence in their choice of clothes at work
anyway.
Convention and what is acceptable should dictate.
1. Avoid tight or revealing clothing, particularly if you
are standing against the light.
2. Avoid fabrics with large printed designs as these
can tire the eyes.
3. Wear shoes whose colour is lighter than the
hemline colour.
4. Wear shoes which are neither flat nor high.
5. Consider the advice in the colour dress rhyme:
In red, you're ahead.
Blue's for you.
Green's in-between.
Brown's down.
Black puts you back.

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4. CHARM
THEM WITH
YOUR EYES
The eyes are the contact point between you and
your audience. When there is a meeting of eyes,
there is warmth and rapport. Aim to spend as
much as 90% of your presentation in eye contact
with your audience. Rest your eyes on each
person at some point in your talk. When you do
this, you show the maximum amount of white
and your eyes appear to sparkle. To involve the
whole audience, sweep them occasionally,
moving your gaze from one side of the room to
the other.
Connect with your audience through your eyes
Flickr attribution: /poptech/4827134653/

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5. CONTROL
YOUR HANDS
The hands are the body parts that are the most
difficult to control during a presentation. There is
a tendency to make repeated or silly gestures,
which you won’t notice but your audience will. If
you haven’t learnt how to use your hands, then
hold something. Better still is to use your hands
to enhance your talk. For example, holding your
hands open and wide apart sends a signal of
sincerity and honesty. When you take a Question
and Answer session, make sure they’re out of the
way behind your back.
Rehearse your gestures as much as your speaking

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Watch WhereYou Put Your Hands
The following fixed hand positions are named after their popular exponents. These hand positions can look odd if
held for too long.
Aim not to give people the wrong impression with where you put your hands. Unless you
want to make a point, place them in neutral: at your sides, on a table or lectern, or holding
on to something that you use in your talk.
Expert
Tip
The Duke of
Edinburgh:
hands clasped
behind the back.
The Lloyd
George:
hands on the
lapels in
oratorical mode.
The Archbishop
of Canterbury:
hands clasped in
front of the
groin.
The Urchin:
both hands deep
in the pockets
jangling money.
The Napoleon:
one hand inside
the jacket.

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6. USE YOUR
HANDS
PURPOSEFULLY
There are six ways to use your hands in a
presentation to help an audience understand
what you are saying. They are 1. directing, eg
pointing at something you want people to see; 2.
describing, eg painting an image in the air; 3.
counting, eg enumerating the number of things
you want people to remember; 4. holding
something; 5. making a dramatic gesture; 6.
signalling while someone else is speaking, eg
stop; go on; and wait.
Your audience will follow your hands so watch where they
go

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What Your Hand Positions Tell OthersAbout You
Our hands often reveal more about
what is going on inside us than any
other part of our body because it is
hard to talk to someone and think
about what we are saying while also
thinking about controlling our hands.
Speech-makers should learn to control
their hands by keeping them in one
place or holding an object.
The left hand is regarded as the
emotional hand while the right hand is
thought of as the proper hand.
When you talk with open hands, you
show trust and interest, but when you
cover them so that only the backs are
showing, you indicate concealment
and insecurity.
Twisting your hands or clinging to the
arms of a chair shows you're confused.
A hand at the throat indicates you are
emotionally choking.

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7. SMILE
FROM THE
HEART
There are over 20 different kinds of smile, from
sheepish grins to sinister smirks. The best smile
to give your audience is a relaxed, friendly and
self-confident one that says: “I’m happy to be
here; I’m happy you’re here.” There are three key
moments when you need to give your audience a
smile: just before you start; when you make
contact with anyone directly; and when you end.
Relaxed, friendly, and sincere

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This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn
AFinal
Word
Presenters who have mastered their body language look relaxed. They aim for a state of controlled
fluidity which means they can move freely, easily and effortlessly. Every gesture, expression and
movement they make builds audience rapport and supports their presentation. They are masters
and mistresses of the subtle use of body language.

Body Language in Presentations

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