Body Language and Public Speaking
There is one important question that needs to be asked here…
“Are you getting the desired responses or results when you interact with others?”
If the answer is NO, then maybe there is something more you could learn about body language.
If the answer is YES, then you probably are already aware of body language, it’s meanings and it’s importance.
Scientific studies have proven that the words we use when speaking account for only 7% of how people form their impressions of each other. So that leaves a whopping ninety something percent of non-verbal movements and sounds that are determined by our VOICE TONE and BODY LANGUAGE!
Body language is made up of facial expressions, gestures, other movements, touch and positioning. The most famous study done by Albert Mehrabian, Ph.D. reported that communication is 7% words, 38% tone and 55% body language. Of course each person and situation will vary, but there are a few things we can reasonably conclude from this.
Communication isn’t just words – a lot seems to come through non-verbal channels.
It’s easier to misunderstand words if we can’t see the non-verbal signals (how easy is it to be misunderstood via email communication or on the Internet in general?)
When we don’t trust someone or are not sure about their words, we pay more attention to what we see as well as to what we hear.
Incredibly, we all seem to have the ability to tell (well, most of the time) if someone is -
interested in us or would rather be elsewhere.
lying to us, by noticing their tone of voice and body signals.
self assured. Take notice of the posture and body movements of people we call “charismatic”. When they enter a room we can’t help but stop and stare.
how happy someone is to see us by their handshake, voice inflections and how close they move to us.
in agreement with or believes us and many other things.
I think that one of the best (very descriptive and visual) books on the subject is The Definitive Book Of Body Language – by Allan & Barbara Pease. I don’t profess to be a body language expert by any sense of the term, yet I am very interested in the subject. One of my favourite ways to practise these techniques is when I speak in public. Most of them I learned from studying with one of the most entertaining public speakers I have ever witnessed, Robert Kiyosaki (best selling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad).
How To Use Body Language And Positioning For More Effective Public Speaking
I have learned that it is better to enter a room or a stage with ‘lots of energy‘ and to greet the listeners with acknowledgements to get their attention and questions to enlist their participation. To capitalise on a great beginning it’s important to look all around the room and even move through the room and position yourself in the best place to see every person at eye level or above. Having your arms wide open when asking a question lets people see you are open to their answers. Of course, crossed arms shows the opposite and can be very useful in certain circumstances too. If someone in the audience is being disruptive, you can position yourself near them or ask a question of the person next to them instead of confronting them directly.
Copyright ©2007 Elizabeth Richardson. All rights reserved worldwide.
