You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart. – John Ford, celebrated Irish American director
In this chapter, you will be provided with practical tips to strengthen presentation skills and cautioned away from misleading advice. The most valuable actions to take when it comes to enhancing presentation skills are: (1) nurturing the belief in personal improvement through practice, and (2) understanding that the objective should be establishing a connection with the audience, rather than striving for flawless perfection.
Believe You Can Improve
When you think about speaking are you tempted to believe, “Some people are just born good speakers” or “I just wasn’t made for this public speaking stuff.” If that is you, you may have what Stanford researcher, Carol Dweck calls a “fixed mindset.” She suggested that we have a fixed mindset– people are just born to be good at things or we have a growth mindset–people, with effort, can learn new skills.
When it comes to public speaking, you should work on having a growth mindset and acknowledge that effort is needed for mastery. You can improve, but it may take work. Especially with public speaking, practice equals progress. Adjusting your belief to a growth mindset frees your self-limiting beliefs and allows you to move beyond what you thought was possible.
Those who think they got their success from effort often can go farther than those who believe success is due to their natural ability. The key to making the change is to continually recognize your effort: “I gave it my best, I really stretched myself today, I put a lot of time into this, and I can tell it made a difference.” In addition, Dweck suggests the simple change of adding the word “yet” to your self vocabulary helps keep you growth-focused. Instead of saying, “I’m not good a public speaking,” say “I’m not good at public speaking yet.” Believe if you work hard enough, and practice enough, and get help when needed, you can improve and grow.
The Power of YET
Avoid saying, “I can’t do this”
but rather say “I can’t do this yet”
In one case, you are telling your brain to quit trying
in the other version, you allow yourself to be open to possibilities.
Never say, “I’m not good at public speaking.”
but rather say, “I may not be a perfect speaker yet but what I have to say is important
so I will work and keep getting better at it.”
Believing you can improve is an important first step! Many speakers who begin timid and insecure are able to rise to become confident, and powerful in only a few months. Some people seem to know how to succeed at public speaking naturally, but for most of us, it takes work. Realize with practice, you can improve as a speaker. If you are one of those lucky natural speakers, realize you too have room to improve.
Now, let’s talk about two specific presentation skills where you can improve–eye contact and gestures.
Eye Contact
Bad Advice–Look at Their Foreheads
You might hear advice like this: “Don’t make eye contact with the audience because they will make you nervous. Don’t look at their eyes–look at their foreheads.” Test this theory out; just for fun, walk up to a friend and begin to speak to their forehead to see how they react. It just looks weird! Chances are your friend will say, “What the heck are you doing?”
That is the same thing your audience will think if you stare at their foreheads. Honestly, it is harder to focus on foreheads than it is to look in the eyes.
Bad Advice–Imagine Your Audience Naked
You have probably heard this advice: “Just imagine your audience naked.” This is the WORST advice; it actually might make eye contact more awkward! One speech coach said, “Depending on your audience, this is too exciting or too disgusting.” Although this piece of advice is designed to make you feel more at ease, but it doesn’t work. I do not know about you, but the thought of speaking to a room full of naked people does not make me feel relaxed.
Bad Advice– Stare at Random Spots Above Their Heads
Well-meaning teachers sometimes say, “Look at the back wall.” If you look over the person, you miss the person. Ask yourself, why is eye contact so frightening? Is it because there is a person connected to those eyes? Is it because if we look at the person, we have to acknowledge their existence? One nonverbal researcher says, “Eye contact makes interaction an obligation.”
When you make eye contact, you must recognize I am speaking to a real person with feelings, expectations, and dreams. If I make eye contact, I must realize a speech is an interaction and I have an obligation to that person. If I make eye contact, I become much more aware they expect something from me and I feel obligated not to waste their time.
The other reason this is bad advice is it makes you look odd, and you will lose credibility with the audience. It is a strange thing to talk to walls. If you are a speaker, it looks strange for you to look over the audience’s heads to stare at the wall. I guarantee the audience feels strange when you do it. Even in a large audience where you can’t make eye contact with everyone, you should at least find people throughout the room to look at.
Bad Advice– Follow the Eye Contact Formula
A lot of well-meaning advisors will say things like “Make eye contact for 3-5 seconds with each person” (the three-second rule) or “scan the audience from left to right” (the lighthouse technique) or “find three places in the room and look to those” (the umpire technique). The advice is not entirely bad, but the problem is it puts too much pressure on the speaker. If I am counting the seconds or working on the perfect eye contact pattern, then I am missing the point of being conversational.
Good Advice on Eye Contact
The most important advice I can give you on eye contact is to JUST DO IT. Find friendly faces around the room and look at them. Find those nice people who smile and nod and then begin looking at them in the room. Looking at them helps you gauge whether they are listening.
When speaking to a large audience, you may have to make audience contact instead of eye contact. Look at various areas where the audience members are seated to create the feeling that you are looking at them.
Benefits of Eye Contact
There are many benefits to making good eye contact. Communication researcher Steven Beebe conducted a study where he discovered an increase in eye contact increases a speaker’s perceived credibility. Other research suggests eye contact impacts focus memory, and recall. Eye contact helps the audience to see you as credible, and to remember your message more–what is not to love about that?
Watch the video, belowby Dananjaya Hettiarachchi and notice how he looks directly at audience members. It is obvious why he is the world champion.
Video source: Hettiarachchi, D. (2014, September 22). Dananjaya Hettiarachchi – World Champion of Public Speaking 2014 – Full speech [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/bbz2boNSeL0
Practical Tips for Maximizing Eye Contact
If you struggle with eye contact, at the top of every page of your notes write–“Make eye contact.”
Have your friends sit at various places throughout the room so you have a few friendly eyes you can talk to.
Practice with people. Sure, it is helpful to record yourself, to practice talking to a wall, and to speak to a mirror, but those are no substitutes for what happens when you speak to people. Find some friends and practice with them. Chris Anderson, of TED, says: “Perhaps the most important physical act onstage is making eye contact. Find five or six friendly-looking people in different parts of the audience and look them in the eye as you speak. Think of them as friends you haven’t seen in a year, whom you’re bringing up to date on your work.”
Increasingly, business presentations are being made in the online environment. The pandemic forced schools to use online learning tools where teachers give lectures online and students give presentations online. In addition, many businesses are conducting job interviews through virtual platforms. It is likely you will encounter an online speech and it is helpful to understand the unique differences. If you are making your presentations online, eye contact means looking into the camera. Draw a smiley face on a notecard and tape it beside your camera to remind you to look at your audience. It is tempting to try to make eye contact with the faces on your screen, and it is OK to look at the faces on the screen to remind you of your audience but spend the majority of your presentation time looking into the eyes of the camera.
It can be helpful to tape your notecards on a wall behind your computer or phone screen so you can glance at them briefly and then speak directly to your audience. Do not try to read your speech off your computer or phone screen; it will be obvious to the audience you are reading.
Cultural Note
Eye contact can vary from culture to culture and person to person. Just because an audience member looks away from you, it may not mean they are not interested. Consider the following differences.
In some cultures, it would be considered inappropriate to make eye contact with someone of different gender (or sex).
When in a high-power culture (a culture where those in power are given higher status and have deferential body language), you may notice those in lower status lower their eyes or avoid eye contact with those of higher status.
Arabs, Latin Americans, and Southern Europeans tend to make direct eye contact
Those from Asia and parts of Africa tend to make less eye contact.
Those on the Autism Spectrum may avoid eye contact to help them focus on the words you are saying.
“All you need is something to say, and a burning desire to say it… it doesn’t matter where your hands are.” Lou Holtz, former Arkansas Razorback football coach
Gestures
Isn’t it funny how we rarely notice what our hands are doing while we are talking? When we get up there to give a speech, suddenly we are aware of our hands, and we can’t figure out what to do with them. One of the frequently asked questions I hear is, “What do I do with my hands?” The short answer is to relax and gesture naturally. Vivian Buchan, author of Make Presentations with Confidence suggests, “The only place a gesture comes from is inside you. Gestures come from your heart and soul, your instincts, your interests, and your involvement.” She suggests focusing on your speech and your passion and the gestures will work themselves out. The more you practice your speech, the more you will feel confident gesturing.
“Great speakers keep their body open” according to Dananjaya Hettiarachchi, 2014 Toastmasters International world champion of public speaking. “Failing to make gestures or holding your hands tightly in front of you makes you look insecure. When you’re nervous, you try to cover your vital organs.” It is OK to feel nervous, the goal is to try and not look nervous. Public speaking instructor Cathy Hollingsworth offered this nugget of advice:
So many times, when speakers are telling a story to their friends in person or even via the phone, gestures are big and descriptive but when speakers get in front of an audience, all of sudden, arms and hands become appendages that have no apparent purpose. This is what I tell speakers: Use your gestures as “bodily visual aids”. Pretend you are in a situation in which there are no electronics to show slides nor is there a whiteboard. How will you get your ideas across to the audience? Easy! Just use your gesturing to take the audience along with you on the speech. Be brave enough to make those gestures big and at least shoulder high. This is not charades, but it is close.
Gestures help you look like a polished speaker. Vanessa Van Edwards did a study and found the top TED talk speakers made an average of 465 gestures in 18 minutes while the less popular speakers made 272 gestures. The top speakers gestured almost twice as much. Gestures not only increase a speaker’s credibility but speakers who gesture are seen as more persuasive and more likable. According to Vanessa van Edwards, “It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.” She found people rated speakers similarly on charisma, credibility, and intelligence whether they saw the speech with the sound on or off.
When speakers gesture, listeners are better able to learn the content. People who were instructed to gesture while learning new information, had better recall of information. That sounds like a good study tip!
It’s not just your audience that will be helped by your gestures, you will be helped as well. Did you know people who are born blind gesture in some of the same ways sighted individuals do? How do they know to gesture? Why do they gesture? They gesture because it seems to be something they are hardwired to do. They gesture because it seems to help the speaker to think and speak more clearly. I often have my students sit on their hands and then tell a story about their weekend or give directions to their favorite restaurant. It is amazing how many of them struggle to think of directions when they can’t move. It might be said you think with your hands. In a study where they asked children to talk about a game they played, those who gestured while speaking told more details and they spoke with fewer hesitations. The authors suggested gesturing reduces cognitive load. It is easier to hold up your hands and say “The fish I caught is this big” than it is to say, “the fish I caught was big. He was about 10 inches long.” Gestures give us a shortcut to speaking.
In addition, gestures beat out the rhythm of the speech. They help us synchronize our words to our speech. Typically, we speak in chunks of about four to five syllables called a phonemic clause. At the end of that chunk, we tend to gesture. Try it for yourself. I wrote the phrases as most people say them (phonemic clause). Say these phrases out loud and see what gestures you do naturally.
I don’t know where they are
I’ve looked everywhere
I simply cannot remember
where I put my keys.
They were right there table
last night.
Read it again. This time, notice you naturally gesture right before the last beat of the phrase. Gestures don’t come after the phrase, they come during the phrase. You can tell if someone has been speech coached poorly because they will gesture after the phrase. It looks unnatural.
They are good for the audience’s attention to your speech.
They are good for the audience’s recall of the speech.
They help you as a speaker to be more fluid in speaking.
They help to reduce your cognitive load.
They help you keep the rhythm in your speech.
With all this information, you know you should gesture throughout your speech. One way to loosen up and find your own gestures is what I call, “getting funky.” After you have your speech written, sing your speech, say it in a funny accent, or rap it while in the shower. As silly as this sounds, it will help relax you and in those funky practices, you will find you begin having more free-flowing gestures.
Students in Dale Carnegie classes often do the Box Factory activity to help them learn to use their whole bodies in their speech.
Dale Dunphy posted as part of a Dale Carnegie course, he had to tell a story of the Box Factory with enthusiasm and emphasize certain words. Other participants talked about the importance of telling the story with their whole bodies.
The Box Factory
I found myself yesterday near a huge box factory located on a high hill.
Running all around this building was a picket fence about this high.
I walked up to the factory, threw open the door, walked in, and found myself in a long hallway.
At the far end of the hallway was a spiral staircase.
I walked up this spiral staircase, pushed open a sliding door, and found myself in a big room piled high with boxes.
There were big boxes, middle-sized boxes, and very small boxes.
Suddenly, the boxes came tumbling down around my head!
I woke with a start, yawned, stretched, and went back to sleep.
As silly as activities like this one may seem, they help speakers to relax and to use their whole bodies in speeches.
What NOT to Do with Your Hands
Do NOT put both hands in your pockets.
Do NOT jingle keys or change in your pocket.
Do NOT hold hands clasped behind your back.
Do NOT fidget with your pen, necklace.
Do NOT tap or pound on the podium.
Do NOT rest your hands on the podium.
Do NOT wring hands.
Do NOT play with your hair.
Do NOT fidget with your clothing.
Do NOT pick your fingernails.
Do NOT fiddle with notecards.
Pro-Tip
When you feel yourself getting nervous, touch your index finger to your thumb, it is a self-soothing gesture
Advanced Gestures
Some of you are still working on relaxing enough to gesture. That is OK, it takes time and like any other skill, with practice, you will get better. Others of you have spoken long enough you are wanting to take your gestures to the next level, this section is for you.
Sabina Nawaz, speech coach recommends people “air out their armpits” when they gesture. That is her way of reminding people to make their gestures large and noticeable and to move their arms away from their torso. Dale Carnegie Trainer, Larry Prevot, says speakers who keep their arms too close to their body remind him of old westerns where the hero is tied up. The rope is around his chest and arms bound tightly, but below the elbow, his hands are free allowing him to finally escape, “Be that hero today. Remove the perceived constraints that are pinning your upper arms against your chest and start using everything at your disposal.” Darren Tay, Toastmaster’s World Champion, said in a Business Insider interview “It’s common for novice public speakers to have their gestures centered either too close to their face, which suggests nervousness, or too low, which is distracting. He said the ideal center is around the belly button.”
In addition to making the arm movements large, the next pro tip is to gesture palms up. Toastmaster Champion Hettiarachchi, suggests you look at the back of your hand and then look at the palm of your hand. Which one relaxes your eye? The palm relaxes your eye which is why great public speakers tend to open their palms towards the audience (video included in bonus features below). In the TED talk, Power in the Palm of Your Hand (video included in bonus features below), Allan Pease tells of a study where speakers had 20 minutes to present a proposal using palm-up gestures, palm down gestures, or pointing gestures. Here’s what he found: The palm-up speakers were described as laid back, friendly, humorous, and engaging. The speakers with the palm up gesture maintained 40% more retention than the speaker who used the palm-down gesture. The palms down speakers were described as authoritative, and the pointing speakers were described with negative adjectives.
How To Stop Shaking When You Are Nervous
In this video, How to Stop Shaking when You Are Nervous, Trace Dominguez explains how New York City Police and Members of the Military stop their hands from shaking when they have an adrenaline response. Tactical and box breathing can help you slow down your rapid heart rate and stimulate the vagus nerve. The slower and deeper you breathe, the more relaxed you feel. This technique is done by taking deep breaths through the nose.
How To Do Box Breathing:
Exhale all the breath out of your lungs.
Breathe in for four seconds. As your chest rises and air enters let your mind travel up the side of the box.
Hold for four seconds and in your mind travel across the top of the box.
Breathe out for four seconds and let your mind travel down one side of the box.
Relax for four seconds and let your mind travel across the bottom.
Repeat at least three times.
According to clinical psychologist, Dr. Symington, This visual of the box “provides a helpful anchor for your attention and quickly allows you to get into the flow of rhythmic breathing.”
Video source: Seeker. (2015, September 7). How to stop shaking when you’re nervous [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/yJhI0Du5jO4
Your Body Language
Our body language matters right from the start when we’re in front of an audience. Whether we’re pacing nervously or sitting quietly on our phones, people are watching and judging us. That’s why it’s crucial to appear confident from the moment we enter the room. How we behave every day affects how others see us. So, whether it’s sitting up straight or paying attention, our body language speaks volumes about our credibility.
Posture
Your body tells people how you wanted to be treated. Your body tells people what you want them to think of you. Confident posture tells your audience you believe you are a person of power, and you know what you are talking about. A confident posture shows your audience you are “comfortable in your own skin.” When people see someone with good posture and body confidence, they perceive them to have more positive attributes and to have increased competence and power. Your confident posture helps you as well, as Harvard Researcher Amy Cuddy points out, people who hold themselves confidently also feel confident. Individuals with a confident posture had more positive attitudes and were more persistent when engaging in a complex task.
To Move or Not to Move, That is the Question
In some situations, you are expected to stand behind a lectern and in other settings, you are standing there with nothing between you and the audience. You will have to adapt to various contexts in your speaking career. In most settings, it is recommended you put as few barriers between you and the audience as possible. When thinking about movement remember, you are a tree–plant your feet but move your branches naturally in the wind. Ok, you can be a tree that moves a little. When you do decide to walk around, make sure it looks purposeful and not nervous–there is a difference between engaged movement and pacing.
There is no one definitive way to do gestures. Each speaker’s unique personality comes out in their body movements. Being a good speaker is about learning to be comfortable in their own skin and learning their unique way of connecting with the audience.
Movement for Advanced Speakers
For more advanced speakers, it’s crucial to elevate your approach to movement. Some speakers adopt a strategic method, akin to a baseball diamond, to guide their movement throughout their speech. Picture a diamond on the floor: as you make each point, move sequentially to the corresponding “base.” This method culminates at home plate, signifying a return to your initial thesis, thereby reinforcing the connection between your ideas for the audience.
Cathy Hollingsworth emphasizes the importance of purposeful movement to engage your audience effectively. Instead of aimlessly pacing, integrate deliberate steps during transitions, pausing to engage with your audience before moving on to the next point or story.
An insightful strategy involves anchoring significant points by consistently positioning oneself in the same spot. By conditioning the audience to associate this location with pivotal ideas, the speaker effectively commands attention. Additionally, utilizing gestures like stomping or hopping can further emphasize key points.
Consider the distance and eye contact between you and your audience; proximity can enhance intimacy during personal stories, while stepping away from the podium can signify vulnerability. Ensuring your eyes are level with the audience fosters a sense of equality. Regardless of the approach, prioritize intentional and purposeful movement throughout your speech.
Enlist the Help of a Friend. Chances are you have some presentation area where you need work. Ask a friend to give you an honest assessment of what you do!
How To Dress for Your Speech
How should you dress for your speech? Well, it really depends. It hinges on factors like where you’ll be speaking, who your audience is, what you’ll be talking about, and the event itself. Kelly Stoetzel, who heads TED’s content, advises that the most important thing is to wear something that makes you feel confident. She even suggests that your clothing can create a connection with your audience before you even utter a word. Here are some simple pointers to keep in mind:
Match your attire to the context, topic, and purpose of your speech. For instance, wearing a lab coat might lend you credibility when speaking about your experience as a nurse’s assistant. Similarly, if you’re giving a speech on rappelling, dressing in hiking gear could be fitting. And yoga pants would be just right for a speech about sun salutation poses. It’s not about being gimmicky; it’s about choosing what’s appropriate for the subject.
Aim to dress slightly smarter than your audience. If your audience typically wears jeans and t-shirts, opt for nice pants and a collared shirt. Conversely, if you’re presenting to business professionals in suits, then wear a suit yourself. Striking this balance is key, as overdressing might make you seem untrustworthy, while dressing too casually could lead to not being taken seriously.
Dressing professionally can boost your confidence and make you feel more credible. As Martin McDermott puts it, “People elevate their behavior to match their attire.” So, dressing the part can help you exude confidence and engage in clearer thinking.
Avoid clothing and accessories that might distract from your message. If you’re not comfortable in high heels, it’s best to steer clear of them during your speech. Also, be mindful of noisy dress shoes or accessories like rings and necklaces that you might be tempted to fidget with.
Practice your speech while wearing your chosen outfit. This way, you can spot any potential issues, like straps that sag or a shirt that restricts your movements and address them beforehand.
Be mindful of sweat. Speaking in public can make you perspire more than usual, so choose clothing that minimizes the risk of sweat stains.
Consider the backdrop of your speech venue when selecting your outfit. If the background is black, for example, wearing all black might cause you to blend in too much.
Take into account the type of microphone you’ll be using. Lapel microphones, for instance, don’t pair well with floppy cardigans, and dangling earrings might cause interference with over-the-ear microphones. Always inquire about the microphone setup well in advance, so you can dress accordingly.
Lastly, always remember to check your fly before you take the stage!
Remember, as social psychologist Erving Goffman suggests, we’re all actors on a stage. We adopt different personas depending on the situation, and what we wear plays a part in that. So, think about the character you want to portray on your “front stage” and dress accordingly.
Thoughts Our Blotchy Friends
Many people get red blotches when they speak in public. Clothing choices can magnify the issue. A crisp white shirt next to a red neck highlights the issue, whereas a black shirt breaks up the red and doesn’t highlight it so much.
Of course, the best solution is not to get red. Easy to say, but not so easy to do, huh? Doing deep breathing before a speech, being well prepared, and caring about your speech topic all help. The biggest thing of all is to be aware of your triggers. You might get red when you get passionate, nervous, or are exposed to different fabrics, temperatures, or smells. For some of us, red happens. If red happens to you, it certainly doesn’t mean you avoid speaking.
If this is you, you can minimize it, and more importantly, when it happens, the audience can still enjoy your speech. If you get red, you are in good company. Dress to minimize it, breathe deeply, and focus on the message and your audience will too.
Key Takeaways
Public speaking is a skill and with practice, you can improve. Keep an open mindset.
Make eye contact with the audience being sure to look in different areas of the room.
Gestures should be natural. Gestures help both the speaker and the listeners.
Open palms and larger gestures can make you appear more approachable.
Use confident body posture, not just during your speech, but any time you are in sight of your audience.
Dress according to the context, speech topic, and audience. Typically, dress a little bit above your audience.
Extra Resources
Watch These Videos That Were Referenced in the Text
Video source: TEDx Talks. (2013, November 17). Body language, the power is in the palm of your hands – Allan Pease [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ZZZ7k8cMA-4
The Power of YET
Carol Dweck explains how “basic human abilities can be grown and how using “Yet” and “Not Yet” influences learning in different classroom settings. Whether you are teaching kids math or teaching yourself to improve as a public speaker, practicing a growth mindset will be crucial for your success.
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