Body Language In Communication

This was a presentation at toastmasters.

– When you meet someone for the first time, what is the body part that you notice first? Legs, eyes, hands, hair?
– Research tells us that there is only one body part that we focus on.
– There are many times that we may need to speak first.
– Ladies and Gentlemen, let your body speak.
– Last two years Vanessa van Ewards researched all of the TED talks. The average talk has 124,000 views and 272 hand gestures. Most views 7.4 views and 465 hand gestures.
– Why is this? Body language strongly influences the impact we have.
– 5 Common Body Language Mistakes:
– Visual distractions
– Some will be pacing, no eye contact, playing with their hair. They do it subconsciously. They should record themselves and view it over and over again. Videotape your speech next time.
– Pointing. It is a very aggressive hand gesture. When she points to someone in the audience and says to come and sit here while pointing vs. using open hand gestures. One is inviting and the other is aggressive. For example, last year a speaker was pointing at someone that was a little large in size and it made her feel subconscious of herself.
– Keep objects out of your hands
– The object was so distracting, the speaker was not understood.
– Avoid eye contact. When you have eye contact, the unknown becomes known.
– Keep it real
– Some speakers use huge hand gestures. Your hand gestures should match your content. Your hand gestures should engage the audience.
– 5 main body languages
– Posture When someone doesn’t have good posture, you won’t know the power of the speech. When you are relaxed tilt your head. When you want a powerful statement, use power poses. Use a wonder woman pose. Try this for two minutes before your speech. Your testosterone will increase by 20% and cortisol will decrease 25%. That is the stress hormone.
– Body language. When you want to make a point take a step forward. When finished take a step back
– Facial expressions: Guess these facial expressions. Happy, Anger, Surprise, Fear, Contempt, Sad
– Body gestures. Eye Contact. Make sure you have eye contact with all of the audience. Otherwise, they will feel neglected.
– How to rock your next presentation. 5 different gestures
– Steeple shows wisdom and experts. Don’t use it all of the time. We want to learn about you. Use occasionally. Eye-brow raise – It means you have something important to say.
– Open Palm Gesture – The body part we look at first is the hands. In caveman days when someone meets with hands behind their back, they have something to hide. Open palm gestures shown by Oprah show nothing to hide.
– Dual – If you have two different things to talk about, you can use open hand gestures. It makes your audience understand your story better.
– Emotional – put your hand on your heart and say, it means a lot to me. Make an emotional statement.
– Listing – Any numbers less than 5 use your hand to count.
– Grown – Show size with hands. You – Don’t use pointing when referring to others. Use a clasped hand. Small, Medium, Large – Your gestures should emphasize your point, but not distract from your speech.