Body Language counts. Believe it. As a presenter you may never have another chance to make a first good impression. Whether you are presenting a proposal, making a sale or getting support for a project, you want to make an immediate positive connection with your audience members. That connection depends on your communication and presentation skills, and these skills include body language.
We can close our mouth and stop talking, but our body language is always on sending silent signals through our body movements, our posture, our hand gestures and facial expressions. In a nutshell, whenever we are in the presence of others, it’s impossible for us not to communicate something. Our non-verbal ‘talk’ impacts how others see us, how they hear us, and decide whether or not to believe what we say and accept what we have to offer. Believe it. Body Language counts.
Let’s look at it this way, if you are, or ever have been in any relationship, I’ll bet you’ve been on the receiving end of that old saying, ‘actions speak louder than words’. Whether it was their ’look’ or their ‘gesture’, you didn’t need words to understand what the other person meant.
In the same way, what we do or don’t do as presenters often has a greater impact on our listeners, than what we actually say. Believe it. Body Language counts.
Now don’t get your ‘speaker’ knickers in a knot. No one is asking you to be lively, animated or dramatic when that’s not your personality, or to stop hanging from the rafters if that’s your style. Effective body language is not about style; it’s about being in sync with the words that come out of your mouth.
What really makes me chew my gums is when I hear a speaker say one thing and then see their body language do the opposite. For example, saying something like “I’m really happy to be here today,” and then not looking at their audience because they are too busy fussing with their notes or checking their equipment. Or not making regular and sustained eye contact with the people sitting in front of them. As a presenter why bother using words such as ‘we, our, everyone here, all of us….’ when you’re not even looking at your audience and bringing them into the picture?
We know from our own experiences when words and actions don’t match, when what we see and hear is out of kilter that we, consciously or unconsciously, believe the silent signals of non-verbal communication. So, can body language make or break a presentation? It’s possible. Through our words we deliver what we know, the knowledge we have. However, it is through our body language we demonstrate our confidence, our credibility and the conviction we have in our product or service.
The Scottish poet Robert Burns said it best. “O wad some power the giftie gie us to see oursls as others see us.” Believe it. Body language counts.