Actions Speak Louder Than Words

You’ve written your speech, memorized it, and practiced it a hundred times in front of the mirror. Now that you have the words internalized, let’s turn our attention to the tool that you can best engage the audience with: your whole body.

The human body contains over 700 muscles, the face has nearly 100! By using our very expressive face and body we convey the meaning, intent, even our knowledge of the topic that we are speaking about. Yet, even some of the best speakers appear to lock themselves to the podium only moving as much as is necessary to get the words out of their mouths.

There has been overwhelming evidence proving that what we mean to say is expressed in the way we move our bodies. Many speakers focus on finding the precise wording (which is important) so their audience will understand exactly what they mean. But as the adage goes: It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that’s most important.

Your audience is watching, as well as listening to what you’re saying! Audiences read the non-verbal messages we send with our bodies whether they are conscious of it or not, people are more adept at reading physical cues than you may know. When giving a speech we imply sincerity, enthusiasm, and awareness with our hands, face, and body movements. We always want to support our words with our bodies, so that we can truly inform, motivate, entertain and/or inspire our listeners.

Here’s how you can incorporate gestures into your speeches:

• Make Eye Contact – Knowing your topic will make you comfortable in doing this. When someone looks into your eyes when they tell you how they feel or what they think, you are more likely to believe that they mean what they say. Scan your audience throughout the speech, meeting people’s attention so that you talk directly to people who are listening for several seconds at a time before moving on.

• Create Gesture Opportunities – When you’re writing a speech, it’s possible to create “gesture moments” incorporated into it. By using phrases like “On the one hand … On the other hand” you have created a vocal cue to move your hands that your body will follow naturally. Add a story to your speech and look for a part of the story that can be acted out, for example: perhaps the story is about a fishing trip, maybe then you could add a casting motion into it.

• Stance and Posture – Be careful not to muddy your movements. Excessive movement is a major distraction! So, find a comfortable neutral position that your movements can come from and return to naturally. Pacing back and forth or shifting your weight from left to right conveys a message also, so make sure the message you are sending coincides with what you’ve come to speak about.

• Express with Facial Expressions – With 100 muscles, the face is your strongest weapon in getting your message across. There are expressions that help make your audience more comfortable, like smiles, and pleasant faces. Much of our meaning is perceived through our faces, consequently there are expressions to avoid as well, like frowns and furrowed brows. A smile is a powerful gesture, our eyes, as well as our mouths, smile. A Smile is an influential instrument in commerce; it makes you more accessible and available to do business with.

• Hand Movements Start at the Shoulder – When moving your arms be wary of locking your elbow in at your side. These are considered “half-hearted” gestures and should be avoided. Also, limit unnecessary postures like, crossing your arms, or tapping a pen. Consider the size of your audience, the smaller the audience, the smaller your arm movements can be and still be effective.

Our mind is perceptive of body language; the subconscious picks up signs of anyone not being genuine. Audiences perceive and understand the message based on their previous experience. When a person’s words don’t match their body language it is counter intuitive and confuses the interpretation process. This is why it is important for a speaker to express messages effectively through the correct use of words and gestures.

There are many great speakers that will give you gesturing ideas, the best movements though, are the ones that come easily and make sense to you. Respond to your speech as naturally as you can, be aware of the intent of your message, and move accordingly. When doing your research on movement, watch past speeches, make a list of the gestures that surprise you, or move you, or that are obviously distracting to you. Implement what you find is successful into your speech for a greater delivery. With a little practice you’ll be engaging your audience with gestures in no time!

“Words represent your intellect. The sound, gesture and movement represent your feelings.”
-Patricia Fripp, Award Winning Speaker

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