Your physical gestures, movements, vocal expressiveness and body language add more force, credibility and interest to your speech. They breathe life into it.



Here are some tips to breathe life into your public speaking.

Appearance

A speaker's appearance is important. It is your ideas that you want to promote, so avoid any eccentricities that could detract from them. Ordinary clothing of good quality and properly adjusted will make the right impression.

Posture

Confidence is best expressed by standing straight and tall. Stand firmly on both feet and distribute the weight of your body evenly. Holding on to a chair or leaning on a table can give the impression of laziness and/or nervousness.

Facial Expressions

The facial expressions used should be a natural expression of your personality and by relaxing your face you will naturally show meaning. There is a tendency to look down when starting out to avoid eye contact at all costs but this demonstrates a lack of confidence. Look out at your audience and you will find a few friendly faces that you can make eye contact with. Smile, it will help you relax. Smiling is contagious and helps the audience to like you. Movement

Move when it is natural for you to move, for example when you are making a point. But do not move excessively from side to side as this can distract the audience. Move with a purpose and you will hold the audience's attention.

Gestures

It is natural for speakers to gesture when speaking as it is in day to day conversation. If you avoid gestures your delivery becomes boring. The gestures to use are those that are a natural expression of you.

However, hands can be difficult to control. Some "natural" gestures can be the result of nerves and can drive your audience to distraction. Some gestures to avoid are touching your nose, pulling your lip or fidgeting. When you are not using your hands to gesture - clasp them gently across your stomach but available to be used.

Voice

Your voice is a wonderfully expressive instrument but through neglect it can repel your listeners - if you have a strident tone it will irritate them or you might put them to sleep if your voice is dull and monotonous. By keeping your voice flexible by changing the volume, pitch and tempo it will convey meaning and keep the audience interested. For example by changing the pace of your speaking you show enthusiasm by speeding up and by slowing down emphasize a point.

If you stand still and speak in a monotone your audience will stop listening. By incorporating your natural self into your speech and avoiding bad habits your audience will be more interested and enjoy it more. They will thank you for it.