How to Use Powerful Body Language When Presenting

More Intentional Movements Create More Impactful Presentations

When we present in public, we’re often struck by a mix of nerves and excitement. You can’t even tell the butterflies in your stomach apart – which are the happy, energised ones and which ones are telling you to run away right now before you make a big mistake.

(The fight or flight response is strong with this one…)

A large chunk of people who read my content online have seen me present in person. When it’s part of your job, unfortunately, the butterflies aren’t quite as thrilling before you step up to present. It’s often a little more ritualised, calmer.

But they never quite go away, and that’s important. Butterflies mean you’re doing something important, so you always want a touch of nerves, like the dash of salt that makes a meal.

There’s a lot of nuance to public speaking. And while most of us get caught up in our words, our tone, our pauses and points of emphasis – all essential elements – one part of public speaking that is simultaneously impactful and oft-neglected is our body language.

When you’re presenting, the aim is to engage with others. And, as we know, communication is hardly limited to the words we use. Body language is the most primal mode of connection we have. And if you use it well, you can elevate your presentations to a whole new level.

Here are a few things that can help you do that:

1.     Understand the space before you begin

Some presentations are made on stage with an audience. More often, though, they aren’t so flashy: At the front of a room, in a boardroom, somewhere in the swarm of people at a venue for your friend’s birthday.

It’s beneficial, if we’re going to look at how you use your physical space in a presentation, to know what that physical space looks like. Is a podium set up for you? Is the room quite small? What facilities will you be working with?

These will all influence what makes sense when we start thinking about body language and movement. You want to use the space you have.

The more you know before you start, the better. (Also, if there are lots of steps to get up onto the stage, heed my advice ladies: Choose the kitten heel.)

2.     Be intentional

A common mistake people make in presentations is thinking to themselves, “I need to make sure I don’t stay in the same spot the whole time”. Then, because they’re driven by nerves and probably haven’t thought too much about it, they end up pacing from one end of their stage to the other and back again.

When movements aren’t intentional, they come across confused, and often detract from your message. Remember, people are subconsciously absorbing your body language before your content: So if it’s not intentional, go with the safer option.

Of course, we all have natural baselines of body language that typically meld into our public speaking style. I gesticulate a lot, and sometimes I have to consciously tone myself down, so it doesn’t get too distracting. Understanding how you naturally move can be a helpful point of reference when you start designing your body language script for your presentation.

In a perfect world, your steps and gestures are thoughtful and intentional, so they add strength and power to your message.

3.     Think of the stage as a timeline

In Western languages, we read from left to right. Timelines typically begin from left to right. Graphs usually have a vertex in the lower-left corner.

We are used to associating left as the beginning, and right as the end.

For a stage, you can use this the same way. If you are standing in the middle of the stage, the audiences left side (your right) could be visually associated with ‘before’, ‘less’, ‘previously’, ‘lower’, etc. And the right side (your left) is the opposite, which we could potentially connect with ‘future’, ‘what happened next’, ‘more’, and so on.

If you are looking to use stage space, when you’re telling a story, use this timeline effect to elevate its power. Move to your right side of the stage when talking about a historical event, what something used to be like, or the beginning. And, as your timeline goes on in the story, reflect that by slowly making your way to the other side of the stage. This can also be satisfying visually to the audience because your body language aligns with your message. By the time you get to the right side of the stage, you’ll be talking about a vision for the future or the conclusion to the story.

You can use your gestures with the spatial timeline, too. If you’re referencing the past or an old view, gesture to your right (audience left). If you’re referencing a new take, gesture to your left.

You can also use the stage space in different ways. If you’re presenting two sides or perspectives on a topic, choose one side of the stage to represent each, and move towards the side you’re representing throughout.

By using your space to visually map out your message, the audience will find the presentation more engaging and easier to follow.

4.     Have a base spot

If you want to move around, it’s good to have a base spot – your default position. If there’s a podium, that’s the base spot. Otherwise, it might be next to your PowerPoint presentation if you’re making a pitch, or in the centre of the space if you’re giving a talk on stage.

For an audience, the consistency is comforting because they’re not trying to figure out where you’ll end up next, and when you do move around, it looks more intentional. I find that for me, having a base spot where I return after telling a story or making a point that takes me across the stage (or room!) makes it easier from the speaker’s perspective too. You’re more grounded that way.

In terms of picking your base spot, the centre of the space is most commanding and authoritative. That’s probably why most people giving ted talks and motivational speeches stand in the centre. A spot more to the left or right is, in my view, a little softer and more collaborative. I’d recommend the latter for, for example, a product presentation or whenever you have a visual aid in the centre. You’ll notice most lecture halls in universities are also set up this way. Depending on your intended outcome and the environment, choose your base spot thoughtfully.

5.     Stop for key points

If you’re sending your key message, the most powerful way to do that is standing without moving. If you’re pacing along the stage while presenting your key sentence, for example, it won’t be as powerful as if you stop. Actually, I think the most powerful is if you’re walking and then stop to make your key point. The jarring change will automatically make the audience pay attention, even before you’ve started on your key point.

The same works for pauses and punch lines in jokes (watch comedians! They all do it – some even kind of freeze when they get to a big punch line).

If you’re prepping, single out the most important lines in your talk, and ensure you plan to pause and stop when you’re making it. Where possible, standing in the centre is probably a good plan here.

6.     Use ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ gestures intentionally

A little experiment for you. Place both hands out in front of you; palms face down (or one, if you’re using the other hand to hold your phone right now). Keep your hands relaxed. Now, tighten them up, so your fingers are firmly together. You could be rehearsing for the Karate Kid. 

Keeping your hands firm and face down, gesture them downwards.

Now, loosen your hands – get them nice and floppy and face your palms upwards. Keeping them soft, gesture with them now, up and down.

What’s the difference here?

In presenting, it’s massive.

Studies have shown the likelihood of someone complying with your request differs depending on the kind of gesture you make. In one study, pointing towards where researchers were asking the participant to go resulted in the least compliance, followed by firm hands facing down. The most compliance came from a loose, open palm gesture. In other words, soft open palms are more welcoming and get more positive responses to requests.

Firm hands face down are the most commanding (next to directly pointing at something). When you present, gesturing with your hands firm and your palms down is a really intense emphasis. It’s quite serious, and can be quite cold.

 Sometimes you’ll want this effect. Save it for appropriate times.

Palms up with loose hands is the warmest, friendliest way to gesture. If you’re going more lighthearted, this is a better way to go. I would choose this as the default, because it invites the audience in. Think when Julie Andrews did the “queen wave” in the Princess Diaries, or when quiz show presenters gesture to the grand prize. Softer is better.

If you want to make a firmer point that’s still not as abrupt than firm hands face down, try open palm with a firm hand. This is good when making a concrete statement.

This is all much harder to write about than demonstrate in person, but I hope it makes sense. The main thing is to consider your gestures in terms of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’, ‘open palm’ and ‘palms down’, and try to match your gesture to the kind of emphasis you want to make.

7.     Design your baseline pose (and keep your hands above your hips)

Some people get up to present and naturally have floppy arms.

One of the main things I took away from the brief TV Presenting course I did years ago was to have a solid baseline pose. You’ll notice on TV that journalists almost without exception stand with their hands resting close to each other at about their bellybutton. This, I believe, was borne out of the most common camera shots used. It would be really weird if someone’s hands were cut off screen – that would feel intuitively off. Now that I’ve told you this, be prepared to notice the journalist pose on every news broadcast you watch for the rest of your life (sorry). 

The thing about hands is that they’re important. From an evolutionary theory level, one could argue that hands are an important demonstration of trust. If we were all cavemen grunting at each other, and I saw you with your hands behind your back, my first intuitive thought may be: What are you hiding? Do you have a knife behind your back?

Showing someone your hands demonstrates trust at a really primal level. Always keep them in view, unless it’s for dramatic effect (e.g. putting your hands in your pockets when trying to evoke a feeling of helplessness or apathy).

Consider this when you design a baseline pose for yourself. Stand up straight, keep your head up, and find a pose that works for you.

8.     Direct people’s attention – literally

Keeping control of an audience requires you to direct their attention. If you have visual aids, you want people to pay as much or as little attention to them as you determine.

If you want people to look at the screen, gesture to the screen. This sounds obvious, but we often assume people will look where we want when we want them to… and they don’t.

If you give your audience a handout or brochure (for example, in a sales presentation), know that the immediate instinct when someone is handed something is to look at it. Simply, don’t give it to them until you want them to go through it.

If they already have the brochure or handout because it’s a larger audience, you might even specifically direct them away from it, for example, “You all have a little booklet there. Just leave that to the side for the moment, because we’re going to check it out later.”

Body language is a great tool for controlling attention. Determine where you want people to look and when, and organise your body language accordingly.

9.     Keep the whole audience in mind

In public speaking, one must never play audience favourites. The urge will be there, and it is up to you to stop yourself from committing this heinous crime.

If you have a group of people spaced in different areas of the room, be careful that you don’t ‘disconnect’ from some by turning your back to face others. 

In sales presentations, or even just presentations where there are people in the audience you’re more familiar with, you might find yourself gravitating towards one part of the audience with your body language. That means your torso will start facing them more, your feet will face them, and on a subconscious level everyone will be feeling a little bit rejected by the speaker.

Instead, keep your torso loose and allow it to slowly pivot from one side of the audience to the other when you’re speaking while standing in your base spot. Try to avoid turning your back on anyone at all. Similar to the hands, the front of your torso is considered a ‘trust zone’ in evolutionary theory. If you’re exposing your torso, you’re presenting warmth and openness. This comes back to the idea that the torso is where many of our fragile, important organs live. So, if I’m exposing my torso to you, I’m trusting you to not shoot an arrow at it (or something like that). 

Also important not to play favourites with eye contact. 

Some people say you should focus on one person you know to feel less nervous, and if this makes a positive difference for you then go for it. But be aware of the impact it might have on others.

In small groups, I try to make eye contact with each person individually, slowly working my way across the room from one side to the other and back again – especially when making a key point. In larger groups, I like to go with the old ‘touch above the eyeline’. Direct your eyes slightly above the general audience eyeline and work the room that way. Focusing on one or a few people for too long again sends the subconscious message to the rest of the audience that they’re not as important. Try to keep it varied. This will get much easier with practice.

Don’t forget to blink!

10.  The basics

Of course, in all of this – be you. Be authentic, whatever that means to you. Sometimes you won’t follow the tips above, and that’s okay. These are simply ideas to take on board when styling your body language plan.

Be consistent, intentional and planned. And the great thing about presenting, like most things, is that the more you do it, the less uncomfortable it will become.

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