Body Language Speech

Emphatic Gestures

underscore strong emotion such as earnestness and conviction. Placing your hand on your heart in many cultures communicates a powerful belief in your message.

Gestures

· A speaker's gestures can suggest very precise meaning to an audience. To be effective, a speaker's gestures must be purposeful—even when they are performed unconsciously. Unconscious movement is unintentional, often a habit or a natural expression of the speaker's personality. Whether the movement is intentional or unintentional, gestures must support a speaker's words, as well as the meaning behind the message.

Tips for making eye contact

· As you deliver your speech: · Make eye contact with audience members before you begin. · Begin your speech by selecting one person and addressing him or her personally. · Hold eye contact for three to five seconds, roughly the time required to complete a sentence or share one thought. Keep your eyes up and shift your gaze to another person

Your body language is the "Non-verbal" communication you send out with your

· Posture · Movement · Gestures · Eye contact · and facial expressions

Intentional Movment

· Taking a step forward helps emphasize a point. · Moving a few steps back creates a distance that may help your audience process information. · Making a lateral movement can help emphasize a transition in your speech. · Standing in front or to the side of the lectern makes you appear more open to the audience. · Combining stillness with a verbal pause can add drama or intrigue.

Facial Expressions

· When used effectively, facial expressions can enhance your message. One of the biggest challenges for many speakers is relaxing their expression enough to communicate well when they are nervous. When anxiety is an issue, concentrate on what you can control. Practice facial expressions in front of a mirror or on video just like you would other forms of body language. Smile as you approach the lectern. Use your expression to communicate surprise, demonstrate appreciation, or show disagreement during your speech. As with most components of a public speaking, practice will help you use your facial expressions to your greatest benefit

Proper posture helps you:

· breathe well · effectively project your voice. · Proper posture includes head held high with chin up slightly, back straight, shoulders squared, chest out, and stomach in.

Hook

So, what we see in another human being directly affects how we feel about what the other person is saying. Part of story telling is captivating your listeners. This is the ultimate goal as a public speaker, to captivate your audience and keep them hanging on your every word. To make them feel every word and physical gesture you are communicating as if they were living it themselves in the moment.

Suggestive Gestures

symbols of thoughts and emotions. An open palm can suggest giving or receiving ideas or a tangible item

Descriptive Gestures

indicate position, location, or anything tactical. For instance, use your hands to specify a number of objects.

Mirror Neurons

Body language speaks to us on a deep psychological Level. Deep within the confines of our brains, we have Mirror neurons. A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when a human acts, and when a human observes the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting. Mirror neurons allow us to identify the emotions and mood of others and predict their behavior. ... Mirror neurons allow us to empathize with someone.

Intro

Have you ever tried to communicate an important message to someone and you felt like your delivery lacked an impact on your listener? If so, Maybe adding some body language would help you connect to your listener on a deeper level.

There are four types of effective gestures

Descriptive Gestures Emphatic Gestures Suggestive gestures Prompting Gestures

Facial Expressions Research

Facial expressions are the voluntary and involuntary movements that occur when one or more of the 43 facial muscles on the face are engaged. They are a rich source of non-verbal communication and display a vast amount of emotional and cognitive information. According to the research of psychologist Dr. Paul Ekman, there are seven different emotions which can be conveyed through facial expressions. Happiness, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Anger, Contempt and Surprise. (do all of the faces close in the screen) His research was conducted internationally across many different cultures, and found they were innate, and universally represented, not culturally learned. So, conveying these facial expressions will be understood by any audience no matter where you speak around the world

Posture

How you carry yourself when you speak communicates a strong visual message to an audience. Your posture reflects your attitude and your level of confidence. Without making any changes to your speech content, you can communicate that you are alert and in command of yourself and the speaking situation.

Movement

If you are physically able, movement adds energy and variety to your presentation and helps you appear confident. Changing your position or location by stepping out from behind the lectern during a speech is the most visible kind of physical action you can perform. While constant motion, such as swaying or pacing, is a distraction that can detract from your message and annoy your audience, there are types of intentional movement that can be meaningful and support your presentation:

Bullet points of Body Language Speech speech

Intro, Mirror Neurons, Hook, List of Non Verbals, Posture, Movement, Gestures, Ineffective Gestures, Eye contact, Facial expressions, Conclusion.

Eye Contact

Making effective eye contact means focusing on individual listeners and creating a connection. Recognize that some audience members may be less comfortable with eye contact than others. Be sensitive by briefly making eye contact before moving on to another person. Brief eye contact acknowledges the individual without making him uncomfortable.

Prompting Gestures

Prompting gestures evoke responses from an audience. When asking for a show of hands to answer a question, raise your hand to encourage audience members to contribute feedback.

Ineffective Gestures

Some unintentional gestures send the wrong message to an audience. You may inadvertently communicate anxiety, frustration, or other discomfort when you present by exhibiting any of the following gestures: · Gripping the lectern · Clutching an object such as a pen or notes · Fidgeting with clothing or accessories · Tapping your fingers · Biting or licking your lips

Conclusion

The need to communicate our stories and share of ourselves is part of the human condition. We strive to express who we are in the world and leave a legacy behind that people will remember us by. We want to share of our experiences and teach the world through our perspective in order to connect with it and leave it in a better shape than how we found it. I encourage you to be cognizant of these facets of body language and perhaps utilize them to your advantage when sharing your message to the world. Thank you.