Body language decoded

Mumbai: In order to establish a genuine connection, convince, impress and stand-out while public speaking and presentation, it is vital that students and young professionals project a positive body language.In order to establish a genuine connection, convince, impress and stand-out while public speaking and presentation, it is vital that students and young professionals project a positive body language.

Smile:

Arguably the most underrated facet of a positive body language, also often misconstrued as being unprofessional; a smile is absolutely essential when interacting in a public environment. Not only does it positively predispose the person with whom the interaction is taking place, it also humanizes the speaker. Always remember to smile. Not smiling can come across as arrogant and/or sullen, neither does any favours!

Posture:

While standing or sitting, it is essential to maintain a firm yet relaxed stance and posture. Being too casual, which leads to slouching and hunching, sends a signal that you are not serious, not invested, and not interested. Stand straight, and sit upright.

Hand and gestures:

A lot of us, especially when delivering speeches, tend to freeze up like robots behind the podium on stage. Just as we would naturally and instinctively use hand gestures while talking to friends in a regular conversation, it helps to do the same in a public speaking scenario too.

It has multiple benefits. First, it helps us pace our speech in a more relaxed, natural manner, without even realising it. Second, it helps us make and demonstrate our point better. Third, it makes the speech seem conversational.

Eye line division:

If we are in conversation with a single or a couple of people, like in an interview or at a networking event, we must make it a point to maintain eye-contact with the people we are in conversation with. It is a sign of confidence, involvement, and engagement. Not making eye contact has the danger of being perceived as a lack of confidence.

In a larger public address situation, where one is addressing an audience from stage, it is equally important to give the impression that one is looking directly at every individual of the listening audience. This can be achieved by a simple eye-line-division technique where you mentally divide the audience into three quadrants – stage left, stage centre, and stage right.

And through your speech, intermittently change the direction of your gaze to each quadrant. By looking in one general direction, it creates the illusion that everyone in that quadrant is being directly addressed. The audience feels involved, individually addressed and therefore stays more engaged.

*Disclaimer: This article has been contributed by Kartik Bajoria, Writer, Educator, Moderator. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Deccan Chronicle, and Deccan Chronicle does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.