Use Body Language to Triple the Impact of Your Presentations
Learn how to look professional and gain trust and credibility every time you present
Want to ruin your career? Then, deliver a presentation so bad that everyone in the office hears about it within thirty minutes. And believe me, I’ve seen this happen, and it’s not pretty.
In one instance, my colleague’s presentation damaged his reputation so much that I heard people question his competence, and a few months later, he was made redundant. Coincidence? Maybe, but probably not.
That’s how essential presentation skills are in corporate or business. One messed-up presentation could be the difference between career success or career oblivion.
The good news is that delivering engaging presentations can be learned bit by bit. There are many pieces to the presentation skills puzzle. Preparation, your voice, your content, and your presentation materials are all important.
But today, we’re talking about body language. The way you stand, move, and gesture speaks volumes to your audience, even when you aren’t saying a word. If you want to leave a lasting, positive impression on your audience, your body language must reinforce your professional credibility, not diminish it.
In my decades as a Learning and Development professional, I’ve helped many people hone their presentation skills in Train-the-Trainer courses and while training nervous subject matter experts to deliver large-scale training programs.
Using body language to improve your presentation skills is something anyone can learn.
In this article we’re going to cover:
Posture
Your use of the space in the room
Eye contact
Gestures
Facial expressions
If you want to put what you’ve learned into practice, simply video yourself doing a presentation, and download the checklist at the end of the article to see where you excel and where you need to improve.
1. Ignoring the importance of body language is like ignoring that we are human beings
If you are still wondering what all the fuss is about, remember that studies show that nonverbal communications account for 55% of the impact of personal interaction, while your tone counts for 38% and what you say counts for a tiny 7%.
Though this research was done a long time ago and in different conditions to a workplace presentation, it still indicates how our body language dramatically impacts the impression we create.
We humans are experts at picking up body language. When your best friend says she’s fine but slumps in her chair and looks like she’s about to burst into tears, you know she isn’t OK, never mind the message her words tell you. Sometimes the signs are more subtle, and we don’t know how we know there’s something wrong, we just do.
At work, this means that how you use your body during presentations affects your credibility, which in turn affects how your audience receives your message.
Appearing professional is even more important if you don’t know your audience. Sure, one poor presentation to colleagues you’ve worked with for years and who like and respect you could be attributed to an off day. But if it’s an important meeting or pitch to influential people who don’t know you well, that’s another story.
People will decide very quickly what they think of you based on their unconscious biases, stereotypes, and a quick up-and-down scan when they initially see you.
Harsh, but true.
This played out at a party where we caught up with a family friend in academia who is a genius-level physicist. When we got home, my daughter said, “I thought that physics guy was going to be there.” When I told her who he was, she said, “Him? That scruffy guy? I thought he was a pizza delivery guy or something.”
Appearance matters, so make sure your hair, facial hair, clothes, hands, and fingernails are clean and tidy. This should go without saying, but I bet you’ve been to more than one meeting where the presenter looked like they’d just fallen out of bed, complete with their breakfast decorating their shirt front.
You don’t need to look like a fashion model, but you do need to look professional. And, depending on your industry, ‘professional’ can vary, so look around and see what the people senior to you are wearing to get an idea of what is acceptable.
If you are the only one with big earrings and jangly bracelets — I’m talking about the 1990s version of me here—you might want to rethink your work jewelry.
Yes, it’s cringe, and we should be judged on our work, not how we look, but if you want to climb the ladder, you have to play the game. Your choice.
2. Excellent posture leads to a 100% better first impression
How often did your teachers or your mum tell you to stand up straight? There’s a reason for that. Your posture is a powerful indicator of your confidence.
Standing tall, with your shoulders held back, makes you look confident. Imagine there is a string attached to the top of your head, pulling you up. That’s what standing up straight looks like.
Slouching, crossing your arms, and not facing your audience head-on make you look closed, wary, and a bit shifty!
I discovered the importance of posture early on. As a working-class girl attending a posh Grammar school in the 1970s, ‘deportment’ wasn’t a word I was familiar with. Nonetheless, at the end of the first term, Deportment Girdles (sashes in your house color, worn around the waist) were handed out to the girls with good posture.
Those Deportment Girdles were handed out in the first term of the first year and never again. I didn’t even know I was being judged.
First impressions matter. You’re in the spotlight, so make sure your posture enhances your first impression.
Another way of using your body to gain your audience's confidence is to use the space in the room strategically. Own the space by taking the room you need. Take the head of the table or a spot where you can easily make eye contact with everyone. Move the furniture around if necessary.
Make sure you use the whole room and move around as and when you need to. In a presentation, varying your position in the room ensures you retain your audience's attention.
Usually, I get this right. I check out the room, move the furniture and manage where the audience sits. One time I got it wrong was at conference where I was introducing the speakers. Instead of hopping onto the stage to do the introductions, I wandered around the audience as I would in a presentation. Only afterward did I realize that I hadn’t read the room and had acted inappropriately.
I diminished my credibility by not standing on the stage where the speakers were. Always use the room to enhance your credibility, and what that looks like may vary.
3. Appropriate eye contact is the difference between being seen as trustworthy or shifty
Getting eye contact right in a presentation is crucial. Have you ever met someone who doesn't look you in the eye or stares at you for too long? I have, and I don't like it.
I've been in meetings where the presenter looked at their notes and ignored the audience. It was probably nerves, but if you don't make contact with the people in your presentation, they'll wonder why they are in the presentation rather than reading the notes for themselves at their desks.
Too little eye contact will make you look disinterested, while too much can seem intimidating. To get a balance, glance around the room at the audience, making sure you include everyone. Hold your glance with each person for a couple of seconds before moving to the next.
This way, you can connect with your audience without making them uncomfortable.
It takes practice because glancing around can feel false, but it makes your audience feel included. Once, I presented to an audience of around a hundred, and many commented afterwards that I looked right at them. They didn’t know that the stage spotlights had blinded me and all I could see was darkness.
Practice makes perfect, so even if you feel daft, practice your eye contact.
And never, ever wear sunglasses when you are presenting inside without having a medical reason to do so. It’s weird. And yes, I've seen this.
4. Use your hands to look like a trusted professional
Presenters are in the spotlight, and one thing that can enhance or damage a presentation is hand gestures. Controlled, open-palmed gestures signal that you are confident and in control. Mad hand waving doesn't.
We are often unaware of what we do with our bodies, and people I've coached have been shocked to discover that they continually rock, touch their faces, sniff, fidget with their hair, or scratch.
In a presentation, your audience will notice your movements more than your message. To appear calm and confident, you need to control both your stance and your gestures. If you are a hand waver, tone it down.
I can be a hand waver, so I’ve learned to hold something like a folder or a pen. It’s a physical reminder to be careful around what my hands are doing. At the beginning of my career, I was a bit of a pointer, too, and people really don’t like being pointed at, so I had to knock that on the head quick smart.
Be aware that hand gestures such as the thumbs-up sign or the OK sign have different meanings in different cultures, and some of them are sexual in nature. And no, I’m not going to elaborate. Finding myself writing the word ‘sexual’ in an article about presentations skills is scary enough.
One trainer I worked with had the habit of snapping his fingers at his trainees. They complained, and I had to explain to him that it offended his audience. He was unaware he’d caused offence as, in his culture, it was acceptable.
So, limit your hand gestures to open palms, and avoid pointing, finger snapping, and hand signals.
5. People are hard wired to read expressions - make sure your face is giving the right signals
Your facial expressions affect how people perceive you and significantly impact how your presentation is received. If you have resting bitch face and people regularly tell you that you look grumpy, tired, or annoyed, you might want to practice a few more positive expressions.
I have the opposite issue, as my face reflects my feelings without my consent. It just does it. I’d be terrible at poker and have had to tone down my facial expressions in presentations.
A genuine, friendly smile will make your audience feel at ease and set a positive tone. But make sure that your facial expression matches the content of the presentation. If you smile while delivering negative information, it will give a mixed message and confuse your audience.
And take care to mirror the expressions of your audience. For example, if someone is relating their workplace difficulties, use your expression to show empathy.
Finally, always make sure that your expressions match your tone; otherwise, your audience will not know which message is the correct one.
Takeaways
Excellent presentation skills are a must for anyone in business, and using body language to enhance your presentation will give you an advantage.
Whether we like it or not, people judge us by how we look, what we say, and how we say it, usually based on unconscious bias, culture, and upbringing. Rarely do we base first impressions on fact.
But the best part is, you can learn. Even though I was scared, I learned to present, and I’ve also helped many other people learn.
Remember, it’s not an overnight transformation from novice to outstanding presenter. It takes time, but a 1% improvement every time you present will soon add up.
Action point:
Use your phone to video yourself delivering a presentation and check out your:
Posture
Eye contact
Hand movements
Facial expressions
Use of space in the room
Download this checklist to help you:
Thanks for reading, I’ll talk to you next week and if you have any questions or other issues with presentations, just pop them in the comments :-)
If you found this newsletter helpful, please share or click the 💓button and it will get my work out to help more people.
Fantastic article!!! Love the practical advice and insight! It’s very hard to master and it takes time and lots of practice! For me the hardest part was always maintaining eye 👁️ contact.