subject: How To Use Your Physiology To Speak With Confidence [print this page] Thorough preparation is key to providing worthwhile information to the audience and providing a logical reason to speak with confidence. However, public speaking is communication in action and to fully speak with confidence you need confident body language. According to studies your body language counts for 55% of the effective transmission of your information to your listeners.
When you feel confident your body language conveys confidence. It is important to understand that how you use your physiology affects how you feel. It follows that if you want to feel more confident you can achieve this by moving and acting confidently.
Your body language can support your confident delivery or undermine it. A speaker who is able to speak with confidence Has confident body language. And this also works in reverse where confident body language can help the speaker feel more confident and they can then speak with more confidence.
By using your physiology in a way that conveys confidence it is easier to win over your audience and you also feel more at ease.
When it is your time to speak walk with purpose to where you are to speak. When you have arrived there, take a positive posture - stand up straight with your feet slightly apart. This stance conveys confidence to the audience. Smile genuinely at the audience, it helps to break the ice with the audience and also helps you feel better. Pause and take a few deep breaths to help calm your nerves before you start to speak.
Look up and out at your audience. If instead you are looking down at the floor or your notes this will reinforce your nerves because this is a posture taken by people that feel nerves whereas looking up conveys confidence to yourself and your audience. At the beginning looking at the audience can be difficult, but force yourself to do it and you will probably find some supportive faces. And after awhile you will find that there was little to afraid of.
Gestures should be natural as you would use in conversation. Your gestures should not be small timid movements so no one can see. Think of up and out so the audience can see them and you will also feel more at ease. The gestures will help relieve any tension that may build up across your shoulders and arms.
In the same way, moving while you speak can help relieve tension and be used to help emphasize appoint. A few steps is all that is needed. Gestures and moving help to add visual interest to your speech while showing you are comfortable speaking.
It is important to note that an audience usually thinks you are more confident than you feel.
Your gestures, posture and movement can't take the place of thorough and careful preparation so you have a speech that is worthwhile. They will enhance the audience experience and help you feel more confident and play a big part in being able to speak with confidence. Your gestures and movement should be natural and be in line with your speech. Your posture should be open, straight and tall (but not rigid) to make you feel more at ease. By practicing your movement, gestures and facial expressions etc you can quickly gain more confidence and become a more effective speaker.
