“What Do I Do with My Hands?”

Gestures, the hand and arm movements you make while speaking, reinforce your words and convey, non-verbally, your feelings. Gestures help both you and your audience relax, comprehend and remember your content. If you feel confident while speaking, you will most likely gesture naturally, with few distracting gestures. In this article, learn the top 4 tips […]

Speaking Tips from TEDTalk #7: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are (Amy Cuddy)

Video and transcript here The Big Idea:  Amy Cuddy shares how “power posing,” standing or sitting in a posture of confidence, even when you don’t feel confident, can affect testosterone (dominance hormone) and cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body, causing you to feel and be perceived as more confident.  It’s not “fake it till […]

Speak with Confidence: Stand and Move with Power and Purpose

I could tell they were all nervous. Julia’s hands shook.  Justin kept his left hand in his pocket.  Darcy flailed her hands. As each student came up to give their first speech in my class, their body language, and especially their hands telegraphed their speech jitters. Hand in pocket Clasped hands Flailing hands Fig leaf […]

Be an Audience Magnet with One Simple Act

Do you want to be a people-magnet when you speak? Did you know there is one thing that you can do that will increase your trust-level, likeability, perceived confidence (and competence) and your attractiveness? That one thing is to smile–your genuine smile! Smiling can reduce the levels of stress hormones and increase the levels of […]