Your Body Will Speak for You

When you are standing in front of an audience, think about your feet.

Yes, your feet.

Whenever you forget about your feet, your legs and your arms, they will start to speak for you. And sometimes they will say some weird things.

Some of the things they will say will include:

I forgot what I was going to say.

I'm nervous.

What am I going to say now?

I forgot to pee!

Just as often, they won't say anything, but start to move out of habit. If you find your feet are randomly roaming around the stage, stop. Lookup and orient yourself with your audience. Make eye contact. If your arms seem to be using the same repetitive gesture time and time again, take control. Exaggerate a specific gesture. Open your arms as wide as possible to describe a large object; or pinch your fingers together and squint your eyes to look through the tiny gap to show a small item.

Speaking of eyes, they too will speak for you. If you stare off into the background, or keep looking at the ground, you may give your audience of being disconnected from them. Look at them. They're humans and need your attention. Give it to them.

Then double check that your feet are where you want them to be, and not moving to somewhere else.