The vice-presidential debate between Ohio senator J.D. Vance and Minnesota governor Tim Walz earlier this week produced the expected flood of post-mortem analyses of the candidates’ statements and positions on political issues. It also produced a spate of post-mortem analyses of their delivery styles from body language experts on Fox News, Newsmax, Dr. Phil, Politico, the New York Post, and the Daily Mail. Coincidentally, all this was just in time for today’s National Body Language Day, an annual day intended to raise awareness of “the power of body language as an important form of communication.”
Vance and Walz were prepared by armies of political consultants and coaches far beyond the means of ordinary businesspeople. So, let’s provide you with a simple primer to optimize your delivery for when you present to your mission critical audiences.
Erect Posture.
Remember what your mother always told you: “Stand up straight!” To implement this when you present standing, distribute your weight evenly on both feet.
When you present seated, especially in virtual meetings, plant both feet on the floor and lean forward slightly. That stable balance will not only keep you from shifting from side-to-side, but it will also make you appear confident.
Top off that solid base by keeping your chin up. That simple focus will produce a secondary benefit of raising your chest, which, in turn, expands your lungs and gives you more oxygen—a valuable asset when you are in the stressful mode of trying to persuade any audience to do your bidding.
Do not choreograph your gestures.
In the early days of my coaching career, I instructed participants to make specific gestures with their hands and arms. But because everyone is different, all the gestures felt unnatural to all of them. They also gave everyone more to think about. Nevertheless, I coaxed and cajoled until all the participants tried all the gestures, only to make them feel even worse because they all felt forced and looked awkward. Instead, do what comes naturally, do what most people naturally do with their hands in conversation: gesture to illustrate.
However, there is one gesture I will recommend for every presentation whether standing or seated, virtual or in-person. And if I recommend only one, it had better be an important one.
The Power Gesture.
Whenever you step up to the front of the room, you create a gap between yourself and your audience. As a communicator, your job is to close the gap. Do it by extending your arm. Take the suggestion of the once famous AT&T advertising slogan: “Reach out and touch someone.”
ReachOut in presentations. When you ReachOut, you replicate a handshake, the universal symbol of human communication. The origin of the handshake can be traced back to a marble slab known as a stele found in Athens and dated around 410 B.C.E.
In relief, the stele shows two warriors wearing helmets and shields, locking hands. Although there is no written evidence about the meaning of the gesture, the right hand was clearly the weapon hand. In social exchanges, when the hand was extended and empty, it was an indication that a person was unarmed. The open hand signaled “I come in peace.” When both parties grasp each other’s hands, it signals “We come in peace.”
Two and a half millennia of practice has embedded that same signal in our modern culture, and we are all conditioned to respond positively—and reflexively—to the handshake.
So, whenever you present, ReachOut.
Whether you adopt these three simple techniques or have access to the resources that Walz and Vance had, keep in mind that the presenter is only the messenger. Of equal, if not greater importance, is the message you deliver. If you want to persuade your audience, you must deliver a message that is meaningful to them. As our graphic indicates, reach out to your audience.