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Over forty years ago, Dr. Albert Mehrabian, professor of psychology at UCLA, began a life-long study of certain keys for effective human communication. He discovered there are three components involved in human communication, and each one has a certain impact on the believability of the message being shared. Put another way, people --either consciously or unconsciously– weigh three different factors when they are trying to decide whether to trust what you are saying ? or not. Those factors are: tone of voice, body language such as positions, facial expression, and gestures, and the actual information being shared. He found that one factor alone counted for a whopping 60% of the "trustability" of the message, one counted for 30%, and the last one counted for only 10%. I know you are already trying to figure out which factor goes with which percentage, so let’s end the suspense right now.
Your information – all the facts, figures, research, and compelling arguments you have worked so hard on – actually provides only 10% of the basis for your listener’s decision to trust your message. Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your information is not important. What it does mean is that if you really want to sell your ideas to your audience, there are two more factors that are more important. Your tone of voice – the inflections and pace and pitch you use when speaking– goes a long way toward convincing your listener that you are a safe and sincere person. Are you kind, humble, confident? Do you have convictions? That all comes through in your tone of voice, and your listeners will base 30% of their decision to trust you on this aspect of your presentation.
However, Dr. Mehrabian was amazed to discover how effectively people can communicate important – even complex -- information to each other without using any words at all! As incredible as it may seem, people really base an amazing 60% of their decision to trust you on your body language! Your facial expressions and gestures and posture and eye contact work together to send a constant stream of almost subliminal messages to your audience. As they observe your behavior, they are reading how comfortable, open, confident and sincere you are from the messages your body is sending out with every move you make.
So, let’s talk for a minute about your body language. Obviously, you don’t want to slouch or slump over and talk to the floor. But a great presenter does more than just stand up straight; professional public speakers use something called the power position to help anchor their bodies to their surroundings with confidence and authority. Here is how you establish a power position. Face your audience with your shoulders held back and your feet spread slightly apart; men should spread their feet to approximately the width of their shoulders, and women should move their feet apart to approximately the width of their hips. Distribute your weight equally between both, with the weight balanced on the balls of your feet. This position gives you stability and helps project a sense of being in control. It also helps to improve vocal delivery.
Now, once you have established that power position, stick with it. Continue to keep your back straight, and keep your body calm. Don’t shift your weight back and forth from one foot to the other, don’t rock back on your heels, and don’t twist from side to side. Now, here is the really hard part: Do keep your arms down at your side at all times – unless gesturing for special emphasis. I know it is absolutely the most awkward feeling in the world for some people to keep their arms in this position, but believe me; it works, because it keeps from using your hands in distracting ways. Most professional broadcasters are great at establishing a power position and sticking with it. Maybe you don’t notice that they always keep their arms at their sides. The fact is, you don’t notice their arms at all, unless they want you to. And that is the whole point.
When you do use gestures, make them count. Effective gestures can have a very powerful effect, not simply because it calls attention to your point, but even more because it brings your body into harmony with your words. Remember, people are reading and responding to your body language even more than they are listening to your words. It is only natural that your body would automatically flow with, and respond to, the words you are saying. When it doesn’t– when you look stiff, awkward or exaggerated – people pick up on that and get just a little bit uncomfortable. The challenge here, then, is to incorporate gestures that appear completely relaxed and spontaneous, and that naturally reinforce your message without seeming contrived.
Use gestures any time you want to illustrate size, shape, direction, intensity or sequence. Use stair-stepping motions to show progression; clench your fist against your palm to show conviction or immediacy. When using your hands to emphasize an idea, keep your fingers together. Never point at anyone, not even the audience as a group, because it may be perceived as threatening. If you need to count off a series, don’t count on your fingers; always hold your hand up high and show the number of fingers that corresponds with your count, as in "first of all," "my second point," and so forth. At all costs, avoid gesturing with "broken arms." This occurs when you bend your arms at the elbows but keep your upper arms tucked in at your sides. This gives the visual impression that you have two little handles sticking out! It also makes you look stiff and can actually restrict your lung capacity when speaking. If a gesture is worth using, make it large and expansive. Use sweeping motions and wide arm extensions. This adds drama, and also expands your lungs so you can speak more forcefully. Always hold a gesture for 5 seconds, and then slowly bring your hands back to your sides and resume your power position. When people see your body working in harmony with your words, they feel much more comfortable about your sincerity, which means that they are much more likely to trust what you are telling them. The more you pay attention to, and practice, these body language techniques, the more you will look like a successful public speaker. As we have already learned, that is 60% of what sells your message.
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June Presentation Quick Tip – The 10-20-30 Rule for Power Point
Some people are so in love with Power Point technology that they forget that it is a presentation tool; it isn’t the presentation itself. It is so easy to over load your slides with content that your presentation becomes a process of reading the slides, which can be made even less effective if you cram so much information into each slide that your audience can’t read it. Remember the 10-20-30 Power Point rule. For most presentations, you should have no more than 10 slides, the presentation itself should last no more than 20 minutes, and you shouldn’t use anything smaller than a 30 point font size. If you follow this formula, Power Point will be an asset and not an albatross, and your presentation will have all the power it needs to be effective.
