BODY LANGUAGE TRAINING

1 Eye Contact
Eye contact is very important factor in non-verbal communication. Eye contact has been identified as the most important characteristic a speaker should possess. People say the eyes are ‘windows to the soul’, with which others can see whether you are happy, sad, excited or tensed. Eye contact could be a direct measure of your self-esteem. In business presentation, this is so important. You have to be self-confident and honest in order to make your business presentation success.

There are several eye contacting tips to make your business presentation stronger. (Chaney 2006, p.17)
• Select a person in the audience who is smiling and nodding in agreement and to talk directly to that person.
• Then choose another and so on.
• Maintain eye contact with the audience 75 percent to 85 percent of the time.
• Eye contact, accompanied by a smile gives the audience the impression the speaker is happy to be there.

Signs that you are maintaining good eye contact:
• Eyes which stay focused on the speaker’s eyes, tend to indicate focused interested attention.
• Widening the eyes generally signals interest in something or someone, and often invites positive response.
• Direct eye contact is generally regarded as a sign of truthfulness.

2 Gestures
Gestures are a movement or position of the hand, head or face which is expressive of an idea, or emotion. Gestures are more helpful for a speaker. Gesturing you not only unfreeze your body but also unfreeze your mind. It also conveys enthusiasm and energy to your audience. When the audience sees you gesturing they will think that you look confident.

To deliver a successful presentation, use gestures moderately and keep these in mind: (Brody 1993, p.26)
• Keep gestures above the waistline. Low gestures are hard to see.
• Open up your arms to the size of the audience. Embrace your audience.
• When not using your arms, drop them at your side.
• Avoid quick and jerky gestures - they make you appear nervous.

You can measure your presentation from the gestures of your audiences:
• Crossed arms represent a protective or separating barrier.
• Touching or scratching shoulder using arm across body is another