Your body language and physical delivery are just as important as the content of your speech. Speakers should be aware of their posture, body movements, facial expressions, and eye contact. Distracting or unnecessary gestures can take away from the message. The best gestures are natural and complement the words, emotions, and ideas being conveyed. Recording yourself can help identify movements that need removing so the full potential of "addition by subtraction" can be achieved.

1. YOUR
BODY
SPEAKS

2. Is your body dead when you
speak, or does your constant
motion give your audience
headaches?

3. Does your face signal
fear or does it signal
excitement for your
topic?

4. Do your hands vibrate,
or do they punctuate
your words?

5. Your must complement
your message with
your body during
delivery. Specifically,
be aware of your:

6. posture
Body
movement
Facial
expressions
Eye contact

7. Tips and
Techniques:

8. 1. Remove “Noisy”
Movements.

9. For many people, there is as
much to be gained from
removing nervous and
distracting movements as
there is from adding
conscious gestures. It may
seem counter-intuitive, but
this is “addition by
subtraction.”

10. 2. Avoid “Forcing”
Gestures into Your
Speech

11. The best way to avoid forcing
hand and arms gestures is to
try to strike an even balance
between the other forms of
physical gestures — eye contact,
facial expressions, posture, or
whole body movements. For
example, if you convey an
important emotion with your
facial expression, your arms can
relax to your sides because they
“aren’t needed.”

12. 3. Record Video of
Yourself Speaking

13. The best way to
discover any
distracting
movements is to watch
yourself delivering a
speech with the volume
turned off.

14. Reference:
Six Minutes Speaking and
Presentation Skills
• Toastmasters Speech 5: Your Body
Speaks
• by Andrew Dlugan