Confidence. Some people have it in spade after natural spade, while the rest of us? Well, we all have our good days, I guess. But what do you do when you’re not a Prince Charming and you’ve got to go up and deliver a presentation to an audience? Whether it’s a virtual one, a meeting, or a conference, giving presentations can suck if you’re not confident.
You already know that you need to have great body language, a smiling face, great eye contact, and persuasive gesturing – but not to be too fidgety or stiff, and not to shift and dart your eyes all over. Who can remember all this when you’re delivering a presentation?
Well, as it turns out, sometimes there are just a few simple power moves you can pull off to make everyone think you’re super confident, even if you’re a jittering bag of nerves at the prospect of delivering an important speech.
Take “the box”, for example. Bill Clinton did it a lot with his speeches, making big, wide box-like shapes with his hands. Steve Jobs also used a similar technique, only instead of an imaginary box, he held an imaginary basketball in his hands as he delivered a speech.
So, now you’ve got two emphatic hand gestures. But what about if you want to fidget? Go for the pyramid, a classic executive move that makes you look relaxed, almost suave. Tony Blair made great use of this in speeches, and it’s also a good way to keep your hands quiet when siting down.
Your stance should also reflect your confidence levels – and with a wide stance (put your feet around about a shoulder width apart), you’ll be sending a subtle message to the audience that you’re in control. You might even want to use a palms up gesture every so often (think Oprah) to show how open and honest you are.
Palms down? That’s a classic Obama move, showing authority and assertiveness with a hint of strength. Now, these are just a few moves – there are an infinity of others, but these are some of the most popular today.
I’m not saying that you need to use all of them. But a great thing to do is simply stand in front of a mirror – or record yourself – giving a speech twice. Once in your normal style, and another time using these gestures.
You should notice a clear difference, and the more you practice, the more you’ll find gestures that work for you and feel natural. This is key, as you need to feel comfortable and natural doing these confidence signaling body language primers.
Will these help you to build up your true confidence when faced with a huge audience and jumbled up nerves? Well, if I’m honest, I don’t think that feeling ever goes away. At the same time, the adrenaline rush of doing it, nailing it, and coming off stage to congratulations makes it a huge thrill.
Whatever you’re presenting on, it’s a chance to build your authority and credibility. It’s well worth learning the art of faked confidence – because one of these days, you may very well be appearing in articles like this with your own signature power move and having writers around the world applaud you for your completely obvious Prince Charming levels of supreme confidence and unflappability, no matter what.
Wouldn’t that be the thing? Go get ‘em, tiger!