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The face bone is
connected to the wrist bone.
That’s right. Very
often, when our clients are having trouble improving their hand gestures,
we’ll focus on their facial energy. That’s because if you improve
facial energy, the gestures will often improve.
“What do I do with
my hands?” is a question we get from a lot of our clients and
workshop participants. And like most public speaking skills
companies, our programs include a very effective module on hand and
arm gestures and body movement.
But often we see
gestures improve simply by energizing the face.
Be Like Jim Carrey on Steroids
“Here’s what I’d
like you do during your presentation,” one of our coaches will tell
a workshop participant. “Deliver your next presentation with too
much facial energy. It should feel like you’re face is over-active,
like Jim Carrey on steroids.”
And the participant
will speak on videotape with lots of eye brow action, exaggerating
the smiles and grimaces. We’ll then look at the tape and see that
the gestures suddenly became quite natural! It’s like the facial
energy somehow fixed the gestures!
Of course, what’s
happening is that the focus on the facial energy has made the
participant “forget” about his hands and start gesturing in a
natural, energized and confident manner.
Other Tips for Gestures
The fact is that
while we teach gestures, movement, facial energy, and vocal energy
as separate modules, they often all work together and are naturally
connected. If you improve your facial energy, there’s a good chance
that you will improve your gestures.
Of course, it
doesn’t always work that way. Much of the time, gestures can be
improved with a few simple tips:
Make Big Gestures:
the best gestures reach out and make you take up a lot of space.
The bigger you look, the more confident you will appear to your
listeners.
Hold the Gestures
Through a Thought:
No apple picking! Don’t stab at the air with your hands.
That can
be distracting. Rather reach out and hold the gesture confidently
until you’ve completed your thought.
Gesture Boldly:
Think about how an umpire calls a person “safe” when sliding into
home. He makes a strong decisive movement. That powerful movement
makes him look confident.
At Speechworks we
help our clients learn how to communicate in a way that connects and
persuades. If you’re interested in becoming a great communicator
give us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net. |
