What should I do with my hands while presenting?

  • What should I do with my hands while presenting?

    What should I do with my hands while presenting?

    Ever found yourself wondering what to do with your hands while presenting slides? Our hands can either make us look nervous and become a distraction. Or, hand positioning can make us look confident and make our message more memorable. Let’s dive into the art of hand movements!

    The Cultural Hand Dance

    The use of hands is cultural. Italians, for example, use their hands a lot while speaking, while Germans may not use them at all. I’ve seen clients change their body language as they switch languages. Hand movements also vary based on the level of formality. The Queen of England rarely moves when she speaks, conveying an air of dignity and formality. Comedians, on the other hand, make huge movements to keep our attention and entertain us. So, how should international business speakers use their hands?

    Finding the Right Balance

    As business speakers, it’s important to find the right balance and eliminate distracting movements or hand positions. For instance, speakers often cross their arms, fidget with their hands, or put their hands in their pockets. This makes a speaker look nervous and creates the impression that they have something to hide. Instead, we can use our hands to convey confidence and help us send our message.

    5 Ways to Use Your Hands While Presenting

    1. Open Your Arms and Show Your Palms: This is a lovely gesture when you’re coming on stage or starting a presentation. It’s powerful yet non-threatening and sends the message that you have nothing to hide.
    2. Move with Your Message: Gesture in ways that show the audience what you’re saying, such as counting off key points. You can do this by holding two fingers in the air when saying the number two or showing changes in size by changing the distance between your hands. Pointing up when talking about how “sales are increasing” or pointing down when discussing how “costs are going down” can increase engagement and memory.
    3. Point at Your Slides (Not at the Audience): Pointing at the slide is a great use of your hands. Point at a specific part of the slide to help the audience find the information you’re referring to more quickly. Avoid pointing at the audience as this may look confrontational and condescending.
    4. Let Your Arms Fall to Your Side: In between purposeful movements, simply let your arms fall to your side. By standing tall and leaving your arms at your side, you appear strong and confident. This open stance also reduces your cortisol (a stress hormone) and increases your testosterone.
    5. Hold a Slide Changer or a Pen: Some people tend to rub their hands together or fidget with a ring. To stop this distraction, hold something in one hand. A slide changer works well and frees you to move around the room. For more informal presentations, try holding a pen. You can also use a clipboard or something that relates to your presentation topic.

    Natural Gestures

    It’s crucial to use gestures that feel genuine. While it’s great to broaden your range of hand movements, avoid turning into an actor with scripted gestures – it can undermine your credibility. Instead, let your gestures flow naturally through practice and training exercises.

     

    In Summary

    Hand movements while presenting are cultural, so international business presenters need to search for the right balance based on the audience. Generally, I recommend purposeful gestures that emphasize your key points while dropping your arms to the side between movements. Remember, your audience is more likely to remember points that you emphasize with your hand movements. 😊

     

    Media, presentation and public speaking trainerKimberly VanLandingham is a presentation trainer and the owner of European Market Link Sarl, including Presentation Training Switzerland. Specialising in international and technical leaders and teams, she helps teams and leaders manage control their nerves and speak with confidence, clarity and charisma. Kimberly has over 20 years experience at the DuPont company, degrees in engineering and communications, and over 10 years experience helping clients boost their public speaking skills.

     

    Comments are closed.