How You Move, Says So Much

Evelyn Lee and Monika Stoeffl of Tales & Tellers Toastmastershttp://talesandtellers.toastmastersclubs.org/

Dress for your target audience• Authoritative: suit, dress, or jacket and slacks - conveys seriousness, authority• In-group: dressed similar to your audience - connects with audience, good for

humorous or general speeches• Thematic: costumes or clothing that would be worn by the character in your

story (example: backpack and hiking boots for a speech on your backpacking trip in Yosemite) – intrigues the audience, makes the character or time and place come alive.

Eye Contact• Conveys confidence and allows you to connect with audience• Allows you to watch your audience’s reactions and respond• Make eye contact for 3 to 5 seconds or to complete a thought• Follow a Z or zigzag pattern as you jump from eye contact to eye contact

Your Posture and Stance• Keep a relaxed posture with your hands by your sides when you are not gesturing• Avoid:

• Fig Leaf – hands clasped low in front• Hands on Hips• Arms Crossed• Hands in Pocket• Arms Behind Back• T- rex – hands clasped high, twisting or moving without purpose

Gestures• Too much movement can be very distracting. Make sure your movements have

purpose.• Use your hands to capture:

• Numbers• Size• Time• Enacting verbs• Adding emphasis

Gestures to Avoid• Bungeed Hands: hands that seem bungeed/roped together. They move in

exactly the same way at the same time.• Mirrored Hands: Hands that move at the same time in the same way as if

reflected in a mirror.• One Side: Only one hand is used to gesture during the whole speech.• T-rex Hands: Hands that often clasp or rub together at chest level without

purpose.• Gestures in Front of You: These gestures are not easily seen, because the

audience cannot easily perceive depth. Instead, gesture to the side or turn your body so that your hands are in front but the audience does not see them against your body.

Facial Expressions• Use expressions to help the audience imagine/see what you or the characters in

your story are experiencing.• Exaggerate your expressions for humorous effect. Avoid doing this too much in

one speech or it will quickly stop being funny.

Staging• Demonstrate an action – Example: if you are speaking about your backpacking

trip to Yosemite and are discussing how you crossed a river, make sure to move across the stage as you indicate the crossing.• Create a Timeline – Start at one point on the stage and move left as you

progress through a timeline in your speech. • Indicate a New Point or Thought – Imagine a triangle or diamond on your stage.

Start your first point at the front-center, then move to a second point for the second thought, etc.

• End your speech front-center• Avoid jerky movement to each point of the stage. Instead, as you are

finishing one speech point begin to move toward the second point on the stage, arriving there as you begin to speak about the second point. Repeat.

• Differentiate Between Characters – Move slightly to the left or right when different characters are interacting in your story or speech to help the audience know which one is which.