Facial Expression

Your face unwittingly conveys cues about how your listeners are supposed to react or feel. If you are talking about a terrible automobile accident, yet you are smiling and nodding, your audience will be confused, not sad. Your facial expression must be consistent with the feelings or information you are communicating.

Your eyes, eye movement, eyebrows and mouth play vital roles in showing sadness, fear, happiness, anger, frustration, nervousness, excitement, boredom, interest, wonder, exhaustion, aggressiveness, confidence and uncertainty. When you show these feelings, your audience will emulate them. Show sadness by lowering your eyelids, turning down your mouth slightly, and bowing your head. Show surprise or disbelief by widening your eyes and raising your eyebrows. Smile broadly to show happiness.

Eye Contact

Have you ever conversed with someone who did not look at you directly? The person looked over your shoulder, above your head, at the floor or even at someone else — everywhere but at you. What did you think?

Most likely you doubted that person's interest, honesty and confidence. Or you may have felt excluded or ignored. Eye contact plays a major role in how people perceive one another, and as a speaker you should pay special attention to it.

In Western cultures, people more readily believe people who look them in the eyes while speaking. If you make eye contact with your listeners, they'll think you are sincere, credible, friendly and honest. These feelings have a great impact on your message and listeners' willingness to accept it.

Eye contact has another benefit. It allows you to establish a bond with listeners. By looking at them, you command their attention and they will have difficulty ignoring you. As you speak, look at the people in the audience. Don't simply gaze around the room. Look directly at one person until you finish a thought, then move on to another person. Make eye contact randomly throughout the room and avoid moving your head from side to side like an oscillating fan. Look at people toward the back of the room as well as at those in front. Be careful that you don't look at someone too long — you could make that person uncomfortable. Also, looking at each person too quickly may make you appear nervous or deceitful.

If your audience is small, making eye contact is fairly simple, because you will be able to look at each member of the audience at some point. But if the audience is large, you won't be able to do this. Instead, make eye contact with someone in each section of the room, front and back.

Make It Natural

Body language should look natural and unrehearsed and be consistent with the meaning of the words being spoken. Using body language that is comfortable for you and enjoyable for the audience takes thought and practice.

After you have drafted your speech, read it and note any places where body language would be appropriate and help convey your message. Try several different ways of using your arms, hands and facial expressions.

Match your gestures to your words. You should be compelled to gesture and make facial expressions when your thought requires such action. This means your gesture or facial expression should be done slightly before or as you speak, not afterward, to look natural.

Don't worry if at first your movements are stiff and awkward. Natural positions and smooth movements will come the more you rehearse your speech and become familiar with it. If you have access to videotape equipment, use it in your rehearsals to help you improve. Rehearsing in front of a mirror also is helpful.