Nonverbal Communication

The impact of a speech is affected by the way it is delivered. Nonverbal communication is a vital factor in delivery and you can choose to use the right movements of your face and body for the right situation.

Imagine you are at a party. During the evening you form impressions about the people around you. Alan seems relaxed and even-tempered. Margaret tense and irritable. Karen seems open and straight forward, Amy hostile and evasive. Eric seems happy to see you; Mark definitely is not.

How do you reach these conclusions? To a surprising extent, you reach them not on the basis of what people say with words, but because of what they say nonverbally—with their postures, gestures, and facial expressions. Suppose you are sitting next to Mark, and he says, "This is a great party. I'm really glad to be here with you." However, his body is turned slightly away from you, and he keeps looking at someone across the room. Despite what he says, you know he is not glad to be there with you.

Much the same thing happens in speechmaking. Here is the story of one student's first two classroom speeches and the effect created by his nonverbal actions on each occasion:

Dan O'Connor's first speech did not go very well. Even though he had chosen an interesting topic, researched the speech with care, and practiced it faithfully, he did not take into account the importance of nonverbal communication. When the time came for him to speak, a stricken look crossed his face. He got up from his chair like a condemned man and plodded to the lectern as though going to the guillotine. His vocal delivery was good enough, but all the while his hands were living a life of their own. They fidgeted with his notes, played with the buttons of his shirt, and drummed on the lectern. Throughout the speech Dan kept his head down, and he looked at his watch repeatedly. Regardless of what his words were saying, his body was saying, "I don't want to be here!"

Finally it was over. Dan rushed to his seat and collapsed into it, looking enormously relieved. Needless to say, his speech was not a great success.

Fortunately, when Dan' problem with nonverbal communication was pointed out to him, he worked hard to correct it. His next speech was quite a different story. This time he got up from his chair and strode to the lectern confidently. He kept his hands under control and concentrated on making eye contact with his listeners. This was truly an achievement, because Dan was just as nervous as the first time. However, he found that the more he made himself look confident, the more confident he became. After the speech his classmates were enthusiastic. "Great speech," they said. "You really seemed to care about the subject, and you brought this caring to the audience."

In fact, the wording of Dan's second speech wasn't much better than that of the first. It was his nonverbal signals that made all the difference. From the time he left his seat until he returned, his actions said, "I'm confident and in control of the situation. I have something worthwhile to say, and I want you to think so too."

Posture, facial expression, gesture, eye contact—all affect the way listeners respond to a speaker. How we use these and other body motions to communicate is the subject of a fascinating area of study called kinesics. One of its founders, Ray Birdwhistell, estimates that more than 700 000 possible physical signals can be sent through bodily movement. Clinical studies have demonstrated that in some situations these signals account for much of the meaning communicated by speakers. Modern research has also confirmed what the Greek historian Herodotus observed more than 2 400 years ago: "Men trust their ears less than their eyes." When a speaker's body language is inconsistent with his or her words, listeners tend to believe the body language rather than the words.

Here are the major aspects of nonverbal communication that will affect the outcome of your speeches.

    Personal Appearance

If you were Cher, you could show up to make an Academy Award presentation speech wearing a bizarre creation that had more headdress than dress. If you were Albert Einstein, you could show up to address an international science conference wearing wrinkled trousers, a sweater, and tennis shoes. While the members of your audience would certainly comment on your attire, your reputation would not be harmed. In fact, it might be enhanced. You would be one of the few, the very few, who live outside the rules, who are expected to be unusual.

Now imagine what would happen if the president of a corporation showed up to address a stockholders' meeting attired like Cher, or if the President of the United States spoke on national television wearing wrinkled clothes and tennis shoes. Both presidents would soon be looking for work. Barring the occasional eccentric, every speaker is expected by his or her audience to exhibit a personal appearance in keeping with the occasion of the speech.

The President of the United States can be photographed in golfing clothes or riding clothes for a quick weekend interview at Camp David, but that same President will don a conservative suit and tie to address a joint session of Congress. Similarly, a business executive speaking at a winter sales conference in Acapulco would probably wear slacks and a casual shirt, because a business suit, in this atmosphere, would seem much too formal. But back home in San Francisco, Chicago, or New York, the same executive will be immaculately dressed in a well-tailored suit.

A number of studies have confirmed that personal appearance plays an important role in speechmaking. Listeners always see you before they hear you. Just as you adapt your language to the audience and the occasion, so should you dress and groom appropriately. Although the force of your speech can sometimes overcome a poor impression created by personal appearance, the odds are against it. (In a survey of top business executives, 84 percent revealed that their companies simply do not hire people who appear at job interviews improperly attired.) No matter what the speaking situation, you should try to evoke favorable first impressions—impressions that are likely to make listeners more receptive to what you say.

    Bodily Action

Novice speakers are often unsure what to do with their bodies while giving a speech. Some pace nonstop back and forth across the podium, fearing that if they stop, they will forget everything. Others are perpetual-motion machines, constantly shifting their weight from one foot to the other, bobbing their shoulders, fidgeting with their notes, or jingling coins in their pockets. Still others turn into statues, standing rigid and expressionless from beginning to end.

Such quirks usually stem from nervousness. If you are prone to distracting mannerisms, your teacher will identify them so you can work on controlling them in later speeches. With a little concentration, these mannerisms should disappear as you become more comfortable speaking in front of an audience.

    As important as how you act during the speech is what you do just before you begin and after you finish. As you rise to speak, try to appear calm, poised, and confident, despite the butterflies in your stomach. When you reach the lectern, don't lean on it, and don't rush into your speech. Give yourself time to get set. Arrange your notes just the way you want them.  Stand quietly as you wait to make sure the audience is paying attention. Establish eye contact with your listeners. Then—and only then—should you start to talk.

When you reach the end of your speech, maintain eye contact for a few moments after you stop talking. This will give your closing line time to sink in. Unless you are staying at the lectern to answer questions, collect your notes and return to your seat. As you do so, maintain your cool, collected demeanor. Whatever you do, don't start to gather your notes before you have finished talking; and don't cap off your speech with a huge sigh of relief or some remark like "Whew! Am I glad that's over!"

All of this advice is common sense, yet you would be surprised how many people need it. When practicing your speeches, spend a little time rehearsing how you will behave at the beginning and at the end. It is probably the easiest—and one of the most effective—things you can do to improve your image with an audience.

    Gestures

Few aspects of delivery seem to cause students more anguish than deciding what to do with their hands. "Should I clasp them behind my back? Let them hang at my sides? Put them in my pockets? Rest them on the lectern? And what about gesturing? When should I do that—and how?" Even people who normally use their hands expressively in everyday conversation seem to regard them as awkward appendages when speaking before an audience.

Over the years, more nonsense has been written about gesturing than about any other aspect of speech delivery. Adroit gestures can add to the impact of a speech; but there is nothing to the popular notion that public speakers must have a vast repertoire of graceful gestures. Some accomplished speakers gesture frequently; others hardly at all. The primary rule is this: Whatever gestures you make should not draw attention to themselves and distract from your message. They should appear natural and spontaneous, help to clarify or reinforce your ideas, and be suited to the audience and occasion.

At this stage of your speaking career, you have many more important things to concentrate on than how to gesture. Gesturing tends to work itself out as you acquire experience and confidence. In the meantime, make sure your hands do not upstage your ideas. Avoid flailing them about, wringing them together, cracking your knuckles, or toying with your rings. Once you have eliminated these distractions, forget about your hands. Think about communicating with your listeners, and your gestures will probably take care of themselves—just as they do in conversation.

    Eye Contact

The eyeball itself expresses no emotion. Yet by manipulating the eyeball and the areas of the face around it—especially the upper eyelids and the eyebrow—we are able to convey an intricate array of nonverbal messages. So revealing are these messages that we think of the eyes as "the windows of the soul." We look to them to help gauge the truthfulness, intelligence, attitudes, and feelings of a speaker.

The quickest way to establish a communicative bond with your listeners is to look them in the eye, personally and pleasantly. Avoiding their gaze is one of the surest ways to lose them. At best, speakers who refuse to establish eye contact are perceived as tentative and ill-at-ease. At worst, they are perceived as insincere or dishonest. No wonder teachers urge students to look at the audience 80 to 90 percent of the time they are talking.

You may find this disconcerting at first. But after one or two speeches, you should be able to meet the gaze of your listeners as comfortably as you do in casual conversation. As you look at your listeners, be alert for their reactions. Can they hear you? Do they understand you? Are they awake? Your eyes will help you answer these questions.

It isn't enough just to look at your listeners; how you look at them also counts. A blank stare is almost as bad as no eye contact at all. So is a fierce, hostile glower or a series of frightened, bewildered glances. Also beware of the tendency to gaze intently at one part of the audience while ignoring the rest. In speech class some students look only at the section of the room where the teacher is setting. Others avoid looking anywhere near the teacher and focus on one or two sympathetic friends. You should try to establish eye contact with your whole audience. When addressing a small group (such as your class), you can usually look briefly from one person to another. For a larger group, you will probably scan the audience rather than trying to engage the eyes of each person individually. No matter what the size of your audience, you want your eyes to convey confidence, sincerity, and conviction. They should say, "I am pleased to be able to talk with you. I believe deeply in what I am saying, and I want you to believe in it too."

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