Nonverbal Aspects of Speech Delivery

Imagine watching a speech with the sound off. What would you know about the speaker and the speech? You could probably tell if the speaker is confident and well prepared, and whether they’re enthusiastic about their subject. You can see where they tell a joke or a sad story. You know these things because of the speaker’s nonverbal language.

Savvy speakers emphasize their words with their actions and support the speech physically.  When used well, nonverbal language will greatly enhance a speech. If a speaker doesn’t control their nonverbal language, however, it can tell a different story than the one they intend.

There are different aspects to nonverbal speech delivery:

1. personal appearance
2. gestures
3. movement
4. facial expressions
5. eye contact

Personal Appearance

Any time you are asked to speak, it is important to look your best, appropriate to the situation. Why? Because when you look your best, you feel confident, and confidence is the key to a successful speech.

Clothing and personal appearance are deeply personal and situational. That means that the “right” clothes for a speaking situation will depend on your personal tastes, preferences, and intentions as well as the situation in which you’ll be speaking, including the audience’s expectations and the nature of the event.

Study after study has shown that clothing choice affects the way audiences perceive speakers’ credibility and influences how audiences behave toward speakers.^[1][2] Importantly, though, the studies of clothing as nonverbal communication don’t reveal a simple formula, such as more formal clothing = more credibility. Like all forms of communication, attire involves a balance of trade-offs. In one study, for instance, formal clothing increased perceived credibility but decreased likability, ^[3] while in another study, expensive suits increased perceptions of men’s confidence and success but decreased impressions of trustworthiness.^[4]

It also should be noted that clothing is intertwined with identity in complicated ways. Clothing as communication is encoded and decoded within a number of cultural contexts, including categories of gender, class, race, and ethnicity, both on the part of the speaker and the audience (and may at times intersect with sexist, classist, racist, or ethnocentric assumptions or stereotypes)^[5][6] As with any form of communication, it’s important to approach any assumptions about clothing and appearance mindfully and and critically.

The most important findings on the subject of personal appearance and public speaking, the findings you should pay most attention to, are the studies that showed that people who felt like they looked the part, who considered themselves to be dressed appropriately for the situation, also felt more competent. ^[7][8] This is the big takeaway here: You should try to look the way you want to feel, the way you want your audience to perceive you, and the way you want your audience to perceive your attitude toward the speaking situation.

Gestures

Gestures are what you do with your hands to emphasize words. An inexperienced speaker may not know what to do with their hands, and might find that their hands seem to have a mind of their own. So just as you rehearse your words for the best effect possible, you also need to think about and practice gestures that will convey the meanings and emotions that you intend. The best gestures to use are ones that are natural and that emphasize what you’re saying. Be careful not to repeat the same gesture too many times, though, as that can be tiring for an audience. Make sure your hands are out of your pockets and available for use during the speech. If you find making a natural gesture difficult, try putting notecards in one of your hands and using the other to gesture with.

In this short video, public speaking expert Dananjaya Hettiarachchi offers tips about using gestures and movement effectively.

You can view the transcript for “4 essential body language tips from a world champion public speaker” here (opens in new window).

Here is the video with accurate captions and a transcript: 4 essential body language tips from a world champion public speaker (opens in new window).

Movement

For some speakers, moving in the space they are speaking in can feel intimidating. However, having some movement in your speech can provide variety for the audience and keep their attention. The amount of movement depends on the size of the space you’re speaking in. If you’re speaking in front of a room, such as a classroom, consider having three spots to land on: the middle and both sides. Always start and end the speech in the center position. When you walk to one side of the room or the other, plant your feet and stay still for a few minutes. Resist the urge to pace! Pacing makes the audience feel nervous and distracted. Movement should always be purposeful and help to engage the audience, not take away from the speech.

Watch for nervous movement habits such as shifting weight from side to side, tapping a leg or a foot, etc. If you have a nervous habit, moving to different parts of the room throughout the speech will actually help you. Don’t be afraid to try it. The most confident speakers use the space they are in and aren’t afraid to be near their audience.

Facial Expressions

Facial expressions are important when speaking. A smile is the best way to start a speech. It relaxes you and the audience. Facial expressions can also enhance the words you say, much like gestures. If you have sympathy for the subject of your speech, it is OK to show it! If you’re not sure what you look like when giving a speech, practice in front of a mirror or record yourself speaking. Also, remember that the audience can’t see your notecards and doesn’t know what you’ve got planned. If you make a mistake, no one else will know unless you show them with your facial reaction! So, watch twisting your face when something doesn’t go according to plan. Take a breath and keep going.

Above all, it’s important to avoid cue incongruence in your facial expressions or body language. Cue incongruence occurs when your verbal cues say one thing, and your nonverbal cues say another. If you tell someone good news and they frown, look down, and say, “That’s great. I’m really happy for you,” how would you interpret this? Do they seem happy for you? Or is something else going on? Chances are, you assumed this hypothetical person was not happy for you. As this example suggests, most people actually tend to trust nonverbal more than verbal cues.^[9][10] For this reason, it’s very important that your nonverbal language reinforces the message you’re trying to get across to your audience.

Eye Contact

The most important way to engage an audience is by looking at them. Eye contact is one of the key ingredients to successful speaking. A speaker who reads their notes constantly, looks at their feet or their visuals, and never looks up at the audience communicates that they are nervous and unprepared. A speaker who tries to look at every part of the audience will be sure to win them over by confidently engaging them with the material. Put a reminder on your notecard to look left, look right, and look center to help you remember to look up from the notes. When you do look up, keep your head up for a bit without looking back down quickly. You will need to rehearse your speech a lot to make sure you are familiar enough with the speech that you can use the note cards as reminders of what to say.

If you are speaking on video, remember that making eye contact with the audience actually means making eye contact with the lens of the camera. When speaking online, some speakers put their cues on sticky notes placed around the camera lens (but not covering it) to make it easier to glance at their notes while maintaining eye contact. Of course, just as in a real conversation, it’s natural to break eye contact and look away now and then; just try to do so deliberately, rather than furtively, as though you have something to hide.

The following video explains the importance of eye contact and offers tips on how to work on eye contact.

In the following TEDx talk, public speaking coach David JP Phillips discusses the importance of body language and vocal tone and rate in getting your message across. Although it would be impossible (and counterproductive) to try to adopt all 110 techniques (!), Phillips does a great job of demonstrating how important even apparently small decisions about body language can be. Above all, Phillips’s speech shows the need to rehearse not just the words of your speech, but also the cadence and gestures of delivery.

You can view the transcript for “The 110 techniques of communication and public speaking | David JP Phillips | TEDxZagreb” here (opens in new window).

Here is the video with accurate captions: The 110 techniques of communication and public speaking | David JP Phillips | TEDxZagreb (opens in new window).