Have you ever stood in front of a group of people, been the centre of their attention and felt very self-conscious and exposed?Can you recall just how cumbersome and unnatural your hands felt as you struggled to discover what best to do with them in order to feel at ease? Being up on stage or standing in front of a room full of people as you prepare to deliver a speech simply magnifies the problem of what to do with your hands.
Do you put them in your pockets?Let them hang lifelessly by your sides or fling them wildly about in the beliefthat 'grand gestures' look natural from the audiences' point of view? And the more you think about what to do with your hands,the more you become distracted from the delivery of your speech and the more your anxiety is able to creep up on you from behind.
Try these tips and you'll soon find that you can forget all about your hands and get on with the real job of making an entertaining and enjoyable speech.
Learn to relax.
It is a basic truth that you only begin to worry about what to do with your hands when you are feeling stressed and under pressure.
In your normal, day-to-day life you don't give a second thought as to what your hands are doing as you speak to you family,colleagues and friends,do you?And the reason is solely because you feel at ease and are not experiencing any nervousness at all.
Take a particular note of whether you usually use hand gestures to illustrate what you are saying at all other times.
Try and relate to a friend how to knota tie or describe the shape of a spiral staircase and see just how you use your hands to help enhance your words.
If you find that you naturally use hand gestures,then continue to do so when delivering your speech.
Do what you always do and it won't feel artificial or forced.
In general,if you don't gesture naturally,then don't try to start! Be aware that if you feel at all nervous,your emotion may be unconsciouslydemonstrated by what your hands are doing.
Are you clutching your notes tightly, clenching your fists or constantly fingering your lapel? Realize that finger pointing,desk banging and fist clenching gestures will convey negative or hostile overtones - maybe even be insulting to those belonging to certain cultures.
Avoid these at all costs! Carefully limit your gestures during your speech or you will simply appear to be windmilling your way through your presentation.
If you find that you feel too uncomfortable about what to do with your hands during your speech,spend as much time as you can learning relaxation techniques and practising the use of appropriate handgestures in front of a mirrorin the privacy of your own home.
If you can see that your hands look natural, you'll soon be able to forget all about them during a speech.
Always bear in mind the physical nature of these actions and understand that they simply form another part of your communication with your audience.
Once you begin to see how the use of your hands can support and enhance your words,you will begin to find that you no longer think and worry about what you are doing with them.
Instead you will discover that you are using your gestures naturally and in a relaxed manner.
When you can do this,you can congratulate yourself on graduating to the next level of expertise in public speaking!