The impact your persuasive presentations make on your audience often depends much more on non-verbal communication than it does on your words.
So here are 7 ways to maximize the impact of your non-verbal communication in persuasive presentations.
1. Dress for success
Like it or not, physical appearance is one of the first factors that people use to judge you. And, while there are some aspects of our physical appearance we can’t control, we can take steps in other areas. Here are some tips:
- Shoes: Are they comfortable and clean? Avoid wearing high heels to make you look taller – they’re more likely to make you feel uncomfortable
- Clothing: Generally try to dress slightly better than you expect your audience to be but not so much as it makes them uncomfortable
- Cleanliness: Anything out of place such as a stain on your shirt will draw attention away from what you are saying
- Accessories and jewelry: This should be appropriate to your audience but, carefully chosen, they can make a big difference to the impression you make
2. Adopt a winning physiology
The way you stand or sit affects both the way you feel and the way your audience perceives you in persuasive presentations.
- Matching Body Language
Often it’s simply a matter of standing up straight and making sure your feet are firmly in place.
One technique I learned is to imagine that there’s a cable coming out from your feet that is secured to the ground below you. That makes you feel that you are firm, solid and standing straight.
3. Mind your body language
The way you move about – or don’t – during your presentation is an important part of the way you convey your message.
That’s why it’s called body language.
To maximize its power, you have to choose your body language in the same way you choose your words.
You need to make your movements deliberately and consciously from a firm stance. Notice how Barack Obama’s firm stance with carefully-chosen body language creates an impression of calmness and confidence.
When you have mastered the ability to stand still during a presentation, you can begin to add gestures and movement that help amplify your message.
4. Take control of the stage
Sometimes, it can be appropriate to walk around a little when you are speaking but too much movement is very distracting for your audience.
If you are walking around during persuasive presentations, go somewhere for a purpose, because you have a specific reason for moving.
For example, you may want to have a specific place on the stage where you deliver bad news or you act ‘angry’.
5. Use your voice with a purpose
One very powerful element of non-verbal communication is the way you use your voice. You need to be able to vary your voice to make your persuasive presentations more interesting and to draw attention to key messages. For example:
- Tone of voice: The way you say something will have a big effect on the way people perceive it.
- Volume: Varying volume can add emphasis or make your presentation more interesting.
- Speed: Nerves often make people speak too quickly so make sure you speak at a pace that is easy for others to follow.
- Pitch: When your voice goes up towards the end of a sentence, it seems more like a question. If you are not asking a question, this sounds hesitant and doubtful.
- Projection: Projection is how successful you are at reaching all parts of the audience with the same energy. It’s not just a question of volume. You need to sound natural but firm.
6. Be well-organized
One of the keys to making a good impression on an audience with persuasive presentations is being well-organized. You can do this by:
- Being ready to start: Arriving late or not having the material you need gets you off to the worst possible start.
- Look prepared: If you look calm and confident, people will think you are – and you may even believe it yourself!
- Have notes: Even if you never refer to your notes, the audience likes to see that you are showing them respect by having prepared in advance.
- Cover what you promised: If your time is tight, give priority to covering what is most important.
- Finish early: The best way to finish is leaving the audience wanting more so concentrate on getting your message across in less time than you need.
Being well-organized is not only showing respect for the audience, it makes you feel more relaxed.
7. Add the charisma factor
Many great speakers – such as John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King – follow a similar general structure in their best known speeches and persuasive presentations, which we call the charisma pattern.
- They start out speaking slowly and calmly to help people get comfortable. The language is kinesthetic – about feelings
- After that, they gradually pick up the pace and start using auditory words such as: “I really enjoyed listening to the previous speaker”
- Then they build themselves up physically and take a much firmer stance speaking faster. They use visual words like: “Can you see where we’re going with this?”
With Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech, people remember his passion; that he was talking fast and was really powerful. But if you look at the whole speech, he started by taking people with him very slowly.
This is part of a series of seven lessons on How to Profit from Persuasive Presentations. To receive all seven, please sign up free at www.PersuasivePresentationPower.com
