Seven Top Body Language Tips for Better Presentations
November 29, 2023
Better Body Language is a Key Presentation Skill
What does good body language look like in a presentation? How do you develop positive body language when presenting? How do use body language to enhance a presentation? How do you use body language in public speaking?
Meet the Author: Benjamin Ball
Ben is the founder of Benjamin Ball Associates and leads the presentation coaching and pitch deck creation teams. Formerly a corporate financier in the City of London, for 20+ years he’s helped businesses win with better pitches and presentations, particularly investor pitches. He is a regular speaker and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and UCL London. Follow Ben on LinkedIn or visit the contact page.
Body Language is Essential to Enhance Your Public Speaking
You can use positive body language to enhance your presentations. Body language can be a powerful tool to engage your audience, demonstrate gravitas and deliver a more high impact presentation.
Developing good body language during presentations is a real skill. And it’s a skill you can improve. Over the last 15 years our presentation coaching has helped thousands of people to be comfortable and successful. If you need help, do please get in touch. We run in-house and online coaching sessions for business executives. It’s fast and good value.
Our presentation experts have put together a list of great body language examples you can use to improve your next presentation. And we’ve gathered some videos so you can see these body language tips in action.
Here is a quick guide to good body language and how to use it when presenting:
Improve Your Presentation Body Language – top tips
1. Use your body language to show confidence
Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart, and make sure your body is facing the audience. This will help you project confidence and command attention. Avoid crossing your arms, as this can make you seem closed off or defensive. Keep the bottom half of your body relatively still and put all your movement in the top half of your body.
2. Use your hands to emphasise points
Our clients frequently ask “What should I do with my hands?”.
Hand gestures are best used to emphasise key points. They also add energy to your presentation, particularly when you use them above shoulder-height. Jill Bolte’s TED talk demonstrates this well. Too much movement can be distracting, however.
Lots of tiny movements or flapping your arms around makes you look smaller and unconfident. Go for big, bold, purposeful gestures that you hold for a few seconds. These convey presence, leadership and authority.
When you aren’t using your hands to emphasise what you’re saying, hold your hands slightly in front of you, with bent elbows. That’s what good body language looks like. You may find this feels odd at first – but watch Ken Robinson to see how effective it can be.
If you are using a lectern, then above-shoulder gestures will be the only ones your audience can see. If you choose to rest your hands on the lectern, keep your hands loose and relaxed. Avoid looking as though you are hanging on for dear life!
3. Make eye contact
Making eye contact with your audience helps establish a connection and shows that you are confident and engaged. To use your body language most effectively try to make eye contact with different people throughout the room, rather than just focusing on one person.
What would you think if I didn’t look you in the eye?
Or if I avoided your gaze?
Or if I looked down every time I said something?
What impression do you get?
You need good eye contact to be a good presenter..
We like people who can make eye contact (remember the last time you were flirting with someone?).
We trust people who can “look you in the eye”.
We want to see people “eye-to-eye“.
When presenting or speaking in public you will get a better reaction if you improve your eye contact. Eye contact is a learned skill that takes practice. From extensive work with our clients, here are some easy tips you can apply for powerful eye contact:
- Only talk when you are looking at someone. No more looking into your notes or staring into the middle distance.
- Spend one or two sentences talking to each person. Get some ‘quality time’ with each person.
- Hold your eye contact until the end of the sentence.
- If you are nervous, if you don’t like looking into someone’s eyes, then look at their forehead or nose.
- Practice improving your eye contact. Start with friends. Make them point out each time your eye contact drops.
Just these simple tips for powerful eye contact will make you a more convincing and persuasive public speaker.
This is such a simple body language trick. Many people underestimated how powerful it is. Learn more about our award-winning presentation coaching
4. Use your facial expressions to show emotion
Your facial expressions can convey a lot of emotion and help engage your audience. Good body language means using facial expressions to show enthusiasm, concern, or surprise, depending on the content of your presentation. Check your body language in the mirror or with video to see what your face is saying.
Why Pick Benjamin Ball Associates for Your Coaching
At Benjamin Ball Associates, we’ve been coaching business people to improve their business communication skills for over 15 years. Our coaching is fast and effective. We work with individuals and with companies, one-to-one and in groups. Call us today to learn more.
“I honestly thought it was the most valuable 3 hours I’ve spent with anyone in a long time.”
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5. Use your body movement to add energy
Adding some movement to your presentation can help keep the audience engaged and add energy to your delivery. Good body language can be as simple as taking a step forward or backward when making a point, or using your hands to gesture.
As with hand gestures, deliberate movements that emphasise your content work well. But too much movement is distracting. Getting the balance right takes practice.
Aim to stand still for the majority of your talk. This will convey confidence and authority. Plan in advance when you will move, combing those movements with breaks in your content. Express a full thought or point in your new position before moving again.
Avoid pacing back and forth, which makes a speaker look distressed. Make a point, move to another part of the space and make your next point. Aim to emulate a pleasant countryside walk from viewpoint to viewpoint, rather than a nervous wait outside a labour ward!
Discover how you can transform your presentation skills with our intensive executive presentation coaching.
6. Beyond positive body language: use props effectively
Props can be a great way to add interest to your presentation and help illustrate your points. However, be sure to use props sparingly, as too many can be distracting.
7. Practise good body language and stage presence
Your stage presence, or the way you move and present yourself on stage, can greatly impact the effectiveness of your presentation. Practise your executive presence by rehearsing in front of a mirror, or by recording yourself and watching the footage. This will help you avoid any negative body language.
By using body language effectively during your presentations, you’ll fund it easier to engage your audience and deliver memorable messages. Remember to pay attention to your posture, hand gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, body movement, and stage presence. Practise using these techniques to enhance your presentations.
As soon as we become conscious of our bodies, they get in our way. When we’re faced with an audience, we become like learner drivers, frozen and unnatural. Advice to ‘act naturally’ isn’t useful, as being watched isn’t natural. Besides, communicating to an audience requires different body language than everyday, one-to-one communication.
Your body language matters when presenting.
We’ve all seen powerful speakers, whether in person or on platforms such as TED.com. We use words like ‘charisma’ and ‘presence’ to describe impressive speakers. But some speakers are uncomfortable to watch. Others use such distracting body language that we cannot focus on what they are saying.
Good body language with strong, positive non-verbal communication can be more powerful. Here, we share our top tips for best use of your hands, eye contact and on-stage movement.
These top tips will help you improve your body language when presenting.
- Start with good content in your presentation
- Ignore ‘Just act natural’ advice
- Get feedback and increase your body language self-awareness
- Establish good eye contact
- Use your hands when presenting
- Command the space where you are speaking
Remember, for Effective Body Language, Take control
Non-verbal communication has three uses, according to David Lambert.
It can:
-
replace speech (e.g. a wink)
-
reinforce speech (e.g. nodding while saying ‘yes’) a
-
give clues about our true feelings (e.g. fidgeting when nervous).
Successful speakers use open, controlled and strong gestures that reinforce their message. Less successful speakers contradict what they say with their non-verbal behaviour.
For instance, if your body language suggests nervousness when you speak, the audience will interpret this as a lack of confidence in your own message. Equally, if you fold your arms while you speak, you create an implied barrier between you and your audience. That’s why successful leaders learn how to control their posture and gestures to avoid negative or distracting body language.
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Better Body Language: Just acting ‘naturally’ doesn’t work
Speaking to large groups of people isn’t a natural situation, so aiming to behave ‘naturally’ is an unhelpful goal. In fact, to transfer energy and enthusiasm to your audience, you need to be ‘more’ than you would normally be in smaller-scale interactions.
For example, to be impressive when presenting you need to be more expressive and more powerful in your command of space.
Positive Body Language: Increase your self awareness
At Benjamin Ball Associates, we film our clients during our coaching sessions. When they watch the footage, they are often surprised to see their body language contradicting their message.
For example, one speaker subtly shook his head in a ‘no’ gesture’ when he was answering ‘yes’ to a question. For a low-tech alternative, try delivering your talk in front of a mirror or recording yourself on a phone. Learning how to watch yourself and improve from self-analysis is key.
A better presentation is the first step to better delivery
If your presentation is weak, even the best body language will leave audiences unmoved. Conversely, the better your presentation, the more confident you’ll feel about delivering it. You’ll find that your body language naturally improves once you feel confident and comfortable about your presentation.
That’s why we focus on getting that right first. In our presentation coaching We:
- Ensure you have a clear message
- Create a subtle structure that gently guides your audience
- Strengthen the language you use, so it is more powerful.
- Refine the start of your talk and end of your presentation until they produce maximum impact.
Then you’ll find polishing your body language much easier.
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How to make a stand-out presentation
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We can support you with all aspects of your talk. Not just body language, but also the content of your presentation, your voice and everything else that will make you a successful presenter. Read more about our public speaking training.
Over 15+ years our award-winning team has helped hundreds of CEOs and senior executives deliver impressive and persuasive talks, speeches and presentations.
We can transform your presenting skills and your body language in as little as a few hours.
Call Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email info@benjaminball.com to find out more.
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Mick May, CEO, Blue Sky
For 15+ years we’ve been the trusted choice for leading businesses and executives throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East. We’ll help you improve corporate presentations through presentation coaching, public speaking training and expert advice on pitching to investors.
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FAQ: How to Use Body Language to Enhance Presentations and Speeches
1. Why is body language important in presentations and speeches?
When you use good body language, it reinforces your message, builds credibility, and keeps your audience engaged. Confident posture, purposeful gestures, and facial expressions help convey enthusiasm and authority. One you have got great content then it’s time to start improving your body language.
2. How can I use posture to improve my presence?
Top tip is to stand tall with your shoulders relaxed and feet firmly planted. Actors often say ‘shoulders back, chest out.’ Avoid slouching or shifting nervously, as these can make you appear unsure. A strong posture exudes confidence and makes you more persuasive.
3. What role does eye contact play in effective communication?
Good eye contact creates connection and trust. You should be looking at different sections of the audience and maintaining stead eye contact with people. Avoid staring at your notes or slides. Good eye contact makes your speech feel more personal and engaging.
4. How should I use hand gestures in a presentation?
Most great presenters use open, natural gestures to emphasise key points. That means you should avoid crossing your arms, keeping hands in pockets, or overusing repetitive movements, as these can be distracting or signal nervousness.
5. What are some common body language mistakes to avoid?
Some of the top mistakes we see in our presentation coaching include:
– Fidgeting
– Pacing excessively
– Avoiding eye contact
– Using closed-off gestures (like folded arms)
– Facial expressions that do not match your words.
All of these can weaken your message.
6. How can I use movement effectively during a speech?
Purposeful movement, such as walking to emphasise a transition or stepping closer to the audience for impact, keeps energy levels high. Avoid aimless wandering, which will be distracting.
7. Does body language differ in virtual presentations?
Yes. When working on Teams or Zoom, sit up straight, look into the camera to simulate eye contact, and use expressive facial gestures. Keep hand movements within the frame and ensure your background is professional and uncluttered.
8. How can I improve my body language for presentations?
The best way to get better is to work with a top presentation coach. As well as this you can practise in front of a mirror or record yourself to identify areas for improvement. Get feedback from colleagues, and study great speakers to observe effective non-verbal communication techniques.
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