***What Should You Do With Your Hands When Public Speaking?

By Nancy Daniels The Official Guide to Public Speaking
The official guide to Public Speaking

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One of the most common questions I hear from my clients when they are practicing their presentation skills, is what should they do with their hands? That is a good question, so let me answer that question with a question to you? What do you do with your hands when you are in conversation? When you are talking, are your hands moving to some degree?

Whatever you are doing with your hands during a conversation is exactly what you should be doing with your hands during a presentation.

If you are not sure what you do with your hands when you are in a one-on-one conversation or when you are speaking to a group of people, create an opportunity to video-tape yourself in conversation. While you may feel self-conscious in the beginning, give it a minute or two and concentrate on those to whom are speaking. Trust me, you will forget that the camera is rolling.

This is not something you should try without others – the beauty of taping yourself in conversation is that you will get the most honest portrayal of yourself. Practicing in this particular situation without other people present will not work because you need their feedback from the conversation. Otherwise you would be acting. I don’t want you acting in this situation.

Play it back, watch and listen to yourself. What are you doing with your hands? When you are speaking, are your hands moving at all? The chances are good that when you are talking in conversation, your hands are moving in some fashion. The movement that you see in playback is the same movement you would use on stage in front of an audience because the best in this business treat their audience as if they were having a conversation in their living room.

That is one of the secrets of dynamic public speaking and, in that sense, your facial expression, the tone and color of your voice, as well as your body language, speak volumes about you and your level of confidence. If your hands are hanging limp at your sides, then you are telling your audience that you are either bored or scared to death. If you stand perfectly still during your presentation, then you are relaying your fear.

By moving during your delivery, you will feel more relaxed. By using your hands to gesture or to ‘speak’ as well as your voice, you will be more dynamic in presenting. If you are new to public speaking and you feel the need to hold on to something, you can keep the remote from your computer in your hand, if you are using a Power Point presentation or slides, or you could even hold onto a pen. In time, however, it would be wise to practice without a ‘prop.’ If you don’t need to hold onto something in normal conversation, then you shouldn’t need it in public speaking.

Gesturing with your hands while speaking adds so much to your delivery. Don’t let them go unnoticed. Use your hands exactly as you would were you in conversation with your boss, your colleagues, your spouse, your partner, or your children. It is natural; it is normal.