6 Body Language Hacks to help you nail your next presentation like a professional Master of Ceremonies / MC (2020)

By Luke Hannan

Check these top 6 body language hacks to have you speaking like a Professional Master of Ceremonies, MC or Paid Keynote Speaker in no time!!!
Following are my favourite techniques that I use every day during Corporate Presentations, as a Conference MC and when Public Speaking.
Read on, take note and use these 6 body language hacks to take your Public Speaking and Presentation Skills to the next level.
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1. Posture
2. Eye contact
3. Hand Position
4. Hand Gestures
5. Movement whilst on stage
6. Taking your position on stage

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Posture Posture Posture


If buying a house is about location location location, then professional level speaking or presenting all starts with posture posture posture.


Why is posture so very important?


As a professional Master of Ceremonies / Conference MC I’m extremely fortunate to see hundreds, even thousands or amazing speakers each and every year work their magic on the stages of Conferences all over the World.


Correcting your posture is probably not the smallest or easiest change you’ll make when stepping up the quality of your presentations - But how you stand or sit when you’ve got the floor is the foundation on which you’ll build all of your other presentation & Speaking skills - so as you embark upon your journey toward getting it right; you and especially your audience will definitely see one of the biggest uplifts in quality in the quality of your delivery as a speaker or presenter.


WHY?
Speaking is a physical action. When we talk, muscles in our tummies (our diaphragms) contract to squeeze air from our lungs, this air passes out of our lungs, via the vocal chords (that produces sound a.k.a. our voice) and it reverberates through our lower skull, past our tongue and out of our mouths and the world hears our message - but are they really listening???


SO?
Take lifting weights at the gym - for anyone who has ever dead-lifted or squatted over a long period of time, you’ll know that form is the key to keeping your body safe, importantly - good form is also the key to getting stronger and importantly lifting more!!!

If you’re not a gym junkie consider a 100m sprinter, optimal form means better conversion of muscle movement into forward motion (which in turn means you get the the end of the track faster)

If you’re not using your diaphragm properly people will still hear you, and you can still speak - but are you getting the most out of the speaking armory that your body represents?


HELP ME
First and foremost it pays to be in shape - stay fit - practise Yoga and hit the gym, do push ups, planks, squats in your bedroom - if you truly want fitness you’ll get it on any budget with any time frame - check eBay out for those selling their gym sets for $0.99 as they’re in a hurry to move - it’s all there - you’ve just got to want it bad enough…. Stamina and physical fitness help me as a Professional Master of Ceremonies and remember that the journey of a thousand miles starts it’s the first step - so get out there!!


STANDING:
Think mountain pose in yoga - but bring your hands in front of your belly button (don’t clasp…) and stand stall, straight yet relaxed. Quite often as a Conference MC I’ll be behind a lectern whilst as a sporting event or cocktail function as a Master of Ceremonies I’ll be standing either on stage or at ground level-  in the case of sporting events and usually walking around within the crowd - IN BOTH CASES I’ll always stand relatively the same when speaking


PRO TIP: The Lectern may seem like a great place to hide when your nervous about your speech or presentation but let’s be real here; you’re presenting or speaking on stage and in front of a crowd (they know you’re there) so resist the urge the to:

1. Lean down behind the lectern trying to hide
2. Leaning on the lectern with forearms resting in the “aero position” (think spin class exercise bike or triathlon / time trial bike position)
3. Crossing your legs and resting on the lectern - not only might it move (most are on wheels) or worse fall over. Plus even if it’s bolted to the ground you’ll automatically relax and slouch from your lower back upwards - making it harder to project your voice.

 


SEATED:

1. In a meeting room - Steer well clear of the “executive layback” - and go for what I like to call “the locked and loaded” position. - See Figure A below - this woman is locked and loaded and ready to fire - GIVEAWAY!!! 1 hour of free public speaking training if you know who she’s speaking to!! - 1st to comment wins!!!!
2. On a stage (i.e. Panel Discussion) - this one’s a little more ambiguous or fluid.
   • Seat / Bar Stool - your form on a standard seat (think high school seating) or bar stool is either going to be Bad or Good - there is no in between. Adopt the “locked and loaded” position and take control - the alternative means your entire diaphragm is compressed, your lower back is arched more than a bendy banana and your voice will not Project well - sit up straight and deliver like a boss!
   • Couch / Lounge Chair - Most keynote speakers or panelists I've ever hosted as a panel moderator will tend to sit right back and get comfortable - and in the vast majority of cases they’re C-Level executives who’ve spent a fair amount of time on conference stages (meaning they’re relatively comfortable - if this is you - my best advice is to sit comfortable and deliver like a boss!) if however you’re unsure it pays to get there early and see what works for you - remembering always how certain slouched positions may change the way you project your voice.​

Check out the posture tips in the below Talking tip

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​EYE CONTACT
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The Eyes are the window to the soul and if you’re looking to build that next level intimate connection with your audience - look into them.
Whether it’s an audience of 1, or 1,000 you’ll almost always be able to see peoples eyes. Sometimes as a Master of Ceremonies for a massive Gala Dinner (think 400+ people) I’ve found that the lights can be rather bright - but you can still lock onto those sitting close.


Quality not Quantity

• There’s looking at someone and then there’s looking into them… The best advice I ever received from Sarah Ewen (a speaking coach and presentation legend http://www.publicspeakingforlife.com.au/ ever regarding eye contact was to look, connect, make your point - then connect with someone else. This is good advice - stick to it!
• Further to the above (and taking it from the DON’T DO) - avoid eye darting, where it’s like your trying to look at so many people in such a short period of time that you look at many sets of eye, but you connect with no-one

The Boss Trap

• Avoid presenting only to the senior people in the room, this is very prevalent in business meetings and forums where senior managers and/or key influencers are present in the room. The team members are presenting (and often quite well)BUT…. They present to the senior members of the audience predominantly (or only) and if you’re the audience and not in the ‘presented to’ cohort things can get a little lonely.
• It would be easy to think this point relates only to business meetings - it’s so very prevalent on the big stage also (as a Professional Master of Ceremonies this I see this regularly) where the executives of the company are present in the crowd however the message is delivered from the presenter or speaker on stage almost exclusively to the known parties, leaving everyone else out

Learn more here

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HAND POSITION


Hands Hands Hands - behinds your eyes I truly believe these little puppies are arguably your most powerful body language tools!!!


Use em’ well, and your ability to convey a message (i.e. communicate) will drastically improve - so how do you keep those bad boys locked and loaded ready to fire on your suspecting audience at all times when duty calls? Here’s my top 3:

1. RELAX: Ok so locked (and loaded) is a substandard definition of how you should hold your hands - certainly not locked - First and foremost you’ll need to relax
2. Johnny Wilkinson (Hands): For the die-hard English (or Australian) Rubgy fans you’ll no-doubt remember his hands when kicking for goal. Now importantly in this photo focus only on the manner in which his hands are touching, not where they are in relation to his body and definitely not the way he is standing - there are subtle variances between speaking on a stage and kicking for goal. Interestingly his legs, buttocks and feet are great for speaking - if we rotated his upper body back so he was standing straight, relaxed his arms and lowered his forearms to look like this he’d be spot on
3. No clasp: Clasp = Claps - if you clasp your hands, you’ll clap when you return from a gesture, and believe me everyone will hear it - so don’t risk the clap…. Stay aware and away from the clasp….

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HAND GESTURES


Although we like to dance like no-one is watching & sing like no-one is listening - Hand gestures when your public speaking of presenting have to power to really take your presenting to the next level or alternatively confuse your audience with preponderant un-coordination. Get it right and you’ll transition from beginner to intermediate and then expert in a compressed timeframe. Your audience will be raving so be sure to present like a professional - Use your hands.


In a study done by Science of People - check out https://www.scienceofpeople.com/hand-gestures/ found that in an average TED talk (some 18 minutes) - the most popular TED talkers used their hands almost twice as much as the least favourite TED talks (some 465 vs 272) - that’s pretty insane and of course the quality of content, delivery and so many other variables affect the popularity of TED talks - but numbers are numbers.


If you’re an advanced speaker looking to boost their gesture repertoire I’d strongly suggest to read the entire blog post by Science of People - https://www.scienceofpeople.com/hand-gestures/ it’s super detailed, however if you’re just beginning, perhaps you’ve got your first MC assignment or Public Speaking task ahead of you - start small.


Here are my 3 golden rules of Hand Gestures

1. Use your Hands: Kind of going without saying this one but to enter the , you’ll need a ticket - and using your hands is a ticket to the game - if you’re able to use your hands - do it!

 

1. Match your gestures and words: As a Master of Ceremonies I’m lucky to see so many wonderful speakers and presenters. One thing that I see often (and of course have been guilty of - we all have) is non congruent body language and words -

Here’s an example: It’s widely accepted that nodding your head is a Yes and Shaking your head is a No. If you’re trying to respond or suggest positively and/or with a Yes verbal response - but you’re shaking your head - your audience will get confused as to whether it’s a Yes or a No.
The same thing happens with hands - let’s say you’re standing in for a friend as a Wedding MC and are verbally ”Welcoming” guests but your hands are pushing them away - it’s not congruent and it will affect your ability to deliver key messages (i.e. communicate) with your audience.


Practice, Prepare & Persevere: 3 P’s that ill help you,

1. Practice: Although some suggest not to practice hand gestures (as you may appear too rehearsed) - I believe if you at least use your hands when rehearsing in front of a mirror - you‘ll be able to spot any really non congruent words/gestures and adjust - and it’s always better to make the fundamental errors in practice so that on the stage or in that important meeting - you deliver like a professional speaker
2. Prepare: Take the time to learn about your stage and/or where you’ll be presenting or speaking - will you have a microphone, is it:
   1. Handheld - if so this will restrict most of your hands movements to one hand
   2. Lectern - you’ll have two free hands allowing movement however the space directly in front of you will be a little impeded (else you’ll be playing Wii Tennis with the microphones before you know it!!)
   3. Lapel Mic - you’ll have free hands, and generally nothing in front of you, but beware of moving too much and you may get clothes rubbing sounds through the mic plus nervous energy burned by doing laps from left to right on the stage is never good (unless of course you’re an aerobics instructor - then go for it!!!)
3. Persevere: Public speaking is a journey - there are times as an Master of Ceremonies when I’m just through some technical stuff (often housekeeping - i.e. toilets / fire exits) and think to myself - Oh my, i’m a statue, and I’ve gotta get back into the hand gesture frame of mind - so remember as long as you have a crack, seek feedback and always move forward - you’ll be a professional in no time!

 
Ensure your hands are open

1. Great advice from a public speaking world champion Dananjaya Hettiarachchi is to keep your hands open - palms facing the audience.

         For open gestures this is a real winner as it keeps your body open.  

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​MOVEMENT WHILST ON STAGE

So you’re on stage, rocking it and now what - shall we be the Statue of Liberty or a child with ants in their pants…..?

It depends….

If you’re behind a lectern (using a lectern Microphone) you’ll honestly need to stay put… sure feel free to walk around - but know that if you do (not only will your MC be festering you to move back to the Mic) but the audience won’t be able to hear you…

PRO TIP: when speaking at a lectern and referring to slides…. Know that your voice projects all around you, but in therms of Microphone Pick-up you’ll need to be speaking into the mic. If you’re talking and need to turn around - use this opportunity for some silence (because your voice will drop right off in terms of volume if you look away when speaking

If you’re free to roam.  When a lapel microphone (or a handheld) the stage is your domain - use it wisely and don’t be running left / right / left right….  Here’s how I avoid pacing left to right and in doing to I keep the necks of my audiences safe (and MC like a boss…)

1. Be aware of your nervous energy - this is a big one… when given the opportunity to move, speakers or presenters can pace that nervous energy out so it’s super important to keep your movement in check
2. Record yourself - for this you’ll need a trusted advisor in the audience with a phone to record you - this is the best feedback you’ll ever get and you can compare your movement to that of your favourite speaker or speech and if you’re not in check take it point by point, sentence by sentence and check out where you’ll need to find tune you moves
3. I like to use the point / move marriage… WTF is that? Ok so you move, connect with someone in your audience (look into their eyes - not just at them) make your point, then move onto the next point and at that time you move. A word of caution - with quick bullet points perhaps you’ll stay put to for a group and move for the next group

There are no hard and fast rules to movement on stage - save that less is quite often more, go slow, get feedback and be sure to reflect on how you move the next time you’re on stage or presenting / public speaking.

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​TAKING YOUR POSITION ON STAGE


This is an easy fix as the start of your Speech or Presentation and slightly tougher to remember to execute at the end.
If your speaking where there is a Professional Master of Ceremonies the audience will know who you are & why you are there (Any Professional MC should have reset the audience, introduced you and discussed in brief your why)





​BEFORE YOUR CALLED ONTO STAGE (key considerations)

1. Have you got your notes
2. Do you have water
3. Are you mic’d up or do you need a mic, is there one there (usually the AV team and/or MC will take care of this) however just note it down - furthermore an organised event team will take care of everything, so get there early, meet them & discuss your objectives and how you’ll present - this can open great dialogue as to the best microphone setup (lapel / lantern / handheld). If you’ve got the option(s) choose the best one for your situation
4. Have you got timing sorted (who’ll help you stay on time)
5. Is there a slide ‘clicker’ to navigate through your presentation?

WHEN IT’S TIME TO ROCK & ROLL!!!
When you’re called on stage, or your time arrives to present / speak;

1. Take your time when moving onto stage
2. Calmly walk to the lectern or the position where you’ll be speaking
3. Take a calm deep breath when you get there
4. Begin your presentation
5. Rock that son of a gun!!! And remember - you can never lose, you only ever win or learn!!!

ONCE THE MAGIC IS OVER


Ahh the pressure is off & the crowd goes wild!!!! What now….
Normally in a conference your Master of Ceremonies or Compere will begin speaking, thank you again, facilitate Q&A and again sing your praises. Once that is finished, slowly make your way off stage and remember that although you’re now extremely relaxed (as it’s all over) do not drop your guard. Silly comments or jokes can ruin all the good work you’ve put in. So with appropriate place (not crawling or sprinting) make your way off stage.


If there’s no MC you may have to take questions yourself more on Q&A later. But once all is over, again, don’t rush off stage. Take your time, relax and I always like to hold for just a moment when the applause is roaring to just soak it in for a tic (not too long though - then it just gets awkward….)

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There's my top 6!!
There are so many body language tips and tricks, all of which have been integral in me taking the quality in my MC / Master of Ceremonies opportunities to a higher level.

​For more public speaking tips and training - check out the suite of video at: 
https://www.lukehannan.com.au/talking-tips.html
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And now I’d love to hear from you:

Which strategy from today’s post are you excited to try first?

let me know by leaving a comment below!