Monday , March 25 2024

How to Avoid Negative Body Language: 7 Deadly Sins of Nonverbal Communication

Body language is used to buttress points in the communication process. In public speaking for instance, positive body language is used to emphasize points and take control of the atmosphere, including captivating the audience. The challenge is inability to use the right body language, a situation that could spell doom for the speaker. In this article, various kinds of negative body language which could hamper message understanding in a communication process are discussed. Take a quick look and enrich your ability to communicate positively.

Negative Body Language: 7 Deadly Sins of Nonverbal Communication

If you’re that interested in what other people are showing you in terms of their intensions and motives, let’s turn that situation around: What about when you’re the one giving a speech or presentation? You get it: your audience wants to know the same things about you, including:

  • Are you trustworthy?
  • Is what you’re saying credible?
  • Do you have the audience’s interests at heart rather than your own?
  • Are you a confident speaker?
  • Can they believe in your message?

The list is actually much longer concerning how you’re coming across and whether your message is resonating.  Clearly, you need to use body language powerfully to be credible and persuasive in the eyes of your audience.

Your body language reveals an amazingly array of clues: about you, your message, and your relationship with your audience. Take a tour of hands-on techniques for using physical expressiveness to improve your presence and charisma. Click here for my ebookBody Language to Look and Feel Confident.

 

The 7 deadly sins of nonverbal communication undermines your public speaking credibility.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Nonverbal Communication

Below are the 7 ways speakers exhibit “negative body language” that undermines their credibility and influence. If you see your own behavior reflected here, it’s time to take stock and start employing body language that helps rather than hurts your cause.

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#1. Poor stance or posture.

Audiences cue in on your sense of self-worth by how you hold yourself. Slumped shoulders and a caved chest indicate surrender, not a willingness to take on the world in a worthy endeavor. As I tell clients at The Genard Method“How you stand affects your standing with the audience.” Here’s a easy yet effective exercise: Imagine a string leading from the top of your head into infinity. Someone is tugging gently and steadily on that string. Allow yourself to respond . . . and notice in a mirror how much more capable and confident you look!

#2. Avoiding eye contact.

You know the variations of this one: the nervous speaker who talks to the floor; the PowerPoint user who has a cozy dialogue with the screen while ignoring the audience; the keynoter who has an excellent relationship with his notes and none with the people in the seats. Or a presenter who reads those amazing invisible notes on the ceiling none of us can see. Trust is your most valuable commodity as a speaker, and that attribute begins and ends with eye contact. To dramatically improve your eye contact in public speaking, use this technique.

#3. Creating a barrier that shuts out listeners.

This sin has many variations. Standing with arms crossed; the fig leaf position of hands in front of the crotch; creating a church steeple with one’s fingers; “washing” the hands while speaking; even a gesture with palm outward toward the audience that seems to say, “Stop!” — Every one of these features a speaker creating a physical barrier in front of listeners. Let those arms remain at your sides, and bring them up to make a gesture that amplifies or supports your meaning. It may feel awkward at first, but you’ll soon get used to it.

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#4. Unproductive use of space.

Believe it or not, it’s easy to over-emphasize gestures and ignore using space! Audiences expect a performer, not a statue. In fact, it’s your job to command space. Using different parts of the stage tells an audience you’re comfortable up there; and few performance techniques aid engagement like letting listeners know you’re about to start a new point. If you stand in a different spot for each of those points, listeners will retain each one more reliably. Use your audience in terms of space as well, approaching them to answer questions or to “check in” frequently. Here are 5 acting techniques to improve your stage presence in public speaking.

#5. Employing weak or repetitive gestures.

“What should I do with my hands?” is a frequent question of anxious speakers. The answer is simple: a gesture should be an integral part of what you’re saying. As Hamlet put it, “Suit the action to the word, the word to the action.” With that mantra in mind, it should actually become difficult to use too many gestures, since that particular gesture couldn’t possibly fit that many expressions! The other half of this equation is the power and spareness of the gesture: each one you make should be strong, support the phrase, and end cleanly. Want more on effective gestures? Here’s how to look good and feel strong as a speaker.

#6. Relating negatively to listeners.

You’ve seen speakers accomplish this remarkable feat: Rather than cultivating influence with an audience, they antagonize them. Negative facial expressions, nodding impatiently at a questioner so they’ll shut up so you can answer, pointing a stiff finger at the next unlucky questioner in line (instead of using a “welcoming” gesture), or even looking at the floor as you ponder your momentous reply even as they’re still asking their question — these are clear indications that the speaker would rather be somewhere else. Pretty soon, of course, the audience will agree.

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#7. Clumsy use of objects.

You’ve seen the laser pointers that dance playfully close to an audience member’s eyes; the writing instruments held but never once used in a presentation; the piece of chalk tossed into the air constantly during a lecture; and the microphones held too close or waving in the air as part of a gesture. Like actors with props, speakers need to use objects rather than being used by them. As a minimum exercise in mastering objects, come out from behind a lectern whenever possible. A ponderous lecturn is the worst physical barrier of all, which is why I call it one of the “Devil’s Tools.”

Source:

www.gernardmethod.com

About Chinenye Nwabueze

Nwabueze is a writer with passion for cutting-edge news

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6 comments

  1. Reg no.2016304007 quiz no 3
    People should be very careful with themselves.

  2. Reg no.2016304001 quiz no 2
    People should be very careful with themselves.

  3. Reg no.2016304001 quiz no 2
    People should be more careful.

  4. Nwajiaku Maureen

    Body language is a way of communication with people in the public…

  5. martinezeiru Mmesoma mirian

    I think that people should take correction immediately

  6. okeke ifunanya favour

    People should be conscious of themselves in terms of non verbal language or communication..

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