Here's how you can project confidence and assertiveness through body language in presentations.

"I am a Tree..." All too often I see speakers nervously sway back and forth during their talk. Shifting weight from one side to the other, like they are on a small boat in rough waters. DON'T MAKE YOUR AUDIENCE SEA SICK! How do we fix that? Say to yourself "I am a Tree." Once you find center stage, plant your feet on the ground (maybe use a piece of spike tape to mark center stage) and pretend your feet are the roots of a tree. Your feet are buried deep in the Earth, and like a tree, you won't shift your footing, or move around. By silently repeating this mantra to yourself, you will unknowingly be monitoring your swaying, while holding space onstage and telegraphing confidence. Stand tall like a tree. Hold space like a tree.

You want to stand upright, but not ramrod-straight like a marine boot. Place your feet roughly shoulder or hip distance apart, balance your weight on both feet, stand a little forward on the balls of your feet, and for goodness sake, train yourself not to sway back and forth or shift from one foot to the other. Direct all your nervous energy to your face and your hands, to make your facial expressions animated enough to be visible in the back row, and to make your gestures energetic, from the shoulder, and emphatic.

If you are someone who likes to lean on podium then do so with a power stance. If you don’t know what to do with your hands then clasp them. If you want a practical demo then watch Obama in most of his addresses!

Your body language is super important!! If you are standing quite stiff on stage, you will be deemed as very nervous or unsure about your public speaking and the content of it, minimising your impact. Instead, use the space available to you— using your hands to create an engaging atmosphere, moving about etc. can all show your own enthusiasm for what you are speaking about and therefore engage others to be interested in what you are saying!

Gestures with hands are mostly made within the "Box" frame and Mudras can signal power, control, and flow of energy from you to your audience.

Ever wonder how to instantly command a room during your presentations? Imagine stepping onto the stage for a major pitch. You start with a powerful posture, standing tall with shoulders back & feet firmly planted. As you speak, you maintain deliberate eye contact with your audience, making each person feel directly addressed & engaged. Your gestures are purposeful & open to highlight key points, avoiding any nervous fidgeting. Your facial expressions align with your message—smiling to build rapport during welcoming remarks and adopting a serious look to underscore critical data. By mastering these techniques, you exude confidence & assertiveness, captivating your audience from start to finish, delivering your message with maximum impact.

Whether there are three in the audience, or hundreds, don’t get stuck staring off in space, at the lectern or back at the screen full of your slides. Just as you would in any conversation in person, engage with your audience by using eye contact. Don’t stare down the audience- that is intimidating. But to give visual cues with your audience increases engagement. Eye contact with those in the back as well as those in the front helps enormously.

To be an effective speaker, use your facial expressions to enhance audience engagement & attention. Some ideas to think about: 1. Start your speech with a WARM SMILE. It relaxes your audience who will easily warm up to your messages. Also shows that you are not arrogant but amicable & likeable. Smiling enhances your likability. The more your audience likes you, the more they will be engaged with your content. 2. Don't let your FACIAL REACTION show that you are upset or something has gone wrong during your speech. Practise taking a breath & continue when something like this happens. 3. EYE CONTACT will help you win your audience over by confidently engaging them with your content. Look at every part of the audience - left, right, centre.

This particular page is about confidence and assertiveness, so be advised that not all vocal variety conveys those impressions. In particular, every time you end an idea, your vocal pitch should go down just a bit. I live on the west coast of the United States, where people commonly end their utterances by letting their pitch trail upward, so it sounds as though they're asking question after question. A 2019 study by a team of researchers from Penn State found that people commonly lower their pitch when they answer a question that falls within their area of expertise. Don't distort your voice, but use the lower end of your comfortable speaking range.

When you walk around the stage space you are subconsciously signaling your territory. When you walk it helps your mind flow and gives you a second or two to arrange your thoughts.

The principle is very simple: stand still while you're developing a key idea, and when you move to a different key idea, walk to a different part of the room. You absolutely must get out from behind the lectern and approach the audience -- hiding behind a piece of furniture kills your efforts to appear confident. And if someone asks a question, take a few steps toward them as they ask it; not only does that convey confidence, but it also shows them you welcome their contribution. We call it a nonverbal immediacy cue, and it can work miracles to show an audience you feel affiliation with them.