使用肢体语言提高公众演讲水平

Body Language Can Help With Public Speaking 使用肢体语言提高公众演讲水平

Today, we return to the subject of successful public speaking centering on the physical message of presentation¹.

Some call this body language. Charles LeBeau is a professor of public speaking and has written several books about how to do it well.

Mr. LeBeau tells VOA that body language includes posture², eye contact and gestures - how you move your hands or arms.

“For the physical message, a lot of non-native presenters⁴ are going to have problems with posture, and eye contact, and gestures. I think a lot of this comes from nervousness. 

"Not only are they nervous because they’re doing a presentation, but in addition to that they’re really nervous because of their English, and their lack of confidence⁵, lack of experience in their English, they’re trying to figure out the grammar, what I want to say, and they’re having all kinds of difficulty⁶ doing that, and also controlling their body.”

We have all seen nervous presenters in classrooms and meetings. One effect of being nervous is moving from side to side. A presenter³ does not need to stand perfectly⁷ still. In fact an audience can lose interest in a speaker who does not move.

How a speaker moves is important. Whole-body movement should be slow and planned to command attention. Such movement helps to communicate confidence.

New public speakers know that they should look at the audience while they speak. But they look at their notes on a paper or at the screen if they have an electronic⁸ presentation.

“With posture, the typical problem  that I see is that they are often moving back and forth⁹, and they’re not facing the audience. They’ll often be facing the white board or the screen with slides and be talking to that rather than talking to the audience.

"Same thing with eye contact – they find it really, really difficult - some of them find it really difficult - making eye contact with the audience, because they’ll be looking at their notes, they’ll be looking at their computer, they’ll be looking at the screen, they will be looking at the floor. The problem of having notes, and trying to talk from notes , often is a big problem. So they have trouble with eye contact.”

Charles LeBeau says the best way to avoid this problem is to use images and few words for notes instead of sentences. The image should help communicate the point you want to make. Writing a few words with the image on your slide helps you remember that point. Then you can look at the audience while speaking.

“Another problem I’ve noticed is oftentimes there’ll be a lot of sentences or words on the slides and no images. So I think the key is if they can figure out what images to use that will communicate their message, because the images will communicate faster and more clearly than words.”

Holding on to notes also makes it more difficult for a speaker to gesture naturally. Mr. LeBeau’s book, “Speaking of Speech,” discusses this.  He says gestures should support the point the speaker is making. For example, when talking about three ideas, hold up three fingers to introduce them. Then hold up one finger while explaining the first idea, two fingers for the second, and so on.

Other experts advise moving your body to a different place for each idea. Stay in place until you finish making that point. Then move to the next place on the stage or in the room.

Mr. LeBeau says a good way to change your body language is to make a video of your presentation and watch yourself. This helps you to become aware of what you need to change. 

“I find often times, the gestures don’t look natural. They are poorly delivered, or they are just nonexistent. Students can video themselves, and then look at it, they can clearly see: “Oh, My! I had no idea that I looked like that! My posture! I’m moving all over the place. Look at my hips¹⁰. It’s going back and forth and back and forth.

"And my eye contact! All of these other goofy things that I’m doing  without noticing it, or thinking that ‘well, it’s not such a big deal.’  But if I can see it I can realize oh, ‘ok, I see, I see, I see what I’m doing.’ I think that helps them change more quickly. So they can do their presentation again, and work on changing, then they can compare, and they can see that they can make quick improvement¹¹.”

An important part of public speaking is practice. When you practice remember these important tips: Be aware of your posture, eye contact, and gestures. Record yourself using a phone, tablet¹², or camera. Watch yourself and plan what you will do to improve.

Look for opportunities to speak and gain more confidence. Mr. LeBeau says his students find the physical message the easiest thing to change in order to become a better presenter.

“The first thing that we deal with is the physical message. And the reason we do that is so students can have a real positive experience really quickly. You know, I looked like this in the beginning and now, after one day, or a couple of classes, now I look like this - I do look much better!

"I think it helps them feel more positive about the experience. It helps them see that ‘yes, I can do this, I can look confident.’ So, I think that it’s the easiest to change, and maybe the most important thing to deal with first.”

In our next Speaking Tips, we will look at the visual¹³ message, the visual aids you show the audience, and the story message, how to organize the ideas you present.

Words in this Story

posture - n. the way in which your body is positioned when you are sitting or standing¹⁴

eye contact - n.  a situation in which two people are looking directly¹⁵ into each other's eyes

gesture - n. a movement of your body (especially of your hands and arms) that shows or emphasizes¹⁶ an idea or a feeling

nervousness - n. having or showing feelings of being worried and afraid about what might happen

confidence - n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

stage - n. a raised platform in a theater, auditorium¹⁷, etc., where the performers¹⁸ stand

aware - adj. knowing that something (such as a situation, condition, or problem) exists

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

1 presentation   

n.赠与，陈述，介绍；表演，展示

参考例句：

• Last week we went to the presentation of a new play.上星期我们去观看了一场新剧的演出。
• The manner of presentation is highly important.介绍的方式很重要。

2 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

3 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

4 presenters   

n.节目主持人，演播员( presenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each week presenters would put the case for their favourite candidate. 每个星期主持人推出他们最喜欢的候选人。 来自互联网
• Karaoke was set up to allowed presenters to sing on the stage. 宴会设有歌唱舞台，可让出席者大演唱功。 来自互联网

5 confidence   

n.信任，信托，自信，信心，把握，大胆，厚颜，过于自信，狂妄

参考例句：

• We have full confidence in our victory.我们有必胜的把握。
• I should like to exchange a few words with you in confidence.我想私下和你交换点意见。

6 difficulty   

n.困难，费劲；难事，难题；麻烦，困境

参考例句：

• If there is any difficulty,please let us know promptly.倘有困难，请迅速通知我们。
• A little difficulty like this is nothing to us.这点困难算不了什么。

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 electronic   

adj.电子的；n.[-s]电子学，电子设备

参考例句：

• It is an electronic device with many uses.这是一部具有多种用途的电子仪器。
• Father needs a new electronic shaver.爸爸需要一个新的电子剃须刀。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 improvement   

n.改进，增进；改进之处，改善的地方

参考例句：

• The doctor noticed a gradual improvement in his patient.医生注意到病人在逐渐恢复健康。
• I can detect signs of improvement in your thinking.我可以察觉出你思考问题方面的进步。

12 tablet   

n.平板，门牌，笔记簿，碑，匾

参考例句：

• Take a tablet and your headache will go.吃一片药你的头就不疼了。
• Fill a glass with water and dissolve this tablet in it.倒杯水把药片放进去溶解了。

13 visual   

adj.视力的，视觉的，观看的，直观的，看得见的，光学的

参考例句：

• The film is a visual art.电影是一种视觉艺术。
• His designs have a strong visual appeal.他的设计在视觉上很有感染力。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 directly   

adv.直接地，径直地；马上，立即

参考例句：

• I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
• She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。

16 emphasizes   

强调( emphasize的第三人称单数 )； 加强语气； 重读； 使突出

参考例句：

• Marx concentrates on the alienation of labour and emphasizes the invidious aspects. 马克思集中论述了劳动的异化，强调它令人厌恶的方面。
• What he emphasizes most is that we must walk the mass line. 他最强调的是我们必须走群众路线。

17 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

18 performers   

n.演出者( performer的名词复数 )；演奏者；表演者；履行者

参考例句：

• The boss kissed the other performers off as mere amateurs. 老板认为其他的演员只有业余水平而把他们打发掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They manage to sign up all the best performers. 他们设法跟所有最佳演员签订合同。 来自《简明英汉词典》