Select Page

It might be that you need to give a presentation in a matter of weeks. You might have the content all prepared, the venue booked, and the willingness to do it. There’s only one problem. You’re not the most assertive person, and on stage with all eyes on you is the one place you absolutely need to be assertive.

A commanding expression is hard to achieve, but it can be learned, and it can be taught. There are a few points to keep in mind when planning your talk and experiencing it from moment to moment. We’d recommend the following:

Speak Slowly

A great first step to improve your presentation skills is to speak slowly. Talk and embellish each sentence. This allows people to soak into your words and truly listen to them. It also allows you to feel out your next sentence, and continue to stay on that path, instead of getting caught up in tongue-twisting sentences that are hard to come back from. Speak slowly, and not only do you seem more commanding and patient, but you’ll notice people will hang from everything you have said.

Speak To One At A Time

The best way to address a large crowd is one at a time. While talking to them, do not address the whole group. Instead, focus on one person in front of you, and talk to them. Hold eye contact and gesture to them. Then, after staying with them for about ten seconds, look at someone new and repeat the process. This will help you shrink the population of the room watching down to just, one. Just one at a time. And then the next one. And then the next one. This will measure your talking, and not only relax you, but help you seem more commanding to the person you are focused on. Being singled out and spoken to in a crowd, even when not expected to respond, can be something that causes people to focus on and listen to each and every exact word you say. Little will they know you’re simply trying to calm nerves and manage the scope of the situation.

Gesticulate

It’s okay to talk with your hands. In fact, it’s perfectly natural. Did you know that at least 80% of human communication is non-verbal? This might sound stunning to hear, but it’s true. Think about all the information about expression, body positioning, proximity and many other things you see when talking to someone. This is why the best comedians you know likely incorporate some form of physical comedy in their humor.’ However, for your purposes now, pointing to your supplementary material, talking with your hands as much as that is appropriate and if you have nothing the gesticulate with, keeping your hands at sternum height slipped into one another. This allows you to seem comfortable but can also access your physical expression when necessary.

With these simple tips, we are sure that the three hidden aspects of commanding expression will be yours to… well… command.