You’ve probably seen the chart. You know, the one that shows that what you say – your verbal communication – only accounts for 7% of what the people you’re talking to take in. The rest is accounted for by tone of voice and body language. 

Yet as The Economist notes:

“This wildly overstretches an old study which found that most emotional messaging—as opposed to the propositional kind—comes from tone and body language, especially when a neutral word such as “maybe” was used. But try conveying a fact like “It will rain on Tuesday”, with your eyebrows, and the difference becomes clear. Language allows for clear statements, questions and commands.”

That’s not to say it doesn’t matter: the way you present yourself, through your body language, can have a significant impact on how your message is received. 

For starters, body language is often the first thing people notice about you. If you appear confident, relaxed, and engaged, your audience is more likely to listen to what you have to say. If you seem nervous, fidgety, or disinterested, it may tune out or lose interest.

Take eye contact. Maintaining good eye contact shows you’re engaged and interested in what you’re saying, and it helps you establish a connection with your audience. Avoiding it can make you seem nervous or untrustworthy. This applies as much to when you’re on stage (move around on the stage so everyone in the audience feels you’re talking to them; don’t be looking down at your notes or your speech the whole time), as to when you’re being interviewed (look at the journalist in the same way you would a friend when having a conversation). 

Posture is also important. Standing up straight and tall conveys confidence and authority, while slouching or hunching can make you appear unsure of yourself or uninterested in your message. Similarly, using open and expansive gestures can help you convey enthusiasm and passion, while closed-off or defensive body language can make you appear guarded or unapproachable. 

Try smiling, though only when appropriate – there’s nothing worse than a forced or inane smile, especially when talking about “bad” things like deaths, job losses or homelessness.   

Ultimately, unless you have a tendency to gesticulate wildly like Rachel running in the park, or to tap your knee nervously, you should always try to be yourself. Audiences value authenticity. If it’s normal for you not to use your hands to express yourself, and to sit demurely with hands on top of each other, nestled in your lap, that’s fine. Too often, though, I see executives and politicians adopting this pose in TV interviews (probably because that’s how they’ve been trained), and it looks unnatural. If you use your hands to help you express yourself and convey your enthusiasm, go for it – just make sure your hands never rise above your chin, or else you’ll block off your face. 

To summarise, my 7 tips for good body language are:

  1. Make eye contact
  2. Be passionate and enthusiastic
  3. Smile (when appropriate – especially if you make a quip)
  4. Be confident (ensuring you’ve practised enough and/or checked out where you’re going to be speaking beforehand will help)
  5. If on stage, move – not constantly, but when you want to get a point across or speak to another section of the audience. 
  6. If it’s natural for you, use your hands and gestures – but don’t cover your face
  7. Stay calm – whatever works for you: a walk beforehand, a minute of breathing purposefully, thinking of something funny or just imagining yourself knocking it out of the park