When you get up to speak before a live audience, or if you are already standing and moving toward the front of the room to speak, all eyes are on you—and your posture. Your audience is instantly forming opinions about you, your confidence, your enthusiasm, and how interesting you will be. And a great deal of this is based on how you are standing.
Many of us are nervous or shy when we have just been introduced. So without realizing it, we shrink ourselves by looking down, curling our shoulders down, and compressing our bodies. At a subconscious level, we are thinking “if I make myself small enough, nobody will notice if I screw up.”
This is the exact opposite of what you want to do.
Instead, you want to stand as tall as possible, without appearing to be stiff. It may be helpful to think of it as though you were trying to get the top of your head to touch an imaginary ceiling that is three inches above you. (I’m not suggesting you get on your tip toes or that you grimace trying to contort your body upward) Think of yourself as actually growing another couple of inches, as you are walking up to speak (this will help your confidence too).
By holding yourself high, it is nearly impossible for your chest to cave inward in the manner that self-conscious people often do. If you are holding yourself as high as possible, your stomach muscles will be working to lengthen your body and you will benefit from a mild slimming effect. Also, if you are holding yourself as high and as tall as possible, it is also impossible to appear to be slouching, leaning or slumping in any sloppy fashion.
However, one word of caution, if you try to hold yourself high and you stop moving your neck, head, body or arms in a natural way, you will create an entirely counterproductive effect: you will seem like the Wizard of Oz’s “Tin Man” only dorkier.
So before and during your presentation, hold yourself high, but remain fluid and natural.
