I’ve recently attended a congress where a lot of breakout sessions where held. As the venue was not well equipped with rooms, a lot of these sessions happened in areas well visible for other attendees. So I was able to have short views into many presentations and saw many speakers do their thing. One particular detail got my attention. Hands! The majority of speakers had one or even both hands in their trouser pockets! Thinking about, I might do this as well, unintentionally…But it is actually not very good. It does neither look good, nor does it any good for the whole posture. Also, putting the hands into pockets prevents them from supporting your story.
Bad habit: Hand in trouser pockets...
One gives up a whole lot of expression when the hands are not where they belong. And in the air belong they do! Let the hands, arms, head, your whole body tell your story. Wave hands and arms, be a bit theatrical. Don’t worry about overdoing it; if you never used your extremities before, you most likely won’t do to much from the start. Worst thing that could happen is that people will point at you in the break, whispering to each other about “mr. flapping hands” or similar amiabilities. Congratulations: You left a lasting impression. You are on the right path, slow down a bit and go give further speeches!
As a side note: This is mainly a male problem. Women wear either skirts or trousers sans pockets. No need for gender change tough: If you are male and have the trouser-pocket-problem, just sew them pockets close. Next time your hands wander to the pockets and find them “close”, you will sure have a startling expression on your face. Good! Now let them hands do their thing. Concentrate on your speech, the rest will handle itself, automatically.
