Theme: The role of body language and gestures in presentation

6. Speak Clearly
It’s not uncommon for the nerves to get the better of you during the presentation and you stutter or mumble, especially if there are tricky words involved. Practicing your speech before the presentation is a good way to make sure you feel comfortable delivering it and that your audience will be able to understand you.
Another tip that'll help you speak clearly and confidently is to imagine you’re delivering your presentation to your friends.
7. Don’t Be Afraid to Gesture
If you watch other presenters, you’ll notice one thing in common: all great presenters always use hand gestures to help deliver their presentation. Hand gestures will help you stress what's important as well as express feelings and convictions. Your passion for the topic will become more apparent as our gestures are more lively when we're passionate about something.
Gestures can help you express feelings during a presentation. (Image source: Envato Elements)
Hand gestures will show your audience you care about the presentation topic and that you're an effective communicator so don’t be afraid to use them during a presentation.
8. Maintain Eye Contact
As you give your presentation, be sure to maintain eye contact with your audience and face them. Doing so will make them feel like you’re talking directly to them and will help keep them interested in your presentation.
Avoiding eye contact or turning your back to them, on the other hand, will come off as rude and break the connection with the audience.
9. Remember to Breathe
While you’re on the stage, it can be all too easy to get caught up in your presentation and start to speak fast. But if you speak too fast, your audience will tune out because it'll be hard to follow you and you’ll run out of breath. That’s why it’s important to take a pause and remember to breathe. Breathing properly will also help you with your voice pitch and tone so you don’t sound strained and nervous.