The final aspect of effective communication is the visual component. In other words, the body language you use to express yourself while you are talking. All of the actions and little gestures you make with your hands and your face, the expressions you use while you talk, contribute to 55% of the overall impact you make on your audience. That is a significant component of the total message you are communicating to your audience.
If you think about it further, a hearing-impaired person in your audience would not need to worry excessively about the words you were speaking. He could focus on the 55% of the message you communicate through your body language and facial expressions. However, if a visually impaired was in the audience, he or she would be more impaired in understanding your message as they would miss receiving 55% of your presentation. he would be completely reliant on the other aspects of communication already discussed. Thinking of it this way can help highlight which areas of communication you should focus on improving.
Appealing to the Five Senses
However, in all cases, when communicating your message you need to appeal to people’s senses. The five senses are vital for communicating, as they are the five main ways we receive information from the world around us. The words you speak, the intonation and pitch or your voice–they are all received through the sense of hearing. How you present yourself visually, including your personal image and how you dress, along with the body language with which you communicate is all received through the sense of sight. In fact the input or information received through these two senses, sight and hearing, have a stronger impact on people that what they are simply thinking.
So let us look at both the verbal and visual aspects of communication. Clearly, the visual components are mainly comprised of your body language. But this is a broad area, including many different aspects. Your facial expressions speak volumesand clearly convey your emotions. Whether you are sad, or happy, glad to be there or reluctant, these emotions will show on your face and this can be used to your advantage in your presentation.
Deliberate Expression
If you want to emphasis a point, for example something distasteful, you can add extra emphasis by wrinkling your nose as if there was a bad smell in the air. This kind of acting and deliberate expression will engage people’s attention in an effective way because you will be appealing to their other senses, such as smell and taste, even if that reference is simply encouraging imagination. Indeed, painting word pictures for people that includes strong references to the five senses of touch, sight, smell, sound and taste is an effective way of helping them remember important information from your presentation.
Using your hands to gesture is also an effective part of body language, although it should be deliberate action, so as not to distract the audience with excessive movement. The only way you can truly know if you are over gesturing is to video record yourself and watch it back. Also, ask friends and family that you trust for their feedback. If there is a particular gesture you keep repeating, which is distracting, you can be certain they will let you know.
Nevertheless, used correctly, body language can be a great aid in your presentation. Do not be afraid to act out certain points. Movement catches people’s attention and helps keep the presentation moving along at a good pace. Acting out some of your points helps lighten the mood in the room, and people will be more receptive to what you are saying because you are engaging with them. Ask yourself which speaker you would prefer to hear. The one who stands rock still in one spot, talking in a monotone voice for the entire presentation or one who is dynamic to listen to and watch? I think I know what your answer would be…
