Want to persuade audiences? Pay attention to your nonverbal communication! Here's how to use body language effectively in persuasive speeches.

Ever watch a powerful scene in a movie or play? Of course you have! Do you realize that the actors moved you not only because of the script, but from what they showed you? 

The best actors succeed not only from the lines they speak. They're also using the life of the character that isn't in those lines. In a truly interesting way, you're watching what isn't in the scene in front of you at all! 

Since you're not a mind reader, that actor is depending upon nonverbal communication to help you understand that character. He or she knows how body language can boost your impact and persuasiveness.

Body Language for Public Speaking

These purely physical elements of perception and influence predate language. And we are always strongly aware of them, even if we can't name them or identify their precise power. But they're always working alongside and beneath the identifiable parts of, say, your speeches and presentations.

Every speaker should know how to use body language to advantage, for the body is an essential tool of communication. Click here, for instance, to know how to command a stage for public speaking. And here's how to develop poise and presence when you're speaking virtually. When we present, we are bodies moving in space, and audiences react as strongly to what they are seeing as well as hearing! 

Below are ways you can use body language to excite and activate audiences. They're part of knowing how to use the power of performance to speak as a leader.

For Speaking when You're Standing

• Ground Yourself. Stand with your feet apart at armpit-width to create a stable and steadfast presence. In any live performance, you get part of your energy from the earth. Don't deprive yourself of that power.
  
• Move Purposefully. Too many speakers wander, pace, or move without purpose. Choose parts of the stage for each main point you discuss, and use visual aids and even the audience to give physical expression to your message. To boost your presence and charisma, learn these 6 skills building exercises for effective body language.
  
• Make Strong, Limited Gestures. The strong gesture that amplifies an important point is the one that adds to meaning. Make it clean and well defined. Too frequent or weak gestures are like giving no physical expression at all!
  
• Use Facial Expressions. Listeners decide in part whether to trust someone from facial expressions and the look in the speaker's eyes. An expressionless speaker is giving an audience too little to go on to make that decision.
  

For Speaking When You're Sitting

• Move Off the Back of the Chair. Getting too comfortable in a chair is a trap when you're speaking. That's because when you need to display engagement and passion, you basically have to heave yourself forward, which is awkward.
  
• Sit Straight and Lean Forward Slightly. Good posture while seated shows professionalism, and adds to authority. Leaning forward is an important clue to your listeners that you're engaged and interested.
  
• Open Yourself Up. A common mistake among speakers sitting at a board table is to clasp the hands together or gather the arms in a "locked" position. That creates a physical barrier between you and your audience.
  
• Gesture. Just because you're sitting down doesn't mean you can't gesture. Too many speakers become talking heads and don't use any gestures. Use your arms and hands!
  

When You're Speaking Virtually

• Stand and Move. Virtual or conference call listeners will hear your gestures in your speech . . . really! If you need to involve yourself physically when speaking in person, why should any movement disappear when you're speaking on the phone or the screen?
  
• Use Headphones. Not only will headphones free you to move and gesture, but they make your voice seem warmer and nearer. Once you get in the habit, you won't want to be without them.
• Ask Questions. Since listeners can't react to the visual clues you're giving them (such as when they should respond), you need to give these clues vocally. Both you and your audience will feel like you really are connected. And you'll keep listeners from multitasking!
  
• Use Plenty of Vocal Energy. In the absence of the visual clues that are at play in live speaking, your vocal energy must take up the slack. For instance, in a conference call with no gestures for listeners to see, people need your voice to do the pointing up and emphasizing. Here are my 5 Key Tools of Vocal Dynamics to help you make more powerful speeches and presentations.
  

Observe Your Audience's Body Language

• Direct Your Energy Outward Not Inward. Body language coming from your audience is as important as the nonverbal communication you're sending their way. Don't worry about how you're doing—watch to see how your listeners are responding. Therefore . . .
  
• Watch How Listeners Respond. Once you notice those movements, gestures, eye contact, and jiggling feet, pay attention if the patterns change. That's often a sign that you're losing listeners' engagement.
  
• Change Your Pace, and Approach the Audience When Necessary. If that happens, change what you're doing. Tell a story if you've been speaking in generalities; give an example to illustrate a point; switch out of the technology you're using . . . or start using one if you've been talking for too long without any visual component to your talk.
  
• Build in Interaction. Above all, keep your audience active. That may mean literally using body language, to get them on their feet or involved with an activity. Audiences are always more persuaded, motivated, and inspired when they're doing, not just listening.
  

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