Over 75% of the population experiences public speaking anxiety. So if you’re worried about an upcoming speech, you’re not alone! But fear doesn’t have to get in the way of delivering a great talk or presentation. In fact, there are lots of ways to overcome public speaking anxiety. Mastering your body language is just one of them. Because even if you don’t quite feel confident, you can still look it.

Below, we share our guide on mastering your body language for confident public speaking, including helpful tips and tricks to prepare you for your next speech.

What does confidence look like on stage?

There are multiple aspects to appearing confident when public speaking, including the following:

Good posture: Standing tall with an open chest and feet hip-width apart.
Hands: Avoiding fidgeting or shaking and using gestures to emphasise points.
Eye contact: Maintaining eye contact with the audience or camera.
Appearance: Looking relaxed and comfortable – this may require a neutral facial expression or smiling if it’s appropriate for the topic. Feeling confident in your appearance also matters – this could come from wearing your best clothes or taking extra care with your grooming before your speech.
Voice: Projecting your voice, delivering your talk clearly at an appropriate pace, with intentional pauses and inflexion.

Below, we’ll focus on each of these aspects individually, and share tips on how you can appear more confident in that area.

Public speaking body language: posture

Stand up straight

Standing up straight with your feet hip-width apart will not only help you look more confident – it will help you sound more confident too. Having an open chest will help you speak more clearly, project your voice, and take deeper breaths – something that can also help ease your nerves.

If you feel uncomfortable standing still, you can also walk around at appropriate times, such as during transitions in your presentation. A little movement can make you look more at ease, but you should avoid pacing constantly, as this could be distracting for your audience.

Power pose before your speech

Many public speaking pros swear by doing power poses before a speech. There’s also scientific evidence to suggest that doing power poses releases testosterone in the brain, helping you feel more confident.

The Superman pose is one of the simplest and most effective power poses to try – and it’s just an exaggerated version of how you should stand on stage anyway!

To do the Superman pose, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place your hands on your hips. Take up as much space as you can during this pose and hold it for about a minute. You might feel silly at first, but it could give you an instant confidence boost!

Do posture-fixing exercises

If you don’t have naturally good posture and find it uncomfortable to stand up straight, you could try posture-fixing exercises like yoga or pilates. These exercises are obviously not a quick fix, but they’ve been proven to improve posture and flexibility and reduce stiffness over time. They can also improve your mental wellbeing and alleviate the symptoms of anxiety, so it’s well worth getting your stretch on in the weeks running up to your speech!

Public speaking body language: hands

Avoid fidgeting and shaking

Fidgeting with your hands is not only distracting for your audience – it can make you look unconfident, too. Shaky hands are also a dead giveaway for nerves!

If you’re a fidgeter or your hands tend to shake when you’re nervous, try holding something like a notepad, tablet, or remote control clicker. This will give your hands something to do and help you feel a little less awkward.

Gesticulate to emphasise your points

The very best public speakers use their hands to emphasise their points when delivering a speech. There’s no exact formula on how to gesticulate, but it should look natural and comfortable.

One of the best ways to get comfortable gesticulating is by watching great public speakers and replicating their hand movements with your presentation. Check out the TED Talk library for inspiration and to see some of the world’s best keynote speakers in action.

Public speaking body language: eyes

Make eye contact with your crowd

Maintaining eye contact with your audience is one of the best ways to portray confidence. But that doesn’t mean you have to look directly at individual people. If that’s comfortable for you, do it! But if the thought of maintaining eye contact with individuals while on stage makes you squirm, don’t worry.

Your audience isn’t generally able to tell who or what you’re looking at, so long as you’re looking vaguely at them. That means there are a few ways to give the impression that you’re maintaining direct eye contact, without actually having to do so.

Here are some options of what you can look at while public speaking:

Look towards the crowd rather than directly at people e.g. you could look at the top of someone’s head, or even an empty chair.
Switch eye contact with a new person every few seconds, before looking back at your presentation or notepad.
Look just beyond the back row of people, then occasionally bring your gaze to the front row. This actually makes you look more inclusive of the people at the back of the room!
Ask a friend, colleague, family member, or anyone else you’re comfortable with to sit in the audience. You can look at this person throughout your speech to help you feel more at ease.

There are no set rules for looking at the crowd when it comes to public speaking. So long as you face the crowd and aren’t stuck looking at your notes, the presentation, or the ground the entire time, you’ll be fine.

Public speaking body language: appearance

Smile

Just like power poses, the act of smiling activates parts of your brain that influence your emotions. That means you could instantly feel more at ease simply by keeping a smile on your face. It also makes you look more confident – like you’re genuinely happy to be talking to your crowd.

If smiling is inappropriate for the subject of your talk, try to keep a neutral expression instead. Don’t furrow your eyebrows too much – this can make you look uncomfortable or unconfident.

Wear something that you feel good in

Wearing an outfit that you love can give your self-esteem a huge boost. When it comes to choosing an outfit, wear something that’s both comfortable and makes you feel super confident. A suit or a pantsuit is always a good option to help you feel authoritative, but you could also opt for a smart-casual look if it’s more appropriate for the setting/topic.

Take extra care with your grooming

You’ll want to look your best when public speaking, so it’s a good opportunity to invest in some self-care or beauty treatments. Get a fresh haircut, take extra time to do your makeup – or any other self-care ritual that makes you feel extra confident in your appearance.

Public speaking body language: voice

Warm up your voice

Nerves can often cause our voice to break and sound shaky or breathy. The easiest way to avoid this is to do vocal exercises before your speech to warm up your voice. There are plenty of vocal warm-up tutorials on YouTube that are specifically tailored to public speaking. Even a 5-minute warm-up can make a big difference to your voice and give you added peace of mind.

Drink plenty of water

Dry mouth is an unfortunate side effect of anxiety – one that can seriously impede public speakers! While it’s okay to take little sips of water throughout your presentation, you should aim to adequately hydrate yourself before your speech. But that doesn’t mean you should glug a pint of water right before your talk – there’s nothing worse than having a full bladder mid-presentation!

Instead, drink a few glasses of water 2-3 hours before your talk, and keep yourself hydrated consistently in the days leading up to your speech. This should keep the dry mouth at bay and help you think more clearly!

Speak more slowly than you think you should

People tend to speak at a faster pace when they’re nervous, often without realising. But speaking too quickly comes with its own dangers – you’re more likely to trip over your words, and your audience might find it difficult to digest what you’re saying.

For this reason, you should purposefully slow down your rate of speech. Normal public speaking rates range from 130-160 words per minute, so aim to stay within that range. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but record yourself and you’ll notice how much more confident it comes across.

Slowing down your speech also gives you more time to think about what you’re saying, so you’re less likely to make mistakes. This is a huge win for both your confidence and the crowd, who’ll be thankful for the extra time to absorb the information.

Pro tip: Use a teleprompter app to control your rate of speech. Teleprompter Pro’s customisable scroll speed allows you time your speaking rate to perfection – without even thinking about it!

Allow yourself to pause

While we’re on the subject of speaking slowly, you should also embrace pauses throughout your speech. Intentional pauses are powerful – they encourage your audience to consider the point you’ve just made. Plus, they give you some time to prepare for what you’ll say next, and appear more confident! So rather than filling ‘awkward’ silences with ‘umm’s and ‘ahh’s, allow yourself to pause and feel the power.

Take deep breaths

Taking deep, slow breaths is proven to reduce anxiety in a matter of minutes. It also helps the flow of oxygen to your brain, which can help you think more clearly.

So if you feel your voice or body start to waver during your presentation, pause to take a deep breath before carrying on. Don’t worry – your audience won’t even notice a pause that’s shorter than 3 seconds!

Relieving nerves before your speech

It’s completely normal to feel a bit nervous on the run-up to your speech, even the pros do! The good thing is that you can actually use this feeling to your advantage. An increased heart rate and butterflies in your stomach are common symptoms of nervousness, but they’re also the same signs as excitement.

The two emotions present the same in the body – only your mind can tell the difference. That’s why simply reframing the feelings in your mind’s eye could make a massive difference to your confidence. Try to reframe any negative thoughts with a more positive outlook. Envision your speech going well instead of badly. You’re not nervous to give your talk – you’re excited!

We’ve outlined some other ways to relieve nerves before your speech below.

Do stress-relieving activities

With all that adrenaline running through your body, you’ll have lots of energy to work off some stress and prepare your mind and body for your talk. Rather than spending the entire morning anxiously mulling over your speech, try these stress-relieving activities instead:

Meditation
Listening to your favourite music
Light exercise like yoga, a brisk walk, or even a quick jog
Positive affirmations
Having breakfast with friends

Moving or stretching your body is particularly effective at decreasing stress hormones, and it’ll help loosen you up so that you appear more relaxed on stage.

Avoid caffeine on the morning of your speech

Caffeine is a stimulant that raises your heart rate. So if your heart is already elevated due to nerves, it’s probably something you should avoid on the morning of your speech.

If you feel like you need a pick-me-up, go outside for 15 minutes as soon as you wake up. The direct sunlight will stimulate your circadian rhythm and give you a natural energy boost. And if you really want a hot drink in the morning, try low caffeine options like green tea, decaf coffee, or even mushroom coffee.

Other body language tips for public speaking

Record your speech and watch it back

The best way to improve your public speaking skills and confidence is to video yourself and watch it back. Deliver your speech exactly as you intend to on stage and take notes on what you want to improve. It’s helpful to focus on one thing at a time so as not to get overwhelmed. For example, just focus on your voice for the first recording. After that, you could focus on your hand gestures or your posture etc.

Keep practising and recording until you’re happy with the result. You’ll have rehearsed your speech so much by the time the day of your presentation rolls around that it’ll be second nature to you. Then, on the day of your speech, all you have to do is recreate the video!

Long-term solutions for mastering body language

Use a body language coaching tool

Did you know there are body language coaching tools made specifically for public speakers? Tools like VirtualSpeech offer immersive public speaking training coaching through virtual reality, with real-time roleplay exercises and feedback.

Take an online or in-person public speaking course

Joining online or in-person public speaking classes is one of the best ways to become a more confident public speaker.

In-person courses will give you the best results if you’re preparing for an in-person talk. But if you’re looking for a quick and affordable online option, you can browse on-demand public speaking courses on the likes of Udemy.

Join Toastmasters

Toastmasters is a global organisation designed to help people develop their public speaking skills. As you’ll be with like-minded people, they offer a safe space for you to improve your skills and get feedback, as well as creating networking opportunities.

Toastmasters is also very affordable, though membership fees vary slightly depending on which local club you choose. To find your local club, visit the Toastmasters website.

Voice or speech therapy

If you struggle with things like voice projection, rate of speech and articulation, you could benefit from voice or speech therapy. Some voice or speech therapists even specialise in working with public speakers, and could advise you on other aspects of the skill. A quick Google search for ‘public speaking voice coach’ should provide you with some nearby options.

Just keep doing it

The best way to become a more confident public speaker is to keep doing it! Practice is the number one way to get comfortable doing something. Each new talk, speech or presentation you deliver will feel better than the last. You’ll naturally improve your skills over time, and look more confident in the process!

How To Master Body Language For Confident Public Speaking