Speaking: Nonverbal Skills

Nonverbal skills
• Nonverbal Delivery Skills
• Relaxation Techniques
• Nonverbal Listening Skills
 1. Nonverbal delivery skills

• Body language
• Vocal traits
• Use of space and objects
• Authenticity
• Practice and arrangements
Body language: How you look
• Posture: Exhibit poise
• Body movement: Do not be stock-still or plan
artificially
• Hand and arm gestures: Use as if in
conversation
• Facial expressions: Should be natural
• Eye contact: Develop listener/speaker
connection
Vocal traits: how you sound
• Intonation: Sound natural, add variety
• Volume: Speak to the back bench; vary to add
interest; watch out for volume fade
• Rate: Vary for better understanding
• Fillers: Verbal pauses
• Enunciation: Pronounce clearly
Space and objects
• Seating: what kind of interaction is required
• Height and distance: how formal should the
atmosphere be
• Objects: how formal the interaction
• Dress: Projects your image
Authenticity
• Connect with the real you: Avoid artificial
“presentation looks”
• Connect emotionally with your audience:
Converse, share
• Connect honestly with your topic: Be
passionate and enthusiastic
• Connect with your audience: Establish eye
contact or walk in the room
 2. Relaxation Techniques
1. Practice and Arrangements
• Practice Techniques:
 Avoid reading or memorizing
 Rehearse out loud
 Memorize three key parts
 Concentrate on your introductions
 Practice with your visuals
 Improve your delivery
 Simulate the situation
 Time yourself
Practice and arrangements (cont)
• 2. Arrangement reminders:
 Room
 Visual aids
 Yourself !
 2 - Relaxation techniques
• Physical relaxation
• Mental relaxation
• Last-minute relaxation
Physical Relaxation
• Exercise
• High Power Poses
 Sitting with your feet on the desk
 Hands behind your head
 Standing with your feet and arms set apart
• Breathe deeply
▫ Yoga “Sigh breath”
▫ Sarnoff squeeze (inhaling through your nose and
exhaling through your mouth, making a “sssss”
sound and contracting the muscles just below the
rib cage, a spot Sarnoff calls the “vital triangle.”)
Physical Relaxation (cont)
• Relax specific body parts:
▫ Neck and throat: roll neck from side to side, front to back,
chin to chest, all the way round
▫ Shoulders: raise one or both shoulders, then roll them
back, down, and forward; repeat in the opposite direction
▫ Arms: shake out your arms, first only at the shoulders, then
only at the elbow, finally letting your hands flop at the wrist
hands and face
▫ Hands: repeatedly clench and relax your fists. Close each
finger one by one to make a fist, hold the clench, then release
▫ Face: close your eyes and wiggle your face muscles:
forehead, nose, cheeks, and jaws; move your jaw side-to-side
Physical Relaxation (cont)
• Prepare your voice
▫ Be awake and rested
▫ Take a hot shower
▫ Drink warm liquids
▫ Avoid consuming dairy products
▫ Avoid dry mouth
▫ Warm up your vocal cords
▫ Drink water during the presentation
Mental relaxation
• Think positively
• Think non-judgmentally
• Think rationally
• Use a positive self-image
• Don’t think while waiting to speak
• Turn off internal self analysis while you are speaking
• Try visualization
• Connect with the audience
• Transform negative to positive
Think Rationally
Avoid becoming trapped in the “ABCs of emotional reactions,”
(Psychologist Albert Ellis)
• A stands for the “Activating event”
▫ such as oucatching yrself using a filler word
• This sparks an irrational B or “Belief system”
▫ Such as “I must be absolutely perfect in every way; if I’m not perfect,
then I must be terrible”
• which causes C or “consequences”
▫ such as anxiety or depression
• Ellis recommends D or “Disputing” these ABCs with a rational
thought.
▫ such as “I don’t demand absolute perfection from other speakers” or
“Using one filler word is not the end of the world”.
Last minute relaxation
• Manage your physical symptoms
▫ Try isometric exercise (clenching and relaxing
your muscles)
▫ Take a deep breath
▫ Have water
• Improve your mental state
▫ Have a pep talk
▫ Play up the audience reception
▫ Repeat positive phrases
Last minute relaxation (cont)
• Relax as you speak
▫ Speak to the motivational listeners
▫ Talk to someone in the back
▫ Get over not knowing
▫ Forget about your looks and sound
▫ Concentrate on the “here and now”
3. Nonverbal Listening skills

• Attending skills (Posture of involvement, Eye contact, Distance,

Eliminating barriers)

• Encouraging skills (Open ended questions, Door openers: inviting

other people to speak if they want to., Attentive silence and encouragers:
Instead of talking or interrupting, show
• your interest by nodding your head and u)

• Following skills (Paraphrasing content, Paraphrasing feelings: In

addition to hearing what the person says, be sensitive to how he or she says it. Listen “between the lines.” Be
aware of the speaker’s tone of voice, volume, facial expression, and body movement., taking or
recording: You may wish to take notes as you listen to show that you are really interested and planning
to follow up)
Attending skills
• Posture of involvement
• Eye contact
• Distance
• Eliminating barriers
Encouraging skills
• Open ended questions
• Door openers
• Attentive silence and encouragers
Following skills
• Paraphrasing content
• Paraphrasing feelings
• Note- taking or recording