Let’s face it, public speaking doesn’t come naturally to most of us. Even for those for who are regarded as proficient public speakers, it often took a lot of hard work and practice to get to that point. There are a lot of factors that go into making someone an effective and successful public speaker: confidence, authority, etc.
Source: ericb007 / iStock / Getty
Writing for Public Words, Communications Theorist and Coach Nick Morgan points to another factor that you may not have previously considered: openness. Morgan writes about the importance of openness and what that word actually means in the context of public speaking.
Openness and Public Speaking
The general idea around openness is intuitive. The more open a speaker appears, the more comfortable and receptive the audience is likely to be. When dealing with a large audience, however, it’s difficult to connect with each audience member on a one-on-one basis. That’s why body language is key to creating a sense of openness with the audience as a whole.
How Body Language Conveys Openness
Morgan provides several examples of how body language can help to convey openness, including posture and hand position and movements. Let’s take a look specifically at posture. “Start with your torso,” he writes. “Fundamentally, the closer and more directly oriented your torso is toward the audience, the more open that audience will determine you to be.”
Morgan recommends that speakers avoid pacing the stage “like a caged tiger looking for a weak link in the fence.” He also recommends moving closer to, rather than away from, the audience. Either stand still, or move toward one portion of the audience or another, he suggests.
Coaching for Speaking Success
Some people may seem like they are natural public speakers, but that is rarely the case. The fact is that almost anyone can train themselves to be great public speakers, but it certainly helps to have a good coach to help guide them along the way to make that learning process more effective and efficient.
One factor people probably don’t think of right away when it comes to factors for success in public speaking is openness. But, as Morgan points out, it can make a big difference when trying to connect with an audience—especially a very large audience.