1. Presentation Inspiration
KineticFuture: Leadership Communications Coaching
What Should I Do With My Hands?
Remember the Faulty Towers sketch “Don’t Mention the War”. Well that’s how I feel about even
mentioning the words hands and presentations in the same sentence. The more you think about
them the worse it can get. But it is a question that comes up in 95% of our training sessions.
So, if you are feeling very self conscious about your hands when you present, there are some
techniques that will help you to look confident and open.
First of all, do what comes naturally to you when you’re at your relaxed best. If you talk with your
hands, do the same in a presentation. Relax and have a normal conversation with the audience –
stop presenting! See what happens. Notice what you do naturally.
Work with a friend. Talk about anything you feel really strongly about. Get them to tell how you
communicate normally . . .
Your first goal is to keep your arms & hands open and gesticulate naturally.
This helps you to appear confident and boosts your gravitas. However, you will probably need a
place for your hands to be still – we call it a holding position. Try putting your fingers lightly
together just above your belly button. It will help you look confident and strangely you’ll find that
you’ll start to talk naturally with your hands. If you feel okay with your arms relaxed by your sides
that’s fine too but it can be hard to pull off.
Dump anything and everything that makes you look nervous and defensive. Just like playing
poker everyone has their ‘tell’ – things that give them away. So fiddling with pens, pockets,
jewellery or hair has to go. Crossing arms defensively, hands in the fig leaf position, clenching
fists, and hands behind like Prince Charles all have to stop.
You may not realise that you’re even doing these things. So again ask that friend to watch out
and be honest with you.
Once you’ve got to this point, you can then start to work on more advanced techniques to use
your hands to help you tell your story and hold your audience. More on that later.