How to sit or stand properly when speaking
Take a moment to assess how you are sitting or standing right now, what do you notice?
Are you sitting up tall? Or is you neck craning forward and your weight leaning onto one side of your body?
How you hold yourself can either add to or diminish the power that you can have when you are speaking.
In this article I will share some tips to ensure that your posture is as powerful as possible.
The broomstick lesson
I was 12 years old when my Aunt Ruth gave me a lesson in posture that I’ll never forget.
Like most teenagers I had just started to slouch and drag my feet along the floor.
My Aunt was the kind of woman who held herself well, and despite being relatively short she always looked tall and graceful.
She was sat in our kitchen one lunchtime chatting to my Mother. As I came into the room her voice caught my attention. “Slouching does nothing for you, Ginny.” she said.
She then made me stand up next to our kitchen table, and as I shuffled awkwardly and my cheeks flushed red she asked me to imagine there was a broomstick being pushed against my spine.
As I imagined the handle pressing into my back, I immediately stood up straight.
I felt exposed, but I could also feel a shift in my body. I felt taller, and despite my discomfort, I also felt more free.
At 12 years old, I had learnt the power of standing tall. It is a lesson that I’ve come back to again and again.
What feels normal isn’t always natural
When it comes to our body language, we often confuse what feels normal with what is natural.
Our spines aren’t designed to bear the strain of us perpetually slouching, but for most of us, that is what we are most familiar with - it feels comfortable.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines slouching as ‘a lazy, drooping posture or movement’.
Carol Kinsey Goman, author of ‘The Silent Language of Leaders’ suggests that when someone is slouching or exhibiting poor body language, they are perceived as uninterested, uncertain and lethargic.
If this is the case, we need to become aware of what body language has become subconscious and is unhelpful so that we can learn some new habits.
Aside from slouching bad posture also includes:
1. Leaning on one leg
2. Hunching your back or craning your neck forwards
3. Rounding your shoulders forward and down
What we can learn from Kings
If you were to walk into a room of people you didn’t know at a conference, you would decide who the most powerful person in the room was by how those around you were carrying themselves.
The woman who is standing tall and looking comfortable in her own skin, or the man in the corner who seems grounded and at ease. These are the people who will probably grab your attention.
In a Shakespeare play, you would be able to tell which of the characters on stage was the King merely from seeing how they hold themselves.
The King tends to be the stillest character in the room, everyone else moves around them, and when they speak, their voice carries power.
How to sit or stand tall
If you are wanting to speak with power and authority, this is what I recommend my clients consider:
1. Warm-up your body before a meeting
Athletes warm-up before a race. With the stakes high and the adrenaline rushing through their body, they know the value of being prepared.
Very few people take time to warm-up before a meeting, but it can make the world of difference.
If you are feeling really cranky and achy, the chances are you will carry that into your meeting or presentation. It will affect the way that you sit or stand.
Stretch out - if you enjoy yoga or pilates take 5 - 10 mins to shake things out so that feel ready and energised. This is a great five min stretch by Adriene Mishler that you can literally do at your desk.
2. Align your spine
I teach all of my clients a technique that I learnt when I was training to be an actor called ‘The String’.
First stand up, and make sure that your feet are underneath your shoulders and your toes are facing forwards.
Then imagine you have a piece of string that runs all the way from the bottom of your feet, up through your legs, pelvis, abdomen, neck and right the way through to the top of your head.
Then imagine that someone is pulling that piece of string directly up from the crown of your head.
As they do so it should cause your spine to lengthen and you will find yourself feeling and looking taller as your body uncurls.
You can practice the same exercise when you are seated if you shuffle forward to the front of your seat and have your legs uncrossed and feet planted on the floor.
3. Make sure that your screen is at eye level
When you are on a video call it is really important to make sure your camera is at the same height as your eyes.
Your head is heavy. If you are constantly jutting out your neck when you speak to crane towards your laptop screen, you will be putting extra pressure on your spine. Your ears should be in line with your collar bone, and your collar bone in line with your hips.
If your laptop screen is too low, you will be slouching over to compensate. If it is too high you will be tilting your chin up. The sound of your voice also changes depending on how your head is tilted.
If needs be, put your laptop on top of a stack of books, or lower your seat slightly to ensure it is at the right height for you.
4. Breathe Properly
A key part to how you carry yourself is linked to your breath.
Someone who looks frantic, will probably have a rapid breathing pattern. Someone who looks confident and relaxed will probably be breathing slowly and in a steady rhythm.
If you’re sitting or standing up tall, your lungs will have more space to expand because good posture improves your breathing.
Take time to catch your breath before a meeting. Breathe in through your noise and out through your mouth nice and slowly for a cycle of 5 - 10 breaths. You will notice your heart rate becoming steadier and your chest feeling more open.
Incorporating these 4 things before and during a presentation will give you the energy, authority and power to deliver a stand-up speech.