68 How to Sell Yourself
the fingers or tug at the bottom of your jacket. Your fingers
should be slightly curled with the thumb angled slightly toward
the audience.
Don’t let either your palm or the back of your hand face the
audience.
Stay loose and gesture. What has been illustrated so far is
only your starting position. I don’t recommend that you stand like
a statue. Use gestures to punctuate what you’re saying and to help
the audience visualize what you’re saying. After the first few ges-
tures, you’ll find that your hands can come to lots of other posi-
tions and look good.
- Your fingers can be folded gently in front of you.
- One hand can move to a pocket after a gesture.
- Your arms can be folded in front if you’ll come out of it
to gesture and then return to another position.
It’s important to vary the gestures so that they’re genuine and
appropriate. It’s also important to vary the hand positions.
Whatever subsequent positions you choose, keep in mind the
gesture is one of the strong signals you send.
The open face says, “I care.” The gesture says, “I share,” “This
communication is important to me,” and “I hug you with this idea.”
Keep up the good work. Keep using your hands and your arms
to make appropriate and genuine gestures. Don’t succumb to the
temptation to hide them. You’ll also discover that by varying the
hand you use to gesture, you’ll help yourself vary the gestures.
For some reason I don’t understand, television personalities
are discouraged from using their hands. It’s created some really
weird communication styles. The reporters, anchors, and talking
heads speak with heads bobbing, shoulder-jerking, and odd move-
ments for emphasis. We all talk with our hands, so all those other
awkward wriggles are gesture-substitutes that look weird.
The lectern
The same principles apply to the lectern. You can hold it with
both hands, but don’t clutch it. Clutching the lectern tightly is the
podium equivalent of the fig leaf. Use the lectern, but not as a
crutch. Don’t become dependent on it to hold you up.