| By :
Tony James
Apart from your voice, the main point of contact between you as the public speaker and your audience is ..., your face. Your face is undoubtedly the most expressive part of your body and can convey meaning and emotion beyond words. For this reason, facial expression is a powerful 'tool' to use to enhance your presentations, whether it is a simple wedding speech, a sales presentation, sermon or motivational speech. Something we just take for granted, but did you know that you use more than twenty different muscles to produce at least fourteen different facial expressions, showing seven major forms of emotion. That's quite a resource to use and like any other resource needs to be used to best advantage and not miss-used Perhaps one way to illustrate this is to think back to the days of 'Silent' Movies, (which I am sure you are too young to remember!). It was possible to 'follow the plot' without words because of the facial expressions and body language of the artist e.g. the great Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Buster Keaton etc. In fact, some of the silent movie stars were so good at using this, when 'Talkies' came in, a few found themselves out of work because they didn't have good speaking voices and found it difficult to adapt, - but I digress! More recently the late Marcel Marceau (22 March 1923 - 22 September 2007) gained massive acclaim and popularity as he took his skill of 'miming' around the world. He used a combination of body language and (mostly) facial expressions exaggerated by 'white-face' make up, to connect with his audience and tell stories from comedy to tragedy
Just think, if it is possible to tell a story just by using face and body language, even as demonstrated by those who do not have the use of speech, how powerful it can be to combine the effective use of facial expressions with a well rehearsed and delivered talk.
To be honest, if you are really passionate about your subject and intent on getting your message across you will find that your natural facial expressions will reflect that and provide emotion and feeling to your talk. On occasions, however, it may help to exaggerate slightly a look to emphasize a point. I say 'slightly' as, if overdone, it loses its impact or, worst-case scenario, looks comical. A couple of examples; well, three actually! When you make an important statement and use a little trick to emphasize that point by stating, "Would you Believe, some people would actually deny.… (the statement)", accompanied by a look of 'shock-horror' - and the point is made! Your listener will empathise with your expression and remember the point. When asking your audience a rhetorical question you have the opportunity to pause, to allow the question to register and at the same time adopt a quizzical look with eyebrows raised. Try it. It works! When describing a product, concept or situation we often use our hands outspread in a broad gesture (you know the type of action, like describing the size of fish you claim to have caught!). Accompany this with a wide-eyed expression that looks as though you are halfway through the word "WOW" and the hand gesture is much more effective. As with most situations and across most cultures, a smile goes a long way to winning your audience, and you will find that even with a serious subject you will be better received if your introduction is accompanied by a genuine friendly smile. (Moreover, as you will be exercising over half of those face muscles each time you smile it keeps your face in good shape too!) Utilising good facial expressions can really add an extra quality to your presentation, but is just one of many skills that are used by successful Public Speakers. When will you use an opportunity to use these ideas to improve your next presentation?
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