If you prefer video content over text, I explain this material with fun, musical examples in my YouTube video.
How do you look confident as a public speaker, without looking arrogant?
In this article, I break down the two nonverbal ingredients you need: warmth and competence.
What Not To Do
Consider a speaker saying this sentence while rolling their eyes at the audience, throwing their hands up with dismissive gestures, and pointing entirely to themselves:
“We hired 6000 employees to make sure we can scale our business”
That would be seen as arrogant. Because it’s “competent”, dominant, even confrontational. But not warm.
In her book “Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication”, Vanessa Van Edwards describes four quadrants of nonverbal perception:
- Low warmth and low competence: Not liked or respected
- Low warmth and high competence: Not liked, but respected
- High warmth and low competence: Liked but not respected
- High warmth and high competence: Liked and respected
As public speakers we need to aim for Quadrant 4: High warmth and high competence, which equals confidence and charisma.
What To Do
Check out how Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, demonstrates high warmth AND high competence in his public speaking. You only need to watch about 30 seconds from the video to get a sense of Eric’s technique:
Eric doesn’t speak with zero body language (low warmth, low competence)
- Or with dominant, self-centered body language (low warmth, high competence)
- Or with inviting but disorderly body language (high warmth, low competence)
He speaks with dominant, yet open body language: an expansive posture with wide gestures, taking up the space around him.
You understand he is confident and proud of what he accomplished, but also humble and willing to improve.
Summary
In a mirror or front-facing camera, look at yourself: is your body language contracted with arms close to the chest and torso slouched inward? Or is it egotistical, dismissive, and erratic? Avoid those at all costs.
Find the combination of postures and expressions that lets you feel authentically warm and authentically competent.
If you’re looking for further guidance on how to differentiate your communication skills and stand out in the workplace, take my free self-assessment.
I’m writing a book on thinking quickly, speaking clearly, presenting convincingly, and supercharging your executive presence. My current focus: a section on mastering body language. This will be a deep-dive into how to use hand gestures and facial expressions to complement our words and elevate our message.
Follow me on LinkedIn for more updates on the book and its release!
