NERVOUS HANDS

I recently had a colleague contact me because he had a communication challenge: he was having difficulty doing presentations. Why? He found his hands were moving wildly as he spoke. In an effort to calm them down, he found himself clasping his hands in front of his body (rather tightly) for most of the presentation.

Here's the suggestions I offered:

* incorporate more hand gestures into your presentations

* allow your hands time to just rest by your sides and let gravity do the work

* become aware of your hand gestures -- awareness is the first step to change

* take steps to become less stressed and nervous about presentations (e.g., prepare, practice, do more of them).

If you have the same challenge of not knowing what to do with your hands during presentations, try these tips. Soon your movements will look and feel so natural, your focus will be on your presentation instead of your hands.