BODY LANGUAGE

                               BODY LANGUAGE IN PRESENTATIONS
                                         

The greatest difference between a presentation and a piece of academic writing is the

way in which you are on show. Your appearance and style are very visible and you only

have a short time in which to make an impact. This is why the task of making a

presentation can become an intimidating hurdle for many people.

But don't worry. There are some straightforward and simple techniques that can

enable you to communicate effectively - if you think sensibly and rehearse your

behaviour.

 

What sort of image do you want to present?

If you want your audience to accept you, you need to appear:

•  confident

• straightforward

• in command of your subject

These characteristics reassure your audience that you are worth listening to - and it is
important that you make them share your confidence.
Think back to your own
reactions when you have had to listen to a nervous speaker. As an American politician
once said, “The key is sincerity - once you can fake that, you’ve got it cracked!”
Using Your Hands

Try out these various gestures to see how they feel to you, and why they are either
effective or distracting. Experience them for yourself.

Don’t:

• point at the audience. It makes them feel threatened and produces very
   negative reactions to the speaker.

• rub your hands together. This is often interpreted as implying that you are
   lying, and subconsciously washing your hands to rid yourself of the untruth.
  Get someone else to do this hand movement and watch them while they talk to
 you. Would you buy a second-hand car from them?

• fold your arms. This comes across as a protective barrier, separating you from

   your audience and distancing them from your message.

 • clench your fists by your sides. This looks very nervous and consequently
   lacking in confidence.
  put your hands in your pockets. If you are wearing trousers, this can feel
 reassuring - but you may start to fiddle with your change, which is very
distracting to your audience. Even as experienced a politician as Cecil
Parkinson completely lost his nerve when Dennis Skinner heckled him about
this!

•
Do:

• use your hands to invite your audience to agree with you. You can do this by
   keeping your hand open with the palm pointing up. One hand works well - using
  both hands can start to look either biblical or desperate!

• keep your hand by your side with the fingers open. This looks very natural and
   relaxed.

• use a pointer if you can, even if it's only a pencil to draw attention to items on
   your OHP slide. This gives your hands a purpose and can't fail to focus your
  audience to the points you feel are important.

• make your hand movements co-ordinate with what you are saying. Avoid

   dramatic gestures, especially if you don't get the timing right! Nothing looks

  more mechanical and contrived.

Using Your Face

When you are listening to someone, you concentrate on their face. Have you ever raised

your eyebrows when you’ve seen someone you know? This ‘eyebrow flash’ has been

shown to be the widest cross-cultural non-verbal signal that humans use. Expressions

are enormously important, so you need to consider them.

• Use the ‘eyebrow flash’ - sparingly - to signal your warm personality to your
       audience and to encourage them to feel included.

• Smile at your audience - but flash them the occasional reassuring smile. Don’t
     glue on a plastic grin and leave it fixed there. Use personal interaction.

• Spread your attention around your audience. Don’t just address one person.
     Try to make sure that no-one feels isolated. Look at people even if they don’t
      seem to be looking back. They will, and they expect to see you talking to them,
     and not to the floor or a piece of paper!
Finally, think about your appearance. Dress so that you feel comfortable, but try to
give the impression that you deserve to be taken seriously.

Think logically

Some of the  HR questions asked to find out if the candidate thinks “out of box”.

Que 1:

“What will you do if I run away with your sister?”

The candidate answered ” There won’t be better match for my sister than you, sir.”
Que 2:

(to girl student) – What if one morning you found that you were pregnant when you woke up ?

I will be very excited and take a day off, to celebrate with my husband. (Why should I think it in the wrong way, she said later when asked.)
Que 3:

Interviewer  ordered a cup of coffee for the candidate. Coffee arrived and was kept before the candidate, then he asked “What is before you?”

Candidate: Instantly replied “Tea”.
Answer: Alphabet “T” before Alphabet “U”.
Que 4:

Where Lord Rama have celebrated his “First Diwali”?

People will start thinking of Ayodya, Mithila [Janaki's place], Lanka etc…

But the logic is, Diwali was a celebrated as a mark of Lord Krishna Killing Narakasura. In Dusavataar, Krishnavathaar comes after Raamavathaar.

So, answer is nowhere.
Que 5:

You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night, it’s raining heavily, when suddenly you pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for a bus:

An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
An old friend who once saved your life.
The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing very well that there could only be one passenger in your car?

This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.

The candidate who was hired (out of 129 applicants) had no trouble for his answer. What was his answer?

He simply answered:

“I would give the car keys to my Old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.”
Que 7:

Int: “This is your last question of the interview. Please tell me the exact position of the center of this table where u have kept your files.”

Candidate confidently put one of his finger at some point at the table and said that this was the central point at the table. Interviewer asked “how did you decide that this is the central point of this table?”, then he answers quickly that “Sir you are not supposed to ask any more question, as it was the last question as you promised …..

Que8. Questions That Have a Correct Answer

Question: You’re in a room with three light switches, each of which controls one of three light bulbs in the next room. Your task is to determine which switch controls which bulb. All lights are initially off, and you can't see into one room from the other. You may inspect the room only once. How can you determine which switch is connected to which light bulb?
Answer: Call the switches 1, 2 and 3. Leave Switch 1 off. Turn Switch 2 on for five minutes and then turn it off. Turn Switch 3 on and leave it on. Enter the room. The bulb that is on is controlled by Switch 3 (the one you left on). Feel the light bulbs that are off for heat. The bulb that is off and warm is controlled by Switch 2 (the one you turned on, then off). The bulb that is off and cold is controlled by Switch 1 (the one that you didn't turn on).

Que9. Questions That Don’t Have one Correct Answer

Question: How would you weigh a Boeing 747 without using scales?
Answer: There are many solutions, but one possible response is: you put the jet on a large boat and paint a mark on the hull where the water line is. Now remove the jet and the boat rises. Then, load the ship with items of known weight until it sinks to the line you painted. The total weight of the items will equal the weight of the jet.

Que8. Questions That You Have to Break Down

Question: Here's a mobile phone. Deconstruct it for me.
Answer: This question might not be about mobile phones at all. They might ask you to explain something else entirely. All you have to do here is explain what the thing they're asking about does. So describe what it is as simply as you can, e.g., "this is a device you use to communicate with people in your business and personal life".
Then, just go through and talk about what it does, e.g., "this can be used to store contact details, make phone calls, send emails, take photos or videos, etc." You could also relate it to the job or the workplace and talk about how the mobile phone would be used.

Que10. Questions That Test Your Performance

Question: Please take this pen and sell it to me. Tell me about its design, features, benefits and values.
Answer: Again, it might not be a pen, but whatever the object is, you have to think about what you can say that will convince the interviewer to buy it. You can be creative and make up some different uses for the pen, e.g., you could use it as a hair pin, you could use it to pick a lock, you could use it to scratch your back, etc. The way you deliver this answer is important too - you need to get excited about the pen as a product you really believe in.

This is what Interviewer expects from the Interviewee.

Think out of box in interview