In this video Sean gives an introductory speech about himself using three props: a book, a hat, and a million dollar bill. First off I’d like to point out that Sean did a great job setting up his camera to give us a full view of his body language and not just his face.
Take a look at the video below. What did you notice immediately about Sean’s body language? Throughout most of his presentation he kept his hands behind his back. What kind of message did this convey to you? Typically when you keep your hands tightly behind your back you are communicating apprehension and fear which makes you appear to look stiff or nervous. That was the case with Sean. Try placing your hands casually at your side. This will also allow you to make purposeful gestures when you speak.
Notice also how he almost started to sound robotic towards the middle of his speech. It appeared that he was reading his presentation from the wall and was rushing through his speech at one continues rate. My suggestion would be to loosen up and try to commit to memory the things you want to talk about and use some cues cards if necessary but don’t hold them in your hand the whole time (holding cue cards can be distracting to your audience). I would also suggest that Sean try to show more emotion in his presentation especially since he is talking about his passions in life. Slow down a bit and talk like you would when you are having a typical conversation with friends. I know that is easier said than done when you are in front of an audience, but with practice you can improve in this area.
The structure of Sean’s message was solid. He had a short opening which gave his audience a quick glimpse of what he wanted to talk about. The body of his message supported the three topics in his opening. He wrapped his message up at the end with a short conclusion but ended the speech with a weak closing statement. I would suggest revising the closing statement to be more profound and less silly.
If you’ve got any thoughts on Sean’s presentation then leave a comment below. We can all learn from each other and become dynamic speakers together.
