The heartful presenter – part 2

The heartful presenter – part 2

Influence minds and win hearts

Last month RAVI VENKATESAN shared his understanding of why speakers fail. In Part 2 of the series he shares the aspects of communication we need to explore in order to refine and improve our presentation skills, focusing on body language.

Here are the 27 Cs categorized under 5 focus areas:

BODY LANGUAGE – calm, comfortable, composed, choreographed and consistent

VOICE MODULATION – clear, crisp, controlled, civil, and charged

PRESENCE – confident, credible, current, charismatic and courageous

EMPATHY – caring, compassionate, connected, context-aware, careful and conversational

IMPACT – concise, compelling, creative, convincing and comprehensive

Let’s dive deeper into body language. Research shows that body language accounts for 55% of all communication. Non-verbal expression makes a very significant difference to the impact of your presentation.


Many times even seasoned speakers have ‘nerves’. Classic symptoms are rapid heartbeat, shivers, a dry mouth and a shaky voice. Relax yourself and breathe deeply to get rid of this. Do a quick version of the Heartfulness Relaxation if needed. You can find this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuiV395xI4I.


Take your time to get comfortable with the environment. Preferably visit the day before, or arrive early. Soak in the atmosphere and feel like you command the space.


Maintain a balanced state within and a steady posture. This will reflect as your poise. Your feet should be shoulder width apart and point straight ahead. Men tend to keep their feet at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock. Women tend to lean on one leg and then shift to the other.


Always stand still and make eye contact with one person in the audience at a time while speaking, even if there are thousands of people present. Pause and shift to another person and resume speaking. Pause while moving, and resume eye contact and stand still before speaking again. This will make your movement on stage appear purposeful and impactful.


Ensure that your body language supports your words. This will amplify the perception that you mean what you say and say what you mean. For example, if you are describing a big new idea, spreading your arms wide open is better than bringing them together.

In the next article, we’ll dive deeper into voice modulation. Till then have fun practicing these techniques to refine your body language.


Ravi Venkatesan

About Ravi Venkatesan

Ravi lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and currently works as Chief Technology Officer in a software solutions company. He is also a regular public speaker and public speaking coach. He has been a Heartfulness meditator for over 20 years and is passionate about applying meditation lessons to improve workplace relationships and productivity.

Recommended Posts

Leave a Reply



I agree to these terms.