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Andy Harrington

@andyharringt0n

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Sunday Times best selling author of Passion Into Profit and founder of The Professional Speakers Academy teaching people to stand up, and speak out.

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Lift your chin and you hand away your status.

There is no voiceover on this one, just two positions side by side. Chin up with the neck exposed. Chin down with the neck protected. Watch it once with the sound off and notice which version you would rather buy from.

When the chin tilts up and the throat is on show, the body is sending a very old signal. It is the posture of someone offering their most vulnerable point to a higher authority. Audiences do not think that consciously. They feel it, and they quietly decide you are not the one in charge.

Bring the chin down slightly, so the neck is covered, and the same words land differently. You look more engaged with the people in front of you, and you keep your status instead of surrendering it.

Most gesture training is about the hands, but the head is part of the same vocabulary. Speakers lift the chin while reading slides behind them, projecting to the back row, or searching the ceiling for the next line. None of it is deliberate, which is exactly why the habit survives.

So film your opening minute. Freeze the frame on your strongest line and look at your neck before you look at anything else. It is a two-second check that changes how a whole room sees you.

Where does your chin go when you are thinking on your feet?

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #StagePresence #Presenting

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Leaning back can make you look submissive.

It feels relaxed, even confident. But when you lean back in front of an audience, you are offering them your throat. As I show in the video, that is one of the oldest submissive signals the body has, and people read it long before they have processed a single word you have said.

Leaning in changes the dynamic, as long as it is done well. A slight lean towards the audience, neck covered, says this matters and I want you to have it. Used at the right moment it creates intimacy and it can build real trust.

The right moment is when you are sharing something closer to a secret. Lean in, lower your voice a touch, and the room leans in with you. It works on a stage, around a boardroom table and on camera, where even a small lean towards the lens makes the viewer feel you are talking to them alone.

Where it goes wrong is when the lean becomes constant. Lean in for everything and it reads as pressure. Lean back for everything and it reads as detachment. Like any gesture, it only works when it is a choice.

Pick the one line in your next talk that deserves a lean, and save it for that moment.

Do you tend to lean back or lean in when you present?

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #Trust #Presenting

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Every Trump gesture is sending a message.

Whatever you think of his politics, he is one of the most deliberate users of hand gestures in public life. In the video I break down a single press briefing, gesture by gesture.

The palm held flat and pressed down is what I call the sovereign gesture. It says I am in control, calm down, this is my room. Used by a leader it settles a crowd. Used by a nervous presenter it can come across as dismissive, so it has to be earned.

Then the finger. A raised finger can add authority, but the moment it turns towards the audience it starts accusing. The difference between the two is a few degrees of the wrist, and the audience feels it instantly.

The cutting gesture, a hand slicing through the air, says I am cutting through the noise. And the sweep to one side, pushing something away, tells everyone that argument is finished without a single word about it.

The lesson is not to copy anyone. It is to notice that every gesture lands as a message whether you intend it or not. The best speakers simply choose theirs on purpose, and rehearse them until they look natural. Watch any great speaker with the sound off and you will see the same thing: nothing the hands do is accidental.

Which of these gestures do you already use without realising?

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #Leadership #Communication

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Pacing tells the room you want to escape.

You have seen the speaker who walks up and down the stage and never seems to stop. In the video I explain what is really going on: unconscious nervousness, the same restless movement as an animal looking for a way out. The audience may not be able to name it, but they feel uncomfortable watching it.

Movement itself is not the problem. Moving with purpose is one of the best tools you have on a stage. The problem is movement with no destination, because it spreads your energy thin and pulls attention away from your words and your gestures.

The fix is three words. Stop, plant, present. Move when you change idea or turn to a different part of the room. When you arrive, stop. Plant both feet. Then deliver the point with your hands free and your body still.

Stillness reads as confidence. It tells the audience you are comfortable being looked at, which is exactly what nervous pacing gives away. And once your feet are quiet, your gestures carry far more weight because they are no longer competing with your legs.

Next time you rehearse, mark three spots on the floor and give each one a job.

Do you pace when you present, or plant?

#PublicSpeaking #StagePresence #BodyLanguage #Gestures #PresentationSkills

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Why politicians soften the warrior gesture.

Earlier this week I showed you the warrior: one finger raised, your sword, the gesture that adds authority. Watch Donald Trump on any stage and you will see him use a version of it constantly. Except he usually does not raise the finger. He brings the thumb and forefinger together instead.

That is what I call the soft warrior. The full warrior, delivered by someone with real power, can come across as too dominating. It starts to feel like an order. Politicians need the authority without the aggression, so they soften it. The pinch says something different. It says precision. I know exactly what I mean, and I am giving you the exact detail.

Whatever you think of his politics, it is a smart piece of body language, and you do not need to be a president to use it. The soft warrior is perfect when you are explaining a number, a step in a process or a distinction you want people to notice. It keeps you authoritative while staying approachable.

So you now have two tools. The warrior, held up and still, for the line you want remembered. The soft warrior, for the detail you want trusted. Choosing between them is one of the quiet skills that separates a good presenter from a compelling one.

Have you ever noticed this gesture before today?

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #Presenting #Leadership

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This hand habit quietly costs you trust.

No words needed in this one. On the left, hands wringing and rubbing together, palms hidden from the room. On the right, palms open and visible, hands up above the waist. It is a few seconds long, and it shows a lesson that changes how audiences respond to you.

Constantly touching your own hands is a self soothing habit. It is what the body does when it is nervous, and almost every speaker does it without noticing. The trouble is that the audience notices, even if they could never put it into words. Busy, hidden hands read as a person holding something back.

Open palms do the opposite. They are one of the oldest signals we have that nothing is being concealed. Add the second rule from the video, keep your hands above your waist, and your gestures stay where people can see them, close to your face and your words, which is where trust is built.

Try this in your next meeting. Every time you notice your hands finding each other, let them separate and turn the palms slightly up as you make your next point. It feels strange for a day or two. After that it simply becomes how you speak.

What do your hands do when you are nervous?

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #Presenting #Trust

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Strong and certain, or a little wobbly?

Before you say a single word, your feet have already spoken. In the video I put two stances side by side. One is feet crossed, weight on one hip, the body angled away. It can look relaxed and attractive in a social setting. The other is grounded: feet roughly hip width apart, weight even, facing the room square on.

Here is the problem. A social stance sends a social signal. On stage, the audience is not deciding whether they like you. They are deciding whether to trust you with their money, their time or their next decision. If your posture says open to support rather than ready to lead, part of the room quietly stops buying.

It is rarely a confidence issue. It is habit. The crossed or tilted stance feels natural because it is how many of us stand when we are chatting. Nobody has ever pointed out that the stage asks for something different.

The fix takes seconds. Before you walk on, plant both feet, unlock the knees and let your weight settle evenly. If you need to move, walk with purpose to a new spot and plant again. Stillness from the ground up gives every gesture above it far more power, and your hands are free to do the rest of the work.

Next time you watch a speaker you trust instantly, look at their feet first.

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #Presenting #StagePresence

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This gesture adds authority, until you aim it.

I call it the warrior. One finger raised, held still, at about head height. In the video you can see it working for presidents and for me on stage. It tells the room that what comes next matters, and it does it without you raising your voice. It works on a keynote stage, in a boardroom and on camera.

The finger is your sword. Held up, it is a signal of conviction. The moment you turn it and point it at the audience, the same gesture becomes an accusation. Your troops become the enemy. People stop listening to the point and start defending themselves against the finger.

What catches speakers out is that the switch happens in the heat of the moment. You are passionate, you want the point to land, and the hand drifts forward towards the front row. Nobody in the audience will tell you afterwards. They will just remember feeling lectured.

So use the warrior deliberately and sparingly. Save it for the one or two lines you want quoted back to you. Raise it, hold it, keep it pointing up, and then release it. Authority comes from the stillness, not from the jab.

Which way does your finger point when you really mean something?

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #Presenting #Authority

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Move your eyes on the comma, not the full stop.

Most presenters were told to make eye contact, so they do. They sweep the room like a lighthouse, or they fix on the friendly face in row three, or they look just over everyone's heads because it feels safer. None of that is connection. In the video I show the simple rule I teach instead: one person gets the start of the sentence, someone else gets the end.

Why the comma? Because it gives your eyes a natural place to travel. You hold a person long enough for them to feel spoken to, then you move while the thought is still alive. The audience never sees the switch as nervous scanning. They see a speaker who is talking to individuals, one at a time, in a room full of people.

This matters more than most people think. Eye contact is a gesture in its own right, every bit as much as your hands. When it is missing, the room quietly decides you are reciting rather than talking with them. When it lands on real faces, people sit up, because each of them half expects to be next.

Practise it on a short paragraph before your next talk. Mark the commas. Pick three people in the room, or three objects if you are rehearsing alone, and travel between them on each pause. It feels mechanical for about ten minutes, then it disappears into your delivery.

Who in the room do you usually end up talking to?

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #Presenting #EyeContact

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Pointing up looks wise. Pointing down looks evil.

Five seconds, no sound needed. The same steeple gesture, side by side. On the left, fingertips pointing down: it looks evil and untrustworthy. On the right, fingertips pointing up: it looks wise and knowledgeable.

Save this one, because it is the whole lesson in a single frame. Earlier in the week I explained why the steeple splits audiences so sharply. This is the version to keep on your phone and look at before you walk on.

The steeple is a thinking gesture. Done well, it tells the room you are weighing something carefully, which is exactly the impression you want when you are about to answer a hard question or make a big claim. Done badly, low and pointing at the floor, it tells them the thinking is private. It is also one of the few gestures that looks stronger the less it moves, so hold it still rather than tapping the fingertips together.

Three checks before your next talk. Are the fingertips touching lightly rather than gripping? Are they pointing up, roughly at chest height? And are you using the steeple during a pause, then releasing it to gesture as you speak? Get those right and one of the strongest confidence signals there is starts working for you.

Which side of the screen do your hands usually end up on?

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #Presenting #Confidence

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This hand habit makes you look like you are up to something.

Rubbing, wringing, fingers picking at each other. Hands that keep touching each other are never a good sign on stage, because to an audience it starts to look as though you are working something out that you would rather they did not see.

It is almost always nerves. The hands want something to do, so they find each other. To you it feels like a small private comfort. To the third row it reads as a speaker who is not quite telling them everything, and trust drains out of the room a little at a time.

The answer is not to freeze. Rigid hands look just as uncomfortable. The answer is to give the hands a better job. Open palm gestures increase trust, so every time you feel your hands reaching for each other, separate them and turn the palms out towards the audience on your next point.

Do that a few times and something useful happens. The open gesture replaces the fidget, and your body starts agreeing with what you are saying instead of quietly contradicting it. It is one of the fastest changes you can make, and audiences notice it even when they could not tell you why.

Which gesture do you fall back on when the nerves kick in?

#PublicSpeaking #BodyLanguage #Gestures #Presenting #Trust

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I love you can mean four completely different things.

Same three words, said four times. Angry, flat, warm, and something close to pleading. If you only read the transcript you would think nothing changed. If you watch the video you would think you had met four different people.

That is the whole point. The words are the smallest part of the message. Tonality and body language carry the rest, and when they disagree with the words, the audience believes the tone and the hands every time.

This is where a lot of capable people lose a room without realising it. They say they are excited about the plan with a flat voice and still hands. They say they are open to questions with arms folded. They say this is the most important slide in the deck and rush through it. The words are right. Nothing else agrees with them.

People will only believe in you when all three line up. Words, tonality and gestures pointing the same way. That is what congruence means on stage, and it is the difference between a speaker the audience understands and a speaker the audience trusts.

The practical test is simple. Take the one line in your next talk that matters most. Say it out loud three ways and notice which version you would actually believe. Then make sure your hands are telling the same story as your voice.

Which line in your talk do you say one way and mean another?

#PublicSpeaking #Communication #Tonality #BodyLanguage #Gestures

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