Chapter Twenty-FourStrengthen Your Body Language

Peggy bobs her head continually as she speaks—a gesture that would work well to comfort a young child if she were a kindergarten teacher. But Peggy is a corporate banker, and this tendency to nod her head weakens her presence. To still her head, our instructor asks her to stand with her back to a wall and have her head lightly touch the wall as she speaks. Everyone in the workshop is amazed at how much stronger Peggy appears when her head is still. Even though she has to keep reminding herself not to jut her head forward and back, she has learned an important lesson: getting your body movements right, or when necessary maintaining a certain stillness, allows you to take the stage and project ...

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