Transitions in speech are the secret sauce to keeping your ideas flowing and your audience glued to your every word, says veteran public relations professional and public speaking expert Rosemary Ravinal. “Words, phrases, and narrative transitions can be effective devices, but combine them with hand gestures, facial expressions, and body language and you can multiply your impact.”
If you have a microphone in one hand, you can still gesture with the other and use facial expressions, posture, and body stance to guide your audience through your presentation. In this column, Ravinal looks at 9 non-verbal elements one can practice achieving smoother transitions in a speech or presentation.
1. Enumerate with your fingers
Let your fingers guide listeners through your ideas. If you have three solutions to a problem, show three fingers and then signal the start of the first idea by holding up one, then two, and then three digits at the right transition points. This type of gesture is ideal for situations where you’re counting down, listing things, or using a number from 1 through 10. You’re emphasizing your point visually, and people are more likely to remember what you’re saying at the moment. For example, if you’re saying something like, “You’re faced with four choices,” hold up four fingers to illustrate this.
2. Stay in your body’s action zone
Hand gestures are not limited to your fingers. Engaging your hands and arms up to your shoulders is considered the “action zone” and with practice, these techniques will elevate your message and appear natural. Dynamic movement from side to side can mark transitions in time and place, and up and down movements can signal increments and comparisons.
3. Follow the bouncing ball
When shifting topics, you might use a hand gesture to indicate a change, much like the bouncing ball used in animations and cartoons. Gentle movements can signal that you’re moving from one point to another and help the audience follow. When you’re explaining a sequence, such as steps in a process, use a gesture that mirrors that sequence. For example, if you’re discussing a multi-step process, you might use your hand to trace the steps in the air. This visual representation creates continuity and helps your audience remember the sequence better.
4. Hold on, there’s more
Raise your hand and make a “wait” gesture as a signpost that you’re about to move on to more of a great idea or a new point altogether. This gesture gives your audience a moment to prepare for the transition or advance to something unexpected.
5. Rub your hands together
People who rub their palms together are usually talking about something positive and exciting (“can’t wait”). You can use this hand gesture in situations where you’re transitioning to a big reveal or building expectations for what comes next.
6. Change your stance
Take a half step forward or lean toward your audience and you’re showing them that something important is going to happen. The shift in body weight heightens interest, grabs attention, and signals a key point or a transition to a new topic. Looking up or down for a couple of seconds in silence will let the audience know that something dramatic is coming, too.
7. Move your position
Spatial movement can also be a powerful transition tool. Moving from one side of the stage to another can signify a shift in topics or perspectives. For instance, if you’re changing from discussing a problem to presenting a solution, physically moving to a different part of the stage can visually demonstrate this transition. This approach helps to create a clear demarcation between different sections of your speech and keeps the audience tuned in.
8. Sit or stand for emphasis
Working with the same problem-solution structure, you could sit on a stool to set up the problem portion and stand for the solution. You could move into narrative mode with a story and background to the situation then transition to an emphatic solution, summary, or conclusion. In the right context, the sitting-standing combination could be powerful.
9. A well-placed smile
When combined with a three-second pause, a smile can serve to draw your audience in and introduce a new section of your talk. Changing your facial expression to match the tone or mood of the next section can help convey the desired transition. For example, shifting from a serious expression to a more relaxed one can signal a lighter topic.
Contact Rosemary Ravinal for details on public speaking training programs or one-on-one coaching services in any of the following areas, in both English and Spanish:
- Public Speaking
- Media Readiness
- Presentation Skills
