Grab their attention - Practice these 10 ways to create an authoritative presence

This post came out from The Straits Times (9 July 2014)
Title - Grab their attention - Practice these 10 ways to create an authoritative presence

Some pointers that I've got are:
1. Check your posture and stance
2. Adopt the power position
3. Smile and nod less
4. Establish eye contact with everyone in the room
5. Be expressive
6. Look the part
7. Enunciate and articulate words clearly
8. Language accuracy
9. Speak with a down tone, not an up tone
10. Use a low pitched voice and vary your voice tone

On Check your posture and stance

• In the animal kingdom, the fastest, strongest and biggest survive. We can mirror this by standing up straight and tall to take up as much 'space' as possible 
• How we place our feet makes a difference too. The champion stance for women is recommended, with one foot in front of the other, 10cm to 15cm apart. Men should adopt a stance which is 20cm apart. 

On Adopt the power position

• Your hands should be clasped and placed in front of your navel. This is what is called the power position and all hand gestures must start from this position and return when they are not needed.
• With this position, you will exude a sense of calmness, similar to the "ready" position in martial arts. Hand gestures must never be excessive and too big. They should be kept within the power zone which spans across the shoulders, and vertically between your shoulders and waist.

On Smile and nod less

• You don't want to appear overly eager by overdoing the smiling and nodding. This gives the impression that you are desperately trying to impress and please your audience.

On Establish eye contact with everyone in the room

• If you are speaking to a small group of about 30 people, make it a point to look at everyone at least once during your speech. Spend one to three seconds or move on when you notice the colour of the person's eyes. No one should be left feeling ignored or neglected.

On Be expressive

• An expressionless speaker brings no joy to his listeners. Connect with your audience by speaking as if you are in an animated conversation with them. Move your eyebrows or scrunch up your nose, for example. Express emotions that are appropriate to the message you are delivering. 

On Look the part

• Dress with style and elegance, and ladies, don't be afraid to look beautiful. Invest in clothes that look expensive, but don't burn a hole in your pocket.

On Enunciate and articulate words clearly

• There has to be a clear distinction between long and short vowels (such as "caught" and "cot"). It is our responsibility to speak with clarity; consonants, for example, need to be deliberately enunciated.

On Language accuracy

• Mispronunciations and grammatical errors such as subject-verb disagreement will damage your credibility. Avoid this at all costs.

On Speak with a down tone, not an up tone

• If you record your voice and discover you have been ending every sentence with an up tone, stop. In English, an up tone is used when asking questions. If an up tone is used in a sentence, the impression generated could be that of immaturity, lack of intellectual ability and conviction. Use the down tone to enhance your credibility and to mean what you say. 

On Use a low-pitched voice and vary your voice tone

• It is well known to many charismatic speakers that a lower-piched voice suggest credibility, intelligence, reliability and trust worthiness.
• In addition to voice pitch, vary your voice tone though pace (fast and slow) and volume (loud and soft). Pauses should be used for dramatic impact or suggesting you are thinking or listening to your audience. To demonstrate more conviction, try placing greater emphasis or stress on important content words. 

Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big