3 Most Irritating Public Speaking Mannerisms

The moment is upon you - you have rehearsed your carefully written speech. You understand your audience's interestes and you know their expectations. You've even gone the extra mile and have researched the demographic make-up of the assembled company. All you need to do now is perform a few vocal warm-up exercises and step out onto the stage.

Surely nothing could go wrong? Your delivery is smooth and engaging yet the audience seems to be quite distracted.

It could only be - your irritating mannerisms.

But no! Surely you don't have any irritating mannerisms - do you?

Time after time, carefully prepared presentations are spoilt by speakers being oblivious to their mannerisms whilst on stage - unconsious habits that serve only to distract the audience from what is being said and focus their attention on your irritating actions.

Are you guilty of any of the following irritating habits? Be honest with yourself or better still, ask a trusted friend to tell you which annoying mannerisms you should look out for.

1. Are you a Leaner and Swayer? Many public speakers will constantly lean first one way, then another whilst delivering their speech. Others will sway forward and backwards from toe to heel as they shift their weight to and fro. And although these movements are always unconscious they will certainly make an audience feel truly giddy. You must make a point of becoming aware of your movement and balance when speaking and work hard to always remain still and upright when on stage.

2. Are you a Scratcher or Ear Puller? Some speakers feel that a thoughtful scratch of the head or pull of the ear will convey the impression that they are giving deep consideration to the matter in hand. Unfortunately, these mannerisms can so easily become habit forming as they give some form of sub-conscious comfort to the speaker. Always remember though, scratching is catching and before long you'll have the whole audience scratching too!

3. Are You an N.B. & C.? This is polite code for a Nose Blower and Cougher. These irritating mannerisms indicate that the speaker has developed a nervous habit which makes them appear to be suffering from a heavy cold. Their frequent clearing of the throat and wiping of the nose will annoy the audience and certainly frighten any hypochondriac who may be sitting in the front row!

You'll find that by having a glass of room-temperature water on hand during your speech, it will enable you to train yourself to swallow a sip of water instead of having to constantly clearing your throat in order to feel comfortable.

Mannerisms affect us all and in any other walk of life generally won't matter at all. However, if you are delivering a speech to an audience, your mannerisms - or lack of them - may make the difference between being remembered as an excellent public speaker, or an extremely irritating one.

Which one would you prefer to be?

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