Four tips to help you become a more engaging and charismatic speaker, presented by students from one of my public speaking courses for kids in Perth. We talk about hand gestures, the voice and eye contact.

In this article, I share some video conferencing tips and more general behaviour-related tips that should help you navigate your conference call, interview or presentation, and deliver your message more effectively.

This short video explains why we should smile to feel happy and more positive.

This short video explains why slow breathing and the fear response work and how to reach your calm state by slow breathing.

This short video explains why we should avoid contractive behaviour to feel more powerful.

This short video explains how to use your voice to trigger positive feelings of power and improve the way you’re perceived.

The blink flurry, aka the eyelid flutter, a rapid succession of three or more blinks, has been connected to a high cognitive or emotional load and deception. This article summarises the scientific and anecdotal evidence, shedding light on this intriguing yet common behaviour.

Should we be using hand gestures to communicate, are hand gestures distracting, and why are hand gestures important for communication? This article explains all, focusing on the benefits of hand gestures for the audience and the user. For example, as well as being more engaging for the audience, using hand gestures aid the user's memory recall and helps the user to speak more fluently.

Earlier this year, I contributed to a Woman & Home article about positive body language and how it can boost your confidence—Can positive body language boost your confidence? Find out what the experts think. In a similar vein, in this article, I share the secrets to appearing confident through positive body language, eye contact and voice, and equally as important, how to use your body to feel more confident.

Over the past decade, the power pose has faced controversy and scientific scrutiny, leaving many people confused about its efficacy and many turning their backs on a simple practise that can yield positive results. This article sums up the debate, clears the myths and explains the current scientific findings so that you can leverage positive feelings with simple postural change.

What you wear influences those with whom you interact and your psychological processes—your thoughts, feelings, and mental processes. This concept is called enclothed cognition, part of embodied cognition. This article explains these concepts and looks at how your clothes influence you and others. Then I’ll share six tips on dressing for success.

Despite differences in talk topic and content, I’ve found little difference in the communication skills and behaviour between adults and children when delivering a presentation. Common mistakes made by adults are typically the same as those made by children. In this article, I’ll explain three common mistakes people make when delivering a talk or presentation.

Typically, when we ask a question, inflexion occurs at the end of the question, in other words, our pitch raises. The problem is, sometimes people make a statement with an inflexion, often referred to as up-speak. This makes the statement sound like a question or that the speaker is questioning their own words. Find out how this can be detrimental and how to quit the up-speak habit.

Fillers in conversation, like ‘um’ and ‘er’, tend to be viewed negatively. However, there’s plenty of evidence that they serve a valuable purpose during communication. In this article, we’ll look at some of the suggested meanings behind these discourse markers, with the aim of breaking negative connotations. If you’re aware of your use of these utterances and are concerned about how you use them, hopefully, I can put you at ease.

Conversations can be difficult and can feel awkward, especially if you lack confidence or are shy. In The Art of Conversation article, I reflect on my former awkward self and the body language of awkward conversation. Then provide verbal and nonverbal conversation techniques, to have you feeling more comfortable during conversations.

Most people know from personal experience how powerful a smile can be within communication and relationships. So much so, that it drives them to smile politely, even if they aren’t feeling positive. Having the ability to create a positive experience for others, just from smiling, is profound. But even more powerful, are the beneficial effects on oneself, in terms of health and wellbeing.

Over many thousands of years, our ancestors have relied on nonverbal communication cues like body language, expression and tone of voice as a survival mechanism, to gauge whether an outsider was friend or foe. It was a matter of life or death. What is their intention towards me? Are they carrying a weapon? Are they capable of harming me? Today, we face less risk, yet we still make snap judgements, assessing everyone we meet. How are you perceived by others and what can you do to create feelings of trust?

We rarely consider the feet when thinking about body language, yet our feet are one of the most honest parts of the body, signalling intention. A basic understanding of feet direction can improve the way we interact socially, across all areas of our life, from knowing when someone is really into you, to knowing who and when to approach at a networking event or party.

Just because someone speaks, it doesn’t mean they will be heard. Unfortunately, some people feel like their comments and verbal contribution go unheard–they might be physically heard and even acknowledged, but they aren’t given much attention. This article shares five simple vocal tips to help you be heard, captivate your audience and gain influence.

Research shows that first impressions are formed within seconds–before you speak! They tend to be lasting as your future performance is typically enhanced or tainted by the initial perception. If you’re freaking out at this, don’t, because by putting a little extra effort into how you look and how you come across nonverbally, you can positively influence perceptions. This article provides six tips to make a great impression.