How to Handle Hair and Hands

Centuries of scientific research has proved conclusively that men and women are different.  Surprised?  I didn’t think so.  I could elaborate on this topic for the rest of the year.

But, the topic I’ve been discussing with you recently has been non-verbal communication through body language, and since I’ve only got room for a few paragraphs, I’ll quickly explain gender differences between the most distracting aspect of body language in business presentations.  For women, it’s hair.  For men, it’s hands.

Women: If you have short hair or traditionally keep your hair tied up at work, you’re unlikely to encounter this distraction.  If your hair is long and free-flowing, however, your may be inadvertently sending subtle signals to your audience that are out of alignment with your message in your business presentation.

Imagine this: You lean forward over your laptop and click to forward to the next slide.  Your hair, as a result, falls over your shoulder and into your face.  When you stand up and begin presenting again, what’s the first thing you do?  You either brush your hair with your hand or toss your head to flick it all back.  Outside of the context of your business presentation, what message might these gestures otherwise send?  To help you ensure that your signals always send what you want to say, a simple no-nonsense hair clip will do the trick.

For men, however, the problem is not so easily solved.

Men: Have you ever noticed that when you get up to deliver a business presentation, you suddenly don’t know what to do with your hands?  You clap them and rub them together, you scratch your forearms, and you wave them aimlessly in front of your body or towards your PowerPoint slides.  And yet, those hands still feel like gangly appendages that you have suddenly sprouted from the ends of your arms.  Unfortunately, a simple, no-nonsense clip won’t get them out of the way.

The messages you send with your hands at times like these tell your audience quite clearly that you are uncomfortable, nervous, and probably lacking confidence.  So what do you do?  Well, after you try clasping your hands in front of you and then again behind you, you finally slip them into your pockets.  Which is fine, until you find a 20 sen coin in there and nervous energy goes back to work.  Imagine how this might appear to your audience.

To help you relax, remember: the most natural-looking posture you can assume is to drop your hands straight down at your sides.  If this feels uneasy, press the tips of your index fingers and your thumbs together.  This completes a circuit and helps you feel ‘in touch with yourself’.  The best part is, it controls your hand gestures so they don’t distract your audience.

Yes, men and women are different.  But, no matter the gender, the need to get your non-verbal signals straight makes all presenters the same.