There are a number of factors that determine how your audience will judge you and subsequently your message, one of the most visible being your posture. Posture is a reflection of your attitude and may at times betray your misgivings or uncertainties in difficult situations like an important presentation. You would normally not consider revealing your inner most thoughts to your audience about exactly how you feel about your new product or service; but your body language may be doing just that. A substantial part of communication is based on non-verbal aspects such as body language. When preparing a presentation much thought is given to its content yet there is far more to it than just words. Some of the best-prepared presentations can be badly let down by how you look and behave during the delivery. When Richard Nixon spoke to the American public of his involvement in the Watergate scandal his performance was received more favourably by radio audiences than those who saw a worried, hunched and perspiring president on the television. How you hold yourself, the movements you make and the gestures you use all contribute to how well your presentation is received.

Our innate ability to read much about someone from his or her posture, or body language, has elevated its importance in society. From an early age parents and teachers will probably have told you not to slump but instead to stand or sit up straight. In some schools, books are still placed on top of the head to encourage the pupil into the right sort of position commonly known as