Meghan Markle: The power of a smile in public speaking

Meghan Markle showed us the power, grace and beauty of a smile in her first big speech as a member of the Royal family.

Without notes, prompters, slides or a script she spoke for 3 minutes in the most charismatic and authentic way. I believe one of the many reasons which made this short speech so endearing was her smile.

At Mindful Presenter it’s the very first thing we encourage our training and coaching participants to do; smile. As simple and as obvious as it may sound you would be amazed at how many professionals never smile. In the belief that being professional means we have to be deadly serious when we present or speak in public our smile is the first thing discarded.

It’s science

We don’t really need scientific research to tell us how good it feels to smile and be on the receiving end of a smile. It’s something we were each born doing and spent most of our childhood enjoying. That said, sometimes it’s worth reminding ourselves of the really important things in life.

Smiling:

– Stimulates the production of endorphins

– Lowers your blood pressure

– Reduces anxiety

– Is highly contagious

If that doesn’t work for you the how about this

Research suggests that one smile generates the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate.

When you are presenting your ideas to colleagues or clients at work or speaking in public the greatest gift you can give yourself and your audience is a smile.

Mindful presenting is about presence. It’s about being in the room with your audience, mentally, emotionally and spiritually not just physically. When you smile it sends a message to your audience that you are happy to be there, you are comfortable and are invested in the moment.

Everything you need to know about the incredible power of smiling is included in this very short but wonderful TED Talk, ‘The hidden power of smiling ‘ – Ron Gutman

If you’d like to learn more about the power of a smile when presenting:

– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.

– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.

– Get yourself some excellent presentation training

Image courtesy of Canva.com