Readers of this blog will know that I’m a big proponent of Improv as a practice that is of enormous benefit to public speakers.  I believe that every serious public speaker should take a year-long course in Improv and learn essential lessons like, there are no mistakes, and yes, and. . . . 

If you’re already an Improv adept, here’s another practice to add to your set of skills:  martial arts.  It has been a number of years since I worked my way up to a brown belt in Taekwondo, and I would hate to be put to the test now, but the experience was invaluable.  From a martial art, you learn presence and awareness, as well as fast reflexes. 

For those who find the thought of a violent martial art too, well, violent for your tastes, consider Aikido.  It’s all about using your opponent’s energy.  It’s perhaps the most non-violent of the martial arts.  Begin by reading Wendy Palmer’s The Intuitive Body, because her gentle insights into human nature and performance under stress will have immediately applicable lessons for all public speakers. 

Palmer focuses on awareness, on what actors call being present.  It is, of course, a goal (if that’s the right word) of meditation.  She asks three questions which are powerful for public speakers seeking to increase their presence – and thus charisma. 

1.    Am I paying attention to my breathing?
2.    Is the front of my field equal with the back?
3.    Can I feel the weight of my body?

The first question should be a familiar one for public speakers:  through breathing we stay calm, present, and focused.  The second requires a little more explanation.   By ‘field’, Palmer means your energy, or perhaps aura.  And by ‘equal’ she’s pointing to the fact that, especially in Western cultures, we’re all about our front half.  That means we ignore our backs, broadly speaking.  And yet the back can be the most expressive part of a person.  If you look attentively at someone’s back, you will know instantly how she’s feeling.  You can mask the emotions in your face, but not your back. 

So the next time you’re preparing to give a speech, think about being present in your whole body, not just your front and face.  Mentally explore how that back is doing.  You’ll be surprised at how much the exercise improves your presence. 

Finally, the third question has to do similarly with presence.  Feeling your own weight means experiencing your body completely in space, feeling the pull of gravity on your legs, your back, your lower spine, and all the rest.  It’s a very powerful exercise, again, for a nervous speaker to try before speaking.

You don’t have to become a black belt to benefit from a study of a martial art as a public speaker.  You just have to be present.