THE BOBBING HEAD HABBIT

A sure sign of loss of physical   control  is  a head that bobs up and down during  a presentation. A bobbing head not only distracts the  audience it also diminishes the speakers image as a leader .If you have any doubt just stand in front of a mirror and watch yourself make a statement as you bob your head. Then do the same thing as you hold your head still. The most serious effect of a bobbing head IS however,  that when your neck muscles tense up and  your head begins to move about  with force your stomach and  chest clench up like a fist. You stop breathing normally and  you cut down on the amount of air  you are taking in. This causes a  gasping breathlessness  that seriously interferes with your performance.

Here is an exercise for  students who wish to break the bobbing head habit. This should only take about five minutes.

Stand with your back against the wall.

Say “I feel my head against the wall”( try to make contact with your head  by thinking about where it is located. Do the same for all the other examples  of your  body parts in this exercise. Do not rush. It is important that you take you time.

Say “I feel my shoulders against the wall”

Say “I feel my buttocks against the wall”

Say” I  feel myself  perfectly balanced between feel my right and left legs

Say” I feel my arms hanging at my sides.” Hanging  loose not tense.

Hold a  page from a newspaper in front of your eyes and read a short article out loud.

Read slowly and squeeze your toes at the end of each sentence. Do not move your head. The point is to focus upon your head as it presses against the wall.

If you are rehearsing a presentation, try it this way . You will probably feel stiff and robot-like but remember this is a training device. You are trying to break a bobbing head habit .As time goes by keeping you head still will become more and more a part of your normal behavior.