Is public speaking about body language? Why attention matters more
By Yogesh Pandey · 22 October 2026 · 2 min read
Public speaking is mostly about where your attention goes, not what your body does. A 15-year review of sports research found that people who put their attention on their own body did worse, and people who put it outside, on the target, did better. On stage, the target is one person getting your point.
The checklist that kills your point
Stand straight. Hands out of the pocket. Smile. Eye contact. Do not touch your face. You walk on stage with that whole checklist running in your head, and your actual point is gone.
People give the polite clap. And you know it did not land.
You freeze because you are too careful
You were acting like a speaker, not a person. Busy watching yourself.
There is a review of fifteen years of research on attention. People who put their attention on their own body did worse. People who put it outside, on the target, did better.
That is sports research, not speaking research. But in my own coaching sessions I see the same thing every time.
How to speak better on stage: forget your body
Pick one person in the room. Your only job is that this one person gets your point.
Your body follows your attention.
- In your next meeting or talk, pick one person.
- Make your only job that this one person gets your point.
Source: Wulf (2013), International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, a 15-year review. Sports research.
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