Awkward Arm: [awk-werd ahrm] A psychosomatic disorder characterized by robotic, alien, or non-existent arm motion in presenters, engendering vague feelings of fear, pity, or contempt in the audience.

Strange. Just this morning you waved to your spouse the way most people do: normally. Now, on stage, you look more like a tetanus-ridden drunk Santa: you’ve got the awkward arm.

The good news is that awkward arm is a common, treatable illness. Actually, it isn’t an illness at all: the awkward arm is a purely rational decision made by the irrational part of your brain—the subconscious. Your subconscious is primal. Your subconscious is simple. Your subconscious has no idea how much money is riding on your presentation.

Here’s why: Not too long ago in human history, standing apart from a group of peers often had dire consequences like being trampled by mammoths, eaten by saber-tooth tigers, or bludgeoned by peers. Just as our ancestors didn’t know what to do with their arms in the moments before being run over by a rampaging mammoth, so many presenters don’t know what to do with their arms in front of audiences. The acuteness of the condition varies according to experience: more public speaking without being trampled, eaten, or bludgeoned equals less awkward arm. Therefore, the best treatment is to speak only at venues that do not allow wild animals and require primitive weapons to be checked at the door.

The Takeaway: Seriously, don’t present in venues with wild animals and lax primitive weapon rules. More seriously, there is no such thing as a natural born presenter. The better someone is at presenting, the more they have probably done it. If you want to do it well, you need to practice. With time and effort, you’ll have that natural arm swagger everybody’s talking about.

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