You certainly don’t want to be seen as fidgeting in front of a crowd; but the opposite of fidgeting is not to be frozen. Instead, you want to move in the way you normally do when you are talking to a friend you like. Your face, hands, shoulders, torso, and even your eyebrows move. The good news is that you don’t have to go to acting school for any of this. You just have to move they way you normally do.

I truly believe that if we could transfer the billions of hours wasted each year by people obsessing over what to do with their hands during a presentation, then we could solve both the world hunger and energy crises. For the most part, worrying about what to do with your hands is a waste of time.

Through the research I’ve done by working with clients from six continents, I can tell you categorically that audiences around the world respond most favorably to speakers who gesture throughout their whole presentation. I can also tell you that, without a doubt, when presenters watch video of themselves presenting, they are frequently flabbergasted and appalled that they move their hands when they speak (even though everyone else in the room thought the hand movement looked great.)

If I were trying to help you become a world-class speaker or a top-tier presidential candidate, I would videotape you extensively in order to get you to move your hands in ways that look natural. But you don’t have to worry about any of this!

If your goal is to give a pretty good presentation, then it doesn’t matter if you move your hands or not; so you can just take this off of your list of things to worry about. Yes, it is always best if you can move your hands and gesture normally when giving your presentation. But if you keep your hands frozen or flat on a table or lectern—or holding a laser—that’s okay, too, as long as you have something interesting and useful to say in your presentation.

There’s only one thing you don’t want to do with your hands when giving a presentation: fidget, rub your hands together nervously, play with your rings, or do anything else that suggests you are incredibly nervous—because that’s what most of the other presenters in the room are going to do. As long as you don’t make their mistake, you will stand out as pretty good in comparison.

This article was taken from my new book “How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation” You can order a copy from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million or from your local bookstore.