Public Speaking: What's your dirty habit?

You may not want to admit it publicly, but we all have dirty little habits. Unfortunately, when you're speaking in public, you might be the only one who doesn't know what your dirty little habit is! Body language speaks for itself and the nervous ticks that people develop are known to all except the person with the problem.

Whenever I point out these little fidgets to people that I coach, they always say, "Really??? Do I really do that?" When they see themselves on video, they can't believe it!

Here are some of the most common dirty habits I see:

• shifting weight back and forth (rocking)
• wringing hands
• pulling/loosening tie knot
• straightening jacket
• playing with hair
• tapping foot
• playing with a pen, clicker, notes, etc.
• picking nails

I'm sure there are many more that I'm forgetting.

So how can we prevent ourselves from fidgeting? Video tape yourself. I promise that once you see how silly you look doing these things you will never want to do them again. When you find out what your dirty habit is, stay focused on it so you don't relapse later down the road to recovery.

So, what's your dirty habit?