English Language Arts · 10th Grade · The Art of Persuasion · Weeks 1-9

Public Speaking: Non-Verbal Communication

Students analyze and practice the impact of body language, gestures, and eye contact in persuasive speaking.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.4
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.6

About This Topic

Before a speaker says a word, the audience is already forming judgments based on how the speaker carries themselves. Posture, eye contact, gestures, and facial expression all communicate alongside spoken language, and sometimes in contradiction to it. In 10th grade, students who are developing their own public speaking skills need to understand non-verbal communication as a deliberate tool, not just a nervous habit to overcome.

CCSS SL.9-10.4 and SL.9-10.6 both address presentation skills that include non-verbal components: maintaining eye contact, using appropriate body language, and adapting communication to context. These are skills that affect how listeners receive the message, which ties directly to the unit's broader focus on persuasion and audience effect.

Non-verbal skills are best developed through active, observed practice. Students need opportunities to watch themselves and others on video, receive specific feedback from peers, and consciously experiment with different physical choices. Structured observation protocols keep feedback constructive and specific, which is far more useful than general comments like "look more confident."

Key Questions

1. Analyze how a speaker's posture can convey confidence or uncertainty.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of specific gestures in emphasizing key points.
3. Design a presentation incorporating strategic non-verbal cues to enhance a message.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how a speaker's posture and stance influence audience perception of confidence and credibility.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of specific hand gestures and facial expressions in reinforcing a speaker's key points.
• Design a short presentation incorporating intentional non-verbal cues to enhance the persuasive impact of a message.
• Compare the non-verbal communication styles of two different public speakers, identifying strengths and weaknesses.
• Explain the psychological impact of consistent eye contact on audience engagement and trust.

Before You Start

Fundamentals of Persuasive Arguments

Why: Students need to understand the core components of a persuasive argument before they can analyze how non-verbal cues support or undermine it.

Introduction to Public Speaking

Why: Students should have a basic understanding of structuring a speech and delivering it verbally before focusing on the nuances of non-verbal delivery.

Key Vocabulary

Kinesics	The study of how body movements, such as gestures and posture, communicate messages. It encompasses body language and physical expression.
Proxemics	The study of how people use space and distance in communication. This includes personal space and how it affects interactions.
Oculesics	The study of eye behavior, eye movement, and eye-related non-verbal communication. This includes eye contact and gaze.
Haptics	The study of touch as a form of communication. In public speaking, this might relate to handshakes or other brief physical contact.
Paralanguage	The vocal aspects of speech that are not the words themselves, such as tone, pitch, rate, and volume. While not strictly non-verbal, it works in conjunction with body language.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Eye contact means constantly scanning the room, which feels awkward and distracting.

What to Teach Instead

Effective eye contact means landing on individual faces for 2-3 seconds before moving on, which creates a sense of direct connection without appearing erratic. Students benefit from practicing this specifically during partner activities, counting internally before shifting their gaze.

Common Misconception

Gestures should be natural and spontaneous, so they can't be prepared or practiced.

What to Teach Instead

Professional speakers deliberately design their gestures to emphasize key moments. Students can identify two or three places in their speech where a gesture would reinforce meaning, plan those gestures, and practice them until they feel natural. Intentional gestures are more effective than either no gestures or purely spontaneous ones.

Common Misconception

If the speech content is strong, body language doesn't really matter.

What to Teach Instead

Research on audience response consistently shows that non-verbal signals affect how credible and authoritative speakers appear, independent of content quality. A well-argued speech delivered with closed body language loses some of its persuasive power. Active feedback exercises where students rate the same text delivered two different ways make this concrete.

Active Learning Ideas

Think-Pair-Share: Posture and Perception

Play two 60-second video clips of speakers delivering the same short text: one with open, forward-leaning posture and one with closed, hunched posture. Partners discuss what assumptions they made about each speaker's authority and confidence before noting that the content was identical. Class debriefs on how physical presence shapes perception.

15 min·Pairs

Peer Coaching: The Non-Verbal Feedback Protocol

Students deliver a 90-second excerpt of a prepared speech while a partner tracks three specific behaviors on a checklist: eye contact frequency, gesture use, and posture. After the performance, the observer shares only what they observed (not opinions), and together they identify one adjustment to try in a second run.

35 min·Pairs

Inquiry Circle: The Muted Speaker

Groups watch a 2-3 minute clip of a public speech with the volume muted. They note every non-verbal choice they observe and infer what the speaker might be communicating at each moment. After sharing inferences, they watch with sound and compare their non-verbal readings to the actual content.

30 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Political candidates meticulously practice their non-verbal cues, from hand gestures during rallies to their posture during debates, to project strength and sincerity to voters.
• Attorneys in courtrooms use deliberate eye contact with judges and juries, along with controlled gestures, to build their case and convey conviction.
• Sales professionals train to use open body language and confident eye contact to establish rapport and trust with potential clients, influencing purchasing decisions.

Assessment Ideas

Peer Assessment

Students present a 1-minute persuasive speech. After each presentation, peers use a rubric to rate the speaker on eye contact (e.g., consistent, avoids gaze), posture (e.g., confident, slouched), and gestures (e.g., purposeful, distracting). Peers provide one specific suggestion for improvement.

Quick Check

Show short video clips (15-30 seconds) of different speakers. Ask students to write down one observation about the speaker's posture and one observation about their use of gestures, noting whether these elements supported or detracted from the message.

Exit Ticket

Students reflect on their own practice presentation. Ask them to identify one non-verbal behavior they consciously used to enhance their message and one non-verbal behavior they want to focus on improving for their next speech.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I give students feedback on body language without making them more self-conscious?

Use behavior-specific, non-judgmental language: "I noticed you looked down at your notes three times during the second paragraph" rather than "you seemed nervous." Teaching students to give the same kind of feedback to each other shifts focus from self-consciousness to problem-solving, which is a more productive framing.

What non-verbal cues matter most for persuasive presentations?

Eye contact, open posture, and deliberate gestures are the three highest-impact elements for 10th graders to focus on. Eye contact builds trust, open posture signals confidence and openness, and purposeful gestures direct audience attention. These three improvements alone produce a noticeably more persuasive delivery.

Should students practice in front of a mirror or on video?

Video is more effective than mirrors because it replicates the audience's actual perspective. Mirrors require students to perform and observe simultaneously, which splits attention. A short phone recording students can watch alone before sharing with a partner reduces anxiety and gives students genuine self-awareness of their non-verbal habits.

How does active observation practice help students improve their own non-verbal delivery?

Watching peers with a specific observation checklist trains students to see non-verbal patterns that they can then notice in their own practice. When students know exactly what their observer is tracking, they become more aware of those specific behaviors in their own performance. This feedback loop accelerates improvement more than general encouragement.