I’m always telling my clients that 80 percent of our impression of a speaker is non-verbal (that’s right, that speech you’re sweating over right now means much less than the quality of your voice , your posture , and how you gesture ), so what do you think of this photo of Roger Clemens testifying before Congress? As many of you know, Roger Clemens, the former Yankee, and former shoe-in for the Hall of Fame, is going to be indicted for lying to Congress about his use of performance enhancing drugs.

I think this image is a powerful reminder that our bodies rarely lie. No matter what we say, our true feelings will be revealed by our facial expressions , our posture , and our tone of voice. This image just reeks of duplicity; the cocked head, the sideways glance, the backward-moving energy. Throw the jerk in jail.

Here is Harry Markopolos testifying before Congress. Harry is the guy who tried to blow the whistle on Bernie Madoff to the SEC to no avail. What do we see here? Definace, a steady gaze, forward-moving energy, confident gestures.

What do you think?

Jeffrey Davis is the owner of Speak Clear Communications. He is a public speaking coach and accent reduction coach in New York City.