Audience members pay attention to a number of things as they listen to a presentation, including the words the speaker is saying, the rate at which they're spoken, the emphasis given to certain words, the depth and strength of the speaker's voice, the confidence and sincerity the speaker conveys, and much more.

The audience also pays attention to the context in which the presentation takes place. How are the seats arranged? Are they comfortable? Is the room warm or cool enough? Can all members of the audience see the speaker adequately? Can they hear the speaker? Many of them aren't paying attention to verbal issues, or the words that the speaker is saying. Much of what they are focusing on has little to do with the verbal message. These nonverbal cues are important to the audience, though, or they wouldn't pay attention to them.

How does the process of communicating nonverbally work? You can't go to a dictionary to look up a gesture or a facial expression. Human movement, eye contact and vocal tone don't always have a direct verbal translation. So what's going on here? Nonverbal communication is really a three-step process involving a cue, your own expectations and an inference.