Recently a participant in one of my Delivering memorable messages programmes – a woman of relatively small, physical stature – made the above comment when I was coaching her on how to gesture, to inhabit the physical space in front and at the side of her body.

However, when I asked other participants who were observing her, whether they thought the woman was occupying too much space, they said that she wasn’t – and that she had projected more certainty than she normally did.