Gait and body language can have a big effect on how your audience understands your character. You can practice different gait styles depending on the emotion that your character is feeling.
Depending on what you are trying to convey, you may want to vary your stride length, feet placement, and add little quirks – take longer or shorter strides, dragging your feet, have a little bounce, and so on.
1. Shyness
When portraying shyness, experiment with keeping your chin tucked, walk slowly, or take smaller steps. Also practice the walk of someone who is shy but trying to look confident.
2. Confidence
A confident person walks with their head held high, shoulders back, chest out and maybe has a smile on their face. They may have a faster or slower stride depending on the scene, but they will surely have a stride that does not invilve any hesitation!
3. Happiness
Happiness can be shown by having the head slighly tilted back and having a faster stride. A joyful person might even have a bounce in their step, as if their mind is filled with music. And of course, an uncontrollable smile.
4. Sadness
Sadness is shown with the head hanging low, eyes on the gorund, hunched shoulders, and a drag in the stride. Also practice the walk of a sad person who is hiding what they are feeling on the inside.
The above are only ideas of how different emotions may look like. Practice different variations of these, including others like anger, confusion, fear, and surprise, to explore your characters!
Start paying attention to the gait of different people when you are out and about and try them out when you are practicing your acting skills. You may even notice what affects your own walk in different situations and within varying emotions.
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