Mannerisms
The basic rule with mannerisms is avoid them altogether. While it might be fun to have a Groucho Marx cigar or a lorgnette ‘just to be different', the eyes of your audience will be on your props rather than on you-and that will never do.
Watching a speaker when he or she fiddles with a button, runs his fingers up and down the stem of a wine-glass, or twists a necklace or ring every few minutes, can be very irritating. So make sure you have no annoying habits. If you can face the truth, the simplest way to do this is to ask a close friend to let you know if you have any distracting mannerisms and what they are.