Keep your head relatively still most of the time when speaking!
A case in point. My daughter took me to see Romeo and Juliet at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park on Father’s Day. Juliet waggled her head to express emotion. We both get distracted by it. The waggle was a personal mannerism that didn’t communicate effectively to the audience.
Years ago, my sisters and I used to howl with laughter on the way home from church because the minister waggled his head when he spoke to the congregation. It often seemed that he had to shake the words out of his body by tossing his head from side to side.
And now Bill Graham, a neighbor and friend, tells me that he’s been working with a client who, when he pauses, turns his head aside to think, holds his hands as if to say, “The fish I caught was this big,” licks his lips, and then turns to face the audience again.
I say this remembering that Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, tended to cock his head and waggle it slightly. It made him seem folksy and allowed him to be opinionated without being offensive.
However, I think it’s safe to say that head waggling is an eccentricity to be avoided.