Hands: so useful, yet so problematic! What to do with them? Shove them into pockets? Use them to clutch the sides of the lectern with last-lifeboat-off-the-Titanic fervor? Flick away invisible flies?

Speaking in professional environments can be daunting, especially for beginners in the workforce. At the same time, you can be further into your career but uncomfortable starting at a new company.

Darren Tay, a 27-year-old Singaporean lawyer, became the 2016 Toastmasters International world champion of public speaking in August, surviving several rounds of a competition that lasted six months ...