Body Language
1. EYE CONTACT
♦ Maintaining good eye contact shows respect and interest.
♦ Keep eye contact around 60-70% of the time.
2. POSTURE
♦ Get your posture right and you'll automatically start feeling better
♦ It makes you feel good almost instantly
2.2 Next time you notice you're feeling a bit down......
♦ Take a look at how you are standing or sitting
♦ Chances are you'll be slouched over with your shoulders drooping down and inward.
♦ This collapses the chest and inhibits good breathing
♦ which in turn can help make you feel nervous or uncomfortable
3. HEAD POSITION
♦ When you want to feel confident and self assured keep your head level both horizontally and vertically
♦ You can also use this straight head position when you want to be authoritative and what you're saying to be taken seriously.
♦ when you want to be friendly and in the listening, receptive mode, tilt your head just a little to one side or other.
♦ You can shift the tilt from left to right at different points in the conversation.
4. ARMS
♦ Arms give away the clues as to how open and receptive we are.
♦ Keep your arms out to the side of your body or behind your back.
♦ This shows you are not scared to take on whatever comes your way and you meet things "full frontal".
♦ The more outgoing you are, the more you tend to use your arms with big movements.
♦ The quieter you are the less you move your arms away from your body.
♦ Strike a natural balance and keep your arm movements midway.
♦ Crossing the arms is a no, no in front of others.
5. LEGS
♦ Legs are the hardest bits of our bodies to consciously control.
♦ They tend to move around a lot more than normal when we are nervous, stressed or being deceptive.
♦ Keep them as still as possible in most situations, especially at interviews or work meetings.
6. ANGLE of BODY
♦ It gives an indication of our attitudes and feelings towards people.
♦ We angle toward people we find attractive, friendly and interesting.
♦ We angle ourselves away from those we don't find attractive, friendly and interesting , it's that simple!
7. HAND GESTURES
♦ Palms slightly up and outward is seen as open and friendly.
♦ Palm down gestures are generally seen as dominant, emphasizing and possibly aggressive.
♦ This palm up, palm down is very important when it comes to handshaking.
♦ Always offer a handshake upright and vertical, which should convey equality.
8. DISTANCE
♦ Stand too close and you'll be marked as "Pushy".
♦ Stand or sit too far away and you'll be "Keeping your distance" or "Stand offish".
♦ Neither are what we want !
8.1 Warning
♦ if you move closer to someone and they back away.....
♦ you're probably just a tiny bit too much in their personal space, their comfort zone.
♦ "You've overstepped the mark" and should pull back a little.
9. EARS
♦ Yes! your ears play a vital role in communication with others.
♦ You've got two ears and only one mouth, so use them in that order.
♦ If you listen twice as much as you talk you come across as a good communicator.
♦ Know how to strike a balanced conversation without being me, me, me!
10. MOUTH
♦ Mouth movements can give away all sorts of clues.
♦ We purse our lips and sometimes twist them to the side when we're thinking.
♦ Another occasion we might use this movement is to hold back an angry comment we don't wish to reveal.
♦ There are also different types of smiles and each gives off a corresponding feeling.
