Does Your Body Speak The Language?

Lift Your Language

Going to a meeting or interview or making a presentation can be a little like visiting a foreign country.

You’ve navigated your way to the destination without any problems. You’re confident you are dressed appropriately for the climate. Good so far.

But then you encounter unfamiliar faces and different ways of doing things and you hope you can speak enough of the language to get by.

Your spoken language might be fluent and confident.

But what about your body language? It can betray your apprehensions and fears – and you might not even realise it.

We’ve all been there….

Whether you’re in a meeting or a job interview, making a presentation or a sales pitch, it doesn’t matter; these situations have one thing in common.

You – for at least some of the time – will be the centre of attention.

If this is well within your comfort zone, you probably don’t need to read on.

On the other hand, you might be one of those people who become shattered wrecks just thinking about it. Most of us find at least some of these situations test our nerves to the limit.

Where do you stand?

Often, you ‘think’ you’re fine and you ‘feel’ fine but, somehow, your body hasn’t quite picked up the message.

How well do you speak ‘body language’?

Chances are you have prepared carefully for what you will say (your words) and how you will say it (using your voice). That’s great!

Trouble is, if you do nothing else but take care of the ‘speaking parts’, the job’s still only half done.

You might not realise that only about 10-20% of what you communicate comes from your words.

The pitch, tone and volume of your voice and your pace of speaking account for up to 40%.

But what about the rest?

In fact, a staggering 50%, or more, of your communication is ‘body language’.

The hands

What you do with your hands says a lot about you. Make sure it’s in your favour.

You need to think about:

• Your handshake

• Where and how you place your hands and what that might betray

• Using your hands to complement (rather than undermine) what you are saying

• ‘Staged’ hand gestures that come across as fake.

The eyes

Your eyes will always be an indicator of your genuine state of mind. It’s fairly easy to spot a discrepancy when, for example, the mouth is smiling and the eyes are not, which screams ‘insincerity’. Ask someone to take you unawares and check your ‘eye’ habits.

You need to think about:

• How you make eye contact

• How your eyes convey your confidence, truthfulness ( or ‘creative construction’)

• What you might unintentionally convey with your eyes – e.g. disapproval, surprise, skepticism, boredom.

The mouth

Your mouth is extremely expressive, even when you are silent. Ask someone who knows you well to offer some observations.

You need to think about:

• Your distinctive mannerisms

• How your mouth looks – at rest, and while you are speaking

• When, how and how often you smile.

General posture

If you are comfortable without being casual, it will make you look calm, confident and controlled and will allow the person in front of you to feel more relaxed, too.

You need to think about:

• Shoulders

• How you stand, walk and sit

• Your personal mannerisms.

Monitoring and even modifying your body language isn’t about changing who you are. But if you are a newcomer in ‘foreign territory’, the last thing you want is to get ‘lost in translation’.

Want more?

This is just a sample of what you’ll find in our book, 𝙒𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙅𝙤𝙗: 𝘽𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙜𝙚.

All of these topics, and more, are covered in detail.

The book is now available at :
https://courseitis.com/win-the-job-body-language/