Body language secrets for success
Body language is just as important- even more important at times- than vocal language because it subconsciously conveys how you really feel, even when your words might not. When properly used, body language can be your key to greater success. It can help you develop positive business relationships, influence and motivate the people who report to you, improve productivity, bond with members of your team, and present your ideas with more impact. Mentioned below are a few tips for using body language to project confidence, credibility, and your personal equity and walk your way to success:
Maintain positive eye contact – By nature, you may be an introvert, shy, or your cultural background may have taught you that extended eye contact with a senior or people of opposite sex may not be appropriate. However, this is far from true. When you are meeting someone for the first time, look straight into their eyes, greet them and look into eyes long enough to notice the color of their eyes. Eye contact exuberates confidence, however, don’t overdo it and don’t stare.
Smile – A positive smile can be a conversation starter and can have a fruitful impact on any conversation. Smiling not only stimulates your own sense of wellbeing, it also tells those around you that you are approachable and trustworthy. Research from Duke University found that the orbitofrontal cortices (a “reward center” in the brain) were more active when subjects were learning and recalling the names of smiling individuals. When you smile at someone, they almost always smile in return. And, because facial expressions trigger corresponding feelings, the smile you get back actually changes that person’s emotional state in a positive way.
Use Steepling – This is a non-verbal communication medium where the tips of your fingers touch, but the palms are separated. Politicians like Barack Obama, Winston Churchill, and Narendra Modi use this hand gesture when they are quite certain about a point they are making. Likewise, when you are interacting in a group or making a presentation or you want to project conviction and sincerity about a point you’re making, try steepling.
Use Gestures Effectively – Using gestures won’t only aid your thought processes, it also helps in creating a good first impression. Research has shown that presenters are judged as more effective and competent when they make hand gestures compared with when they keep their hands still. Like tone, volume, and pacing of your speech, gestures are another tool to punctuate what you’re saying. Gestures can also help the audience understand and remember what you said.
Use your voice effectively – by nature, we all have a certain voice and tone quality that we cannot change. However, we can definitely adjust the tonality depending upon the context and nature of communication to use it in a better way. According to Professor Albert Mehrabian at the University of UCLA, total liking for any piece of communication is dependent on 7% verbal liking, 38% vocal liking, and 55% facial liking. Hence tonality is extremely important. Tone involves the volume you use, the level and type of emotion that you communicate, and the emphasis that you place on the words that you choose. In the workplace, the quality of your voice can be a deciding factor in how you are perceived. Speakers with higher-pitched voices are judged to be less empathic, less powerful, and more nervous than speakers with lower-pitched voices.
Motivational speakers India: There are some great motivational speakers who talk about body language in business and how to use it to your advantage. Gaur Gopal Das and Sandeep Maheshwari are some of the best motivational speakers in India. One must attend seminars and workshops to boost confidence and learn amazing tips for body language to be more successful in life.