MAINTAIN YOUR BODY LANGUAGE
” Your body language shapes who you are”
” Our bodies can change our mind then our behaviour and ultimately the results”.–Amy Cuddy.
Body language is the biggest superpower one can ever have. It has the power of making you as well as breaking you. The origin of the word body language (also known as kinesics) in German means movement. Body language plays a major role in almost all aspects of business, especially in leadership and management roles. It goes both ways round.
1) Your movement and gestures convincing your thoughts.
2) Another person’s actions and movements showing meaning to your thoughts.
Let us see how to use body language in our favour and then also learn different ways of reading body language:
- Facial Expressions – Eyes
Having a good eye contact can be positive showing interest, affection or attraction for the other person. It is also necessary for maintaining the flow in the conversation. If eye contact is not maintained properly it can mean the opposite. If you look into the eyes for a long time it can make people feel uncomfortable or even convey that you are lying.
- Facial Expressions – Eyebrows
Raising eyebrows means the person is astonished. It can also sometimes mean disapproval. It depends on the situation. If someone has raised their eyebrows can also mean the person is expecting an answer.
- Vocal
Tone, volume and pace of speech also can be a great indication. The emphasis on the words can change the message conveyed.
You can try this exercise and see the difference it can make.
Emphasize on the bold letters –
- I didn’t say you borrowed my pen.
- I didn’t say you borrowed my pen.
- I didn’t say you borrowed my pen.
- I didn’t say you borrowed my pen.
- I didn’t say you borrowed my pen.
- I didn’t say you borrowed my pen.
- I didn’t say you borrowed my pen.
The same sentence can convey different meanings in spite of having the same words.
- Mirroring
If someone mirrors your body language it means the other person is convinced by what you are telling. The neurons cause mirroring. If someone smiles, you eventually smile back saying you feel the same. This mirroring can also be with gestures, tone of voice and even body angles. It’s a subconscious response by a person.
- Body Posture
The seating position also says a lot about your personality type. You are sitting erect (showing self-confidence), crossing your legs (insecure), crossing ankles (secure), sitting in the centre of the couch (confident), crossing arms (angry), sitting cross-legged (comfortable), keeping hands on your lap (closed-minded), kneel (aggressive), crossing wrist (insecure), leaning back on your palm (judgement).
By – KISHU