If you wish to have a multitude of business partners and clients or have the respect of your employees, for whom you will become a genuine leader, it is time to focus on your communication, but without words. 60-75% of our communication is non-verbal. So once you have understood the basic principles of body language, why would others not follow you? The Business Know How website has counselled 11 tips on how to keep your communication under control.
1. If you need to dominate, stand up. This is a fairly well-known tactic, sending a very clear message about your dominance. If, however, standing is inappropriate, a similar result is achieved by stretching the legs into space or placing hands on the arm of the chair.
2. Stop moving your head. Many people move their head to gain the approval of others but if you wish to act dominantly, restrict movement to a minimum.
3. What are the hands doing? To gain others' respect, keep your hands in a pyramid shape (all fingers pointed upwards, touching the tips). Thus you show your intellect. Studies prove that gestures give listeners confidence in the speaker.
4. Appearance is not everything. Sometimes when you are surrounded by unfamiliar people, you tend finely to adjust hair or clothing. This indicates an effort to present oneself in the best possible light, which in turn increases self-confidence. A leader should, however, be assertive by nature. Maintain control of your movements and do not make any nervousness obvious.
5. Show your belly. This way you demonstrate your openness. Many men and women fold arms across their chest or abdomen either to cover their expanding size or out of embarrassment. Such a gesture may, however, portray you as secretive, angry or deceitful.
6. Try mirroring. Mirroring is a great tactic when you want to encourage others to trust and follow you. If it is appropriate in a particular situation, try to mirror their movements, but remain subtle. If someone gesticulates wildly, imitation would be clearly inappropriate. However, you can tense the same muscles and model the movements in your mind. This will help you to connect better with the other person's communication. This technique is actually part of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). More about the method can be found here.
7. Leave your hair alone. Playing with hair indicates a lack of trust in the other person. This definitely does not build your respect.
8. Beware of the eyes. If you are a man and you want a woman to feel comfortable while communicating with you, make sure that your eyes are focused below hers. Women are on average shorter than men and during a conversation they may feel less important or underrated.
9. Maintain eye contact. On the other hand, even when following the above advice, it is still important to maintain eye contact. This signifies your attention and respect to the other person. Avoiding eye contact may be considered unfair, suggest anxiety or boredom, or you may look haughty. That said, eye contact should not be too long: no more than ten seconds; more when listening than talking.
10. Legs and ankles reveal everything. Be aware of the position of your legs while sitting. They should not be crossed, nor should they move. Again, you would thus demonstrate disinterest or boredom. The legs should be slightly parted, denoting openness and relaxation.
11. Leaning forward should be gradual. For years experts recommended leaning forward when communicating with other people right from the very beginning of the conversation as a means of building a relationship. Subsequent studies have shown that rushing into this friendly gesture may cause a negative reaction by invoking discomfort and resistance. Therefore, begin gradually.
If you are a leader on an international level, you should educate yourself about cultural differences that may interpret body language and gestures differently. What is the biggest mistake you have ever made or seen in non-verbal communication?
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