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Body Language: Top Ten Tips!

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Body Language

Top Ten Tips!


Eye Contact
 Maintaining good eye contact shows
respect and interest
 Keep eye contact around 60-70% of the
time.
 Especially important when people have
just met.
Warning
 Any more eye contact than this and you
can be too intense
 Any less and you give off a signal that
you are lacking interest in conversation.
Posture
 Get your posture right and you'll
automatically start feeling better
 It makes you feel good almost instantly
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
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.
Contd.
 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.
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".
Contd.
 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.
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
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!
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.
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 !
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.
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!
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

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