Body Language – Non-Verbal Communication Skills For Success

What you’re saying without saying a word.

Our body involuntarily gives off signals as we speak, think, and interact. If you send the wrong signals even if you’re unaware of it – your business, career, and relationships may suffer. So you need to be careful.

Understanding body language will provide you with a great advantage in your daily communication and helps you in developing better professional work relationship, and everyday life. You can more easily understand other people, and more effectively communicate with them. And be in control of any situation with your boss, friends, partner, or even total strangers.

To effectively attain positive body language, it’s essential to understand the negative body language signals.

Let’s take a look at the positive and negative indicators:

• Rigid Posture: Avoid slouching in your seat it looks bad and yawning while someone speaking, sends a negative message that you are bored or tired.

• Touching Face: Often rubbing your face, forehead, chin or eyes shows you’re hiding anxiety or tension.

• Avoid barriers: Don’t hide by holding a newspaper, book, or placing any other object in front of your body, which shows resistance and shyness of the person.

• Foot Tapping: Avoid Tapping your feet, or fingers it indicates stress or impatience.

Upright Posture: Align your body with the person you’re speaking to. It signals that you are engaged in the conversation.

• Nodding or tilted head: Nods show that you understand, agree, and listen to what the other person is saying.

• Eyes – Connect, Don’t stare: Avoiding eye contact is a sign of low self-confidence. If someone talking to you, prolonged eye contact is a sign of a confident personality. But there is a difference between looking into someone’s eyes and staring which is considered rude.

• A Pleasant Smile: To stimulate good feelings, smile but not too much as it shows how nervous you are feeling right now.

• Open Arms and hands: Keep your arms uncrossed to show you are open to what someone else is communicating. And use your hands to gesture when you speak.

• Uncrossed Legs: Keep your legs apart a bit, instead of crossed. It shows that you’re relaxed.

The best thing would be to videotape yourself, review it, and make a list of all the negative body language you notice. Tackle each of your negative points one at a time. Most of all you will get better results with each session, but it takes time and patience.

The next time you are having a conversation with someone, try to avoid the use of any of these negative body language while you’re talking.

Remember it’s not what you say it’s how you say it and your body does speak very loudly.