Why is body language important?

What about that fidgeting you do with your body language? Chances are just like me good friend, you’ve probably never given it a second thought. If you’re like most small business owners, you’re likely under a sizable pile of burning issues. Whether it’s finances or marketing,  headcount or innovation, worrying about body language is probably not a consideration. But that is exactly what it is and it plays a important role on how you and your business are perceived  and those perceptions impact your reputation and your top and bottom line. As a mode of human communication, it helps us to communicate our ideas, feelings and intentions not just through what we say, but also what we don’t say and what we don’t say it with. And whether consciously or not, the appropriateness of our use of it can play a big part in how others see and experience us. This has particular relevance in a business context.

 Five body language tips that could save your business are;

1. Good posture seems self evident, but maintaining a strong torso sends out important signals of an upright businessperson. You will be impressed at the way you react to someone leaning back in a chair, hands casually in the pockets. Hunched shoulders scream ‘nervous’ and ‘insecure’. Sitting up straight says ‘confident’. It’s your body’s way of walking the walk after you’ve talked the talk.
2. The size of your power stance is also easy to see. If your feet are spread too wide, you give the impression of difficulty controlling your emotions. Being adaptable about your stance, depending on the business context, is useful. Broadening your stance subtly can also provide a more powerful stamp when taking a position on a contentious issue.
3. An open posture also has many advantages. Closing off with crossed arms, or clasped hands in your lap say that your heart is closed. A business closure is no  a persons way to success. Opening up a pathway with your hands also helps make much talked about first impressions. So stand up straight and make sure your hands are completely visible.
4. Improving,  not distracting from, oral communication;   Studies show that at least 70 per cent  and many people will say far more   of communication is nonverbal, meaning that much of what you say with your body will speak louder and clearer than what you say with your mouth. You could drive your message right off the road, if your body language signals are at cross purposes with the words that you are using. On the other hand, you can reinforce your verbalisations by attuning your body language in ways that are congruent with what you’re saying.
5. Presence;   You can either create a powerful presence for yourself or remove it. If you want to build rapport and trust, how you carry yourself  via gesticulation, body language, eye contact (or lack of)   will make a difference in the way you are perceived. For example, if you want to appear trustworthy and build rapport at the office, making eye contact and maintaining good posture with your arms uncrossed (unless you are seated) can leave a long lasting,  positive impression on your co-workers. And it will be up to your co-workers to decide whether they will trust you. Remember that, without trust, all your interactions with clients and customers will fail. In other words, your ability to develop and project self confidence, charisma and ‘interpersonal magnetism’, as we like to call it, will  help you to harness the energy towards a positive, forward looking,  motivational goal;  rapport building and the creation of trust in any given setting.

1. Demonstrating confidence;   Your body language can also be a clue to your degree of confidence. Standing erect, being warm in your handshake, using positive, respectful and creative gestures, smiling and maintaining eye contact can all signal your confidence, assertive and commanding nature. Confidence produces trust, so the reverse is also true;   your lack of confidence will not Create confidence and trust in your customers, clients and employers, so it need to be communicated by means of your body language.
2. Reading other people’s body language;   Becoming aware of your own body language will make it easier for you to read other people’s body language. Recognising another person’s posture, tone of voice, facial expressions, micro facial expressions etc. should help you understand what is on their mind and in their heart. So you will avoid misunderstandings and misinterpretations, but, at the same time, you can also make use of this skill during negotiations or in resolving problems.
3.  Aim to work on deep personal relationships;   The key to any company’s success is to develop and maintain deep personal relationships for the long term. This awareness of your body language will help you to be on your best behaviour and  make sure good relationships with others, which leads to better partnerships, negotiations and deals. The conclusion is body language is very important in business. We can see body language always affects our professional life. Also, it’s  key for us to challenge one self to behave politely and positively in order to reach our goals. Hence, if you know how you’re doing that, it can make all the difference to you and to your business success. In that way you will gain confidence of the people you are surrounded by, you will be credible when you speak, you will win their trust and keep good business relations.

Top 10 Best Body Gestures

1.  Smile with confidence. You have to know that you will go ahead in life with a positive attitude. You’ve got to show a person your confidence even if you aren’t feeling confident because the more positive you are with a certain situation, you will become confident. You want the other person you are with to get comfortable with you. Stop all the negative thoughts and its w you have inside you, that will count against you. The negative thoughts and reactions will not work for you. Remember to think positive which means be confident in what you are doing. Positive thinking needs to be the only thing on your mind at all times. Always keep a smile on your face not a frown on your face. Keep it positive and confidence but at the same time your smile is genuine not fake.
2. Look at the person. Another very important body gesture is to look at the person;   if it’s a conversation, look at the person so they feel like you are listening and that you care about what they have to say. If it’s a group of people, look at everyone;  if there is a conversation, look at everyone and don’t just stare at the person that is talking to you, because that means that person is important and no one else is. Look at everyone and don’t break eye contact with anyone too quickly because that may look like you are not trustworthy.
3.  Take an interest and listen. Because everybody likes to talk, so pay attention. Be sure that you’re listening and that you look interested in what the other person is saying. And if you are interested in what other people have to say, that is going to show.
4. You should sit up straight and correct your posture. It’s not only good for your body, but will also make you look more confident. When you hold your head at an even level it indicates assertiveness. Don’t overdo it though as it can indicate arrogance if your head if held up to high.  Always sit up straight, don’t hunch your shoulders. You don’t want to look like you’re pouncing on someone, but if you sit forward it may give that impression. On the other hand, sitting back may make you look like you’re lazy or arrogant, so keep your head up and shoulders back at all times and be mindful of your posture while sitting and standing.
5.  Facial gestures. Your facial gestures will reveal a lot about you and people will look at your face when it comes to business negotiations or other kinds of meetings. The most important is to smile in a natural way, to have your chin raised up and to look with your eyes at the same level. It gives a sense of positivity and you appear more trustworthy because of that. So what you need to do is you basically need to control your face and it needs disambiguation I think overall it is something that you need to give a little time to think about.
6. Look like a person who listens, because nowadays people are with the mobile phones 24/7 . Cell phones are an excellent innovation in technology. Even though there are lots of disadvantages as well compared to the developments. You need to put aside the assumptions and listen to what the person is saying,  especially if you are talking to a group of people. This will also increase the participation. Looking like an interested person will imply that you want to hear what people have to say and says a lot about your character. other people like to do business with someone who shows interest and willing to participate.
7. Nod when someone is talking. Nodding every minute or so while another person is talking,  means they know you are not only listening,  but are also actually interested in what others are saying. The nod will send the message they understand you like what the other person is saying,  in fact, they may even agree too.
8. Breathe and relax.If you’re not comfortable, people will sense it, especially in some sort of meeting. First, just try to relax your shoulders and breathe. If you have that kind of tension in your shoulders and neck, which most of us do, it’s OK to move your shoulders and neck around a little bit so you can relax. Besides breathing,  Being capable to control breathing is really important   it’s about being more relaxed   and that relates to good body language, because the more you’re relaxed, the more confidence you will have and the more confidence you have, the more you’re going to pass that on to people. Which we know, coming back to what I said before, is a big part of learning and maintaining good communication skills.
9. Don’t put your head down. If you do, people would think that you are not paying attention and you are not interested to hear whatever it is they have to say. Putting your head down implies that you are either bored of this topic of discussion or you do not agree with the topic or discussion that is taking place. At all times, when either talking or someone else talks to you.
10. Mirror the other person. This is very important to remember and is something that you will have to exercise and observe, In the long term. if you don’t know about the technique, mirror behaviour is to let your body mirror what the other person is doing. This is a great way to make a good impression on other people as it reflects interest and enthusiasm in what they are saying. So, one you again, mirror behaviour should be done very lightly. Mirroring is an art form obviously  and this is another skill to be learnt. This is a sure fire technique, researched out in many different social and business settings.

Manolo