Body language in the workplace

• • Think tall. By keeping your posture erect, your shoulders back and your head held high, you’ll promote power, status and confidence in yourself. If you move around, the additional space you take up will add to that impression. If you’re sitting, you can look more confident by putting both feet flat on the floor, widening your arms away from your body, and spreading out your belongings on the conference table to claim more territory.

• • Lower your voice. Speakers with higher-pitched voices are judged to be less empathic, less powerful and more nervous than speakers with lower pitched voices. Try this trick before that important phone call: put your lips together and say, “Um hum, um hum, um hum” to relax your voice into its optimal pitch.

• • Mirror movement. Mirror the body language of the other person to show that you are “in tune” with what he or she has to say. It will make the other person feel at home and relaxed. Use discreetly though, otherwise you could seem to be mocking the other person. Respect the other person’s space to avoid nervous tension and allow a better atmosphere in which to communicate.

• • Maintain positive eye contact. Your cultural background may have taught you that extended eye contact with a superior is inappropriate, but most business people will expect you to maintain eye contact 50 to 60% of the time. Here’s a simple technique to improve eye contact: whenever you greet a business colleague, look into his or her eyes long enough to notice what colour they are.

• • Use open gestures. Individuals with open gestures are perceived more positively and more persuasive than those with closed gestures such as arms crossed, hands hidden or held close to the body. Relaxed movements with open palms are also associated with sincerity and openness, and leaning forward slightly communicates interest in what others have to say.

• • Smile. Smiles have a powerful effect. They not only stimulate your own sense of wellbeing, but also tell those around you that you are approachable and trustworthy.

• • Perfect your handshake. Handshakes have cultural variations. However, the ideal handshake generally means facing the other person squarely, making firm palm to palm contact with the web of your hand (the skin between the thumb and first finger) touching the web of the other person’s hand, and matching hand pressure as closely as possible without compromising your own idea of a proper professional grip. Incidentally, while a great handshake is important for all professionals, it is especially significant for women whose confidence is evaluated by the quality of their handshake even more than it is with their male counterparts.

Sources
http://www.forbes.com
www.library.thinkquest.org