Body language in Business...

The Space Around You

Standing gives you power! It looks as though you have a higher status than others. Moving around and taking up more space has the same effect too. So, stand if you can or if you have to seat, stretch your feet or rest your arms at the side of the chair.

Hand-to-Face Movements

Be aware of customers that hold their chin or scratch their face. It may mean that they are thinking of buying but they are worried if they have enough money or if they have chosen the right size,etc. So, here is where you jump in and tell them that they can buy the product on credit or they can exchange it if it's not suitable. In reality, customers usually don't ask and just leave when they are unsure. Therefore, recognising this form of body language is important for sales =)

Gestures

Actions can have more than one meaning, just like words. So, be careful of your actions as it can easily give away things about both you or the observer. A simple touch of the nose could mean that you/they aren't being truthful. Besides, people move their head a lot when talking; if you want to look powerful, keep head movements to a minimum.

How confident, secure and trusting you are can be known by how much you show your underbelly(your front). The lesser you fold your arms, cross your legs or raise your hands, the better you will feel. Folded arms may mean that you are trying to protect yourself and will look bad to the other person. You may think that the person is uninterested or feeling detached from your conversation when they fold their arms and cross their legs but when the opposite occurs, you will think that the person is accepting your issue.

Furthermore, we are attracted to people who are similar to ourselves. Say if you were discussing with your partner and both of you were sitting/standing in a similar position. the discussion will go well. This is called mirroring. However, if both were sitting/standing in different positions, the discussion may not go as well.

Nail-biting, playing with hair, chewing gum, and teeth grinding are examples of displacement activity. It is the most common and annoying gesture. It is used to get rid of physical tension in the body. On the contrary, grooming gesture are things we do to reassure ourselves. We normally use this gesture when around people we don't know as we want to look more presentable to lift our confidence.

Lastly, we use our hands to emphasize what we say from pointing to waving.

Hands that are made into a pyramid shape (fingers and thumbs on both hands touching, with palms wide apart) mean power. If someone sits across a desk from you and speaks to you with the pyramid gesture pointing to you, he/she may be your boss or future boss =)

Thus, when working or doing business, remember all these tips. It will help you in some way or others ok!




*credits to www.bizhelp24.com*