Saturday, October 10, 2015

Body Language At Work ( part 1 of 2)

Art of Animation

Make use of your hands to punctuate or emphasize what you are saying. You will appear stiff if your hands will stay on your lap during the entire period of the interview. Hand gestures also signifies that you are honest and indeed knowledgeable of what you are talking about. You can do this while sitting or standing. During a presentation, move around, but walk slowly. The greatest presenters are those who can speak confidently with the right timing of body movements and gestures.

Gestures And Movements To Avoid

The wrong gestures, done consciously or unconsciously, could give the wrong impression to your boss, co-workers, and clients. These may be the reason of you getting fired. Therefore, you must avoid the following acts of body language.

Avoid pointing a finger at somebody, especially your boss. Even when you are angry or trying to emphasize a detail, it is regarded as a rude gesture. In meetings, refrain from showing signs of boredom and lack of interest. These signs include arms crossed over the chest, eyes on objects other than the person talking or the presentation itself, yawning, signing, drumming the fingers on the table, or tapping your foot.

Signs That You Are Not Doing A Good Job

If you are the presenter in a meeting or an applicant in a job interview, you must observe the body language of your audience as well. Reading their actions and movements could aid you to be aware of their reactions and if you are doing well.

You would detect if the other party is getting bored if their focus of attention is not on you. This is evident by the absence of eye contact. Observe their hands as well. Even if their eyes are on you, but if their hand are busy, it may mean they are thinking of something else. See if their fingers are playing with their pen or drumming on the surface of the table. Boredom is also indicated when the person in front of you begin to slouch back into their chair.

Signs of opposition to your ideas and opinions are also determined when the other party crosses their arms, wrinkle their forehead, and tilt their head.

However, the signs above sometimes do not reflect how someone really feels. What is important is that you know how to prepare yourself in critical times at the workplace.

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