18 Ways to Enhance Your Body Language
ell we are continuously striving to enhance our competencies in every kind of communication, and yet we concentrate chiefly on written and oral methods to sell, to get an edge, communicate more distinctly, and to vibe better with other people. These are marvelous abilities, yet odd that people don’t concentrate more on their body language since you can…
There are no definite suggestions on how to employ your body language. The way you behave may be construed in different ways, based on the situation and the person you are conversing with. You’ll almost certainly want to employ your body language in a different way when speaking to your boss as against when you converse with a guy/girl you’re keen on. These are some standard readings of body movement and frequently more effective methods to make your body talk.
Firstly, to alter your body movement you should be conscious of your body gestures. Observe the way you stand, the way you sit, the way you use your legs and hands, how you act while speaking to someone.
You may wish to practice before a mirror. Yes, it may look ridiculous but nobody is observing you. This will provide you excellent feedback on the way others perceive you and provide you a chance to practice a bit prior to facing the world.
An additional tip is to shut your eyes and picture how you would sit and stand to feel assertive, open and comfortable or anything you wish to convey. Observe yourself act like that vision of yourself. Then practice it.
You may also wish to watch role models, friends, movie stars or others you believe have excellent body language. Look at the way they act and the way you do. Take little cues you like from various people. Attempt to pick up what you can from them.
Quite a few of these tips may appear as though you are feigning something. But simulate it until you make it a valuable way to pick up something novel. And keep in mind, emotions work backwards also. If you smile slightly more you would feel more contented. If you keep an erect posture you will feel full of life and on top of things. If you do things slowly you’ll feel more peaceful. Your emotions will in fact buttress your new behaviors and feelings of oddness will disperse.
At first, it’s not difficult to overstate your body gestures. You may be seated with your legs ludicrously spaced out or sit up erect in a stiff posture always. That’s acceptable. And people aren’t watching to the extent you imagine, they are fretting over their own troubles. Simply rehearse a little, practice and observe yourself to discover a happy balance.
1. Never keep your legs or arms crossed – You have most likely already been made aware that you shouldn’t keep your arms crossed as it may cause you to appear guarded or defensive. This applies to your legs also. Don’t keep your legs and arms closed – open them.
2. Maintain eye contact, but never look fixedly – If there are a number people you are speaking to, maintain some eye contact with all of them to develop a better rapport and notice if they are paying attention. Maintaining excessive eye contact might give people the creeps. Having no eye contact may make you look as though you lack confidence. If you aren’t accustomed to maintaining eye contact it may feel slightly tough or daunting at first but keep practicing and you’ll soon be used to doing it.
3. Never be scared of occupying space – Occupying space by for instance sitting or perhaps standing with the legs spaced out slightly indicates self-assurance and that you totally are at ease with yourself.
4. Loosen up the shoulders – When you are anxious it easily ends up as tightness in the shoulders. They may go up and forward slightly. Endeavor to unwind. Attempt to relax by jiggling the shoulders slightly and push them back a little.
5. Bob you head when they are speaking – nod occasionally to indicate that you are paying attention. But don’t carry it too far and tap away akin to Woody Woodpecker.
6. Never sprawl, sit upright – but in a comfortable manner, not in an extremely edgy way.
7. Lean, but never excessively – If you wish to demonstrate that you are keen on what someone is talking about, lean towards the person speaking. If you wish to demonstrate you’re self-assured and comfortable lean back slightly. But don’t lean forward overly or you may appear desperate and anxious for some appreciation. Or lean back excessively or you may appear conceited and aloof.
8. Laugh and smile – relax don’t be staid and sober. Lighten up a little, smile and break into a laugh when someone utters something hilarious. People will be much more prone to pay you attention if you look to be an optimistic person. But never be the first one to express amusement at your own gags, it makes you appear edgy and desperate. When introduced to someone smile but don’t have a smile etched on your face as you’ll appear artificial.
9. Don’t tug at your face – it may make you appear uneasy and can be off-putting for listeners or the persons in the discussion.
10. Reduce speed slightly – this applies to a number of things. Walking at a slower pace not just makes you appear more composed and assertive, it will cause you to appear less hassled also. If someone greets you, don’t bring up your neck suddenly in their direction, instead turn it somewhat more slowly.
11. Hold you head up - Never gaze downward, it may make you look unsure of yourself and a bit confused. Hold your head upright and your eyes looking towards the horizon.
12. Never be restless – try to prevent, eliminate or change twitchy movement and tense tics like swinging your leg or drumming your fingers on the table briskly. You’ll appear tense and twitching can be off-putting when you attempt to convey something. Declutter your gestures if you are chaotic. Strive to unwind, slow down and concentrate on your movements.
13. Employ your hands more assertively – rather than fiddling with your hands or rubbing your face - employ them to put across what you are attempting to speak about. Make use of your hands to explain something or to emphasize a point you wish to convey. But never use them excessively or it may turn disturbing. And never allow your hands to flap around, control their movements.
14. Lower your thirst-quencher – never hold your drink at chest level. Actually, never clutch anything before your chest, since it will cause you to appear cagey and detached. Lower it and instead grasp it next to your leg.
15. Recognize where the spine ends – most individuals (including me until lately) might stand or sit with an erect back in a fine posture. But, they might believe that the spine stops where the neck starts and hence stretch the neck out forward like a
16. Never stand very close - one thing we picked up from Seinfeld is that everyone gets the creeps by a person talking close to you. Allow people to have their personal area don’t intrude into it.
17. Mirror – Frequently when you vibe well with someone, when both of you share a wonderful rapport, you will begin to mirror one another involuntarily. That indicates that you reflect the other individual’s body language slightly. To strengthen the link you can attempt a little proactive mirroring. Now if he bends forward, you might bend forward. If she keeps her hands on the hips, you may do likewise. But never react immediately and never mirror every move in body language. It will then look peculiar.
18. Maintain a fine attitude – finally, keep an optimistic, friendly and calm attitude. The way you feel will show through your body movement and can cause a huge difference. For information regarding how to make yourself feel good read “Ten Methods to Transform The Way You Feel” and check out “An extremely easy way to feel at ease for 24 hours” for relaxation.
You could alter your body movement but like all new routines it takes some time. Particularly things like holding your head straight may take time to fix if you’ve spent years staring at your feet. Plus if you attempt and alter a number of things simultaneously it might become bewildering and feel overpowering.
Carry a few of these body movement tips to practice daily for 3-4 weeks. By then you should have formed a habit of them and something you will perform reflexively. Otherwise, persist till you get the hang of it. Then take another few things you wish to alter and practice them.
