Thursday, November 24, 2011

Improving Your Body Language: Top 5 Tips

Your body language says a lot about what you are expressing and the individual you are. People are able to quickly make an impression of you after observing your body language. So here are 5 tips you can take home on improving your body language.

Firstly, there is the posture. You need to master your posture. Compare a person slouched up on the chair as opposed to someone who is sitting back straight with their shoulders outwards. What is your conclusion? A person sitting or standing straight up gives off an impression of self confidence and self assured to others. When you stand straight, not only you automatically start looking better you will also feel good instantly. Furthermore, people will start paying attention to you.

Secondly, there is eye contact. When dealing with other people, eye contact is extremely important. If you keep averting your eyes, people are more likely to mistrust you and regard you as being a shifty or dodgy character. However don’t go to the opposite side of the spectrum. Don’t stare intensely at the person. You will only be scaring them or making them feel nervous and uncomfortable. So try keeping eye contact around 60-70%. This will give them a feeling that you are sincere and genuinely interested in what they are saying.

Thirdly, check your distance when standing around others. Everyone has their own comfort space. If you are standing too close, you will be labelled as being pushy. However if you are standing too far away, you will be called arrogant or stand-offish. So be observant about the distance that everyone is maintaining around each other and try to do the same. If they keep backing up as you get closer then you should know you are encroaching on their personal space.

Fourthly, check your mouth movement. Your mouth can give away all sorts of clues. A different type of smile may give a different type of feeling to each recipient. A person will be able to detect whether the smile you are giving is sincere or not. Another example is that pursing your lips may signify you are thinking. However when you are feeling angry, you may also purse your lips to signify displeasure. So be careful of the signals that you are giving out.

Fifthly, check your arms too. Your arms can tell a person how receptive and open you are towards them. Imagine yourself talking to person who has their arm crossed across their chest. You may have arrived to the conclusion that the person appeared to be cold and unfriendly towards you. So here’s a tip, keep your arms at the side of your body. This shows that you are not scared and you are open and receptive to new things.

So try all these tips today and you are sure to notice what a major improvement it has made on yourself.