Is the nervous pacing before a client meeting a reflection of a lack of confidence, or the cause of a lack of confidence?
According to Christian Jarrett, author of The 4 Ways You Can Use Body Language To Influence Success, it’s the latter – levels of emotion and confidence are often determined by your body language. Fortunately, you can use this to your advantage.
Not only will deliberately smiling help you access positive memories, smiling will actually make you feel happy.
Learning how to harness your body language into positive energy will give you an upper hand in presentations, negotiations, and client meetings. Let’s take a look at a few ways body language can be used to influence workplace success.
1. Understand the “Power Posture”
The “power posture” boasts confidence-boosting effects from the name alone. It involves opening your body and filling more space (and the more space you manage to take up, the more “powerful” the posture is).
What are the power posture benefits? Studies have shown an increase in testosterone, pain tolerance, and risk taking, all follow a power pose. A recent study conducted by Harvard University showed that students performed better during job interviews if they spent just two minutes in power poses beforehand in preparation.
Power pose examples include clenching your hands behind your head and putting your feet up on your desk, the “star-shape,” where you spread your arms and legs out wide, or simply standing with your legs shoulder width apart and your hands on your hips.
2. Use Gestures While Speaking
Gesturing while speaking is more than an idiosyncrasy – it can actually assist with your mental processes. Gesturing lets you visualize important information, allowing you to free up memory to better comprehend problems and produce stronger results.
A study by Susan Goldin-Meadow, professor at the University of Chicago, confirmed these findings in a recent study. Subjects who gestured were able to solve math problems and simultaneously remember a string of characters, as opposed to subjects who couldn’t gesture and struggled with the same exercise.
Gesturing also leaves a strong impression with those you’re speaking or presenting to. Gesturing is used to emphasize what you’re saying – as long as the gestures are not out of control – and audiences take this as a sign of competence and knowledge.
3. Drop the Handheld Devices
Research from Amy Cuddy and Maarten Bos shows that people have constricted posture when using tablets and mobile devices – as opposed to the more open posture that a desktop or laptop provides – that usually results in less-assertive behavior afterwards. Size matters. The bigger the device, the more confident you’ll be after usage.
It’s not realistic to do away with cell-phones and tablets, so be sure to spend time away from these devices after using them for an extended period of time. A quick break helps organize your thoughts and leaves you more confident.
4. Smile!
Facial expressions go a long way in altering your mood and confidence. It’s a point that Christian Jarrett makes, which is reinforced by Carol Kinsey Goman in her article 12 Body Language Tips For Career Success.
Not only will deliberately smiling help you access positive memories, smiling will actually make you feel happy. And of course, people around you will notice. “Smiling not only stimulates your own sense of well being,” Carol says, “it also tells those around you that you are approachable and trustworthy.”
5. Practice your Handshakes
Carol has another tip on using body language: spend time perfecting your handshake. The right handshake can give you instant credibility, while the wrong (read: too weak or too strong) handshake may cost you the job. Why does the handshake hold so much power? It’s because touch is the most primitive nonverbal cue. No matter where you are in the world, extending a hand for a handshake is an easily recognizable symbol – so perfecting it can payoff no matter where you are.