In a personal or professional setting, you need to understand it takes a lot more than a few educational degrees and excellent speeches to convince your seniors, clients, and teams of a new service, sell a product or explain a company policy. Your body language plays as important of a role as anything else in pitching a new idea. The way you speak, maintain eye contact, hand gestures, and posture have a crucial impact on your audience.
For instance, while delivering a speech not only the tone of your voice, the airflow, and the cadence of your words will convey confidence and knowledge, but you also need to own the room, look and feel confident. Another popular one is a job interview! Imagine you are the last one of the day, how do you make a difference from other hundreds of candidates? Using a powerful tool… your body language! or else, in front of your boss, it is promotion time, that promotion you have been waiting for so long … how do you carry yourself at that very crucial moment? Used strategically, you will ace every situation, every time. How does it work? it involves several parts. Maintaining a certain amount of hand gestures, (as a French man, I speak a lot with them to illustrate my words and share my passion) keep nodding so you show engagement and attention to people across from you, smiling sporadically has a sense of soft agreement, keeping your back straight not only needed to extend your body’s health, it indicates your leadership, level of self-empowerment and your influence.
Practice in the mirror, yes, you read right, practice in the mirror. Why are so many of my clients, in front of their own reflection can stand tall, with square shoulders, and long necks but the moment they walk into a room, everything changes? the mind races in all directions… “If I stand too tall, I look stupid – If my chest is so up, they are going to think who does she/he thinks she/he is – or – I am looking arrogant and better than everyone else”. This is what I am talking about. Your body language is your barometer to evaluate where you are with yourself. The day you feel aligned with your thoughts, your core values, and self, your posture adapts naturally and the valuable points I just made to show who you are will automatically come into place.
More so than looking regal and elegant with a clear voice, your body language is your state of mind, your sign to show the world how much love and respect you have for yourself, the scale of your confidence. Before you get out in the morning, one more last long look in the mirror, mindful, present in the moment, and calm so you can observe “How do I feel today, what does my body language say?”.
So, I am asking you – How do you feel today? What does your body language say about you right here right now?
