Body language - a distinct competitive advantage
My recent conscious and earnest observation of the body language of
young executives doing a variety of jobs across various industries
persuaded me to compare and contrast the communication and negotiation
skills our nation has relative to the western world.
I have seen in the recent past, failures of great brains due to gaps
in communication skills. So this time I decided to draw your attention
on the importance of non-verbal communication with the hope that it may
help many to do a self-assessment and come up with a plan to improve the
power of communication for greater success and be admired and respected.
It's all about visible communication for greater impact.
How do you pass judgement on others?
Ask yourself; don't you pass judgement, form perceptions and make
conclusions on people you regularly interact with, on various physical
attributes such as appearance, body structure, dress sense and
communication style.
In the modern world, can you afford to not focus on any of these and
expect to be differentiated and recognised? Definitely the answer is no.
Look around, the people who are successful and popular or perceived
to be successful are people who have the right body language. Be it a
politician, business leader, sales person, teacher, doctor or any other
professionals who requires people's attention and positive response,
effective body language is a competitive advantage to successfully
encounter mounting competition. Each one of us has our own unique body
language; inherited or acquired and we get exposed to the body language
of others in our daily activities.
How you say it also matters
As soon as we are in contact with others we are communicating through
non-verbal signals. So we would like those non-verbal signals to be
impressive. Most often in professional life communication is all about
negotiations, transactions, motivating and leading or following and in
social life it is comforting someone, entertaining, helping, assuring
and confidence building. To be effective in any of these actions, you
need to deliver the messages convincingly to achieve the desired
outcome.
You know that body language occurs unconsciously. Yet, the body
language to a large extent decides the quality of communication;
enhances the intent and content of the message. The messages that your
body sends out is an indispensable element in social interaction. Sadly,
in most people, the body does not convey the true message. They think
the body is conveying the correst message when in fact it is doing the
opposite. It is like singing a song without music. It just does not
work.
Try using your body to communicate
Since most of our communication is non-verbal, it's very important
that we use every part of our body to make our point. Persuasive body
language is especially crucial to sales or marketing people. However, it
can be used in any social situation.
People will be more likely to listen to and believe in what we have
to say when we use confident and persuasive body language. We will learn
to communicate effectively by combining appropriate body gestures with
the words we choose and use.
Meaningful interactions
By learning how to interpret the body language of others and
ourselves, we will have more meaningful interaction. It can also help
you avoid misinterpretations, persuade others, attract members of the
opposite sex and increase job performance or prospects.
The next time you are in a conversation, start analysing your own
body language. Pay attention to the unconscious signals you may be
sending.
Then begin to analyse the facial expressions, movements and gestures
used by others. You'll be surprised how much more you can learn about
yourself and others. Believe me; mastering this skill will improve your
meaningful interaction in all situations across all stakeholder groups.
Use it correctly and achieve success in life.
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