In the professional world, being viewed as a trustworthy individual is crucial for making connections. Most of us know how to keep someone’s trust once we’ve earned it—by following through on our actions and being open and honest in our professional conduct. But earning that trust in the first place can be tricky. By utilizing certain types of body language, you can help others to see you as someone who they can trust right off the bat.
Body Alignment: When speaking with someone, try to keep your pelvis and torso angled towards them. Not only does this indicate that the have your full attention, but it also makes it appear that you are completely open with nothing to hide. Angling your body away from someone can subconsciously make it appear that you are trying to keep something from them. The same effect is achieved when you hold an object—say, a folder or coffee cup—directly in front of you; it can look as though you’re hiding behind the object, creating a shield for yourself. This is magnified when you clutch the object close to your chest. If you notice that this is a personal habit of yours, put some effort into setting objects down when you’re speaking.
Monkey See, Monkey Do: When two people are comfortable with one another and share a social bond, they often unconsciously mirror each other’s actions by adopting similar postures and gestures as they interact. Obviously you don’t want to imitate each and every movement of your conversation partner, but subtly mirroring their actions in conversation can make them feel more comfortable with you without realizing why. If they use a certain hand gesture frequently, insert it into your conversation once or twice. If they adopt a certain posture or position, wait a minute or so, and then adopt a similar posture. Your conversation partner will get the subliminal feeling that the two of you are on the same page, so to speak, and that you are someone they can trust.
Do you want to polish your speech and improve your overall communication skills? Let our team of corporate speech-language pathologists help you reach your professional potential through strong communication. Give us a call at 212-308-7725 or visit us on the web at www.corporatespeechsolutions.com. Don’t live in NYC? No problem! Our services are Skype ready, so CSS can help you improve your communication from anywhere in there world.