From personal to professional relationships, communication is essential everywhere. At the workplace, good communication has helped workers to develop healthy relations. Furthermore, it has enabled the organization to create an efficient system seamlessly between management and employees. Even for people who suffer from impostor syndrome, communication is essential. It is primarily because communication is the most effective way to deal with impostor syndrome.
In communication, speaking skill is the one many people stress about in general. You obviously may have come across people saying, “If you want to succeed in your career and life, improve your speaking skills.” Significantly, leader speaking skills matter a lot like a refined and exemplary communication skill is nothing sort of a magic wand for them. But do you know that body language can make communication as effective as speaking skills? Yes, body language can help you exude immense confidence in the workplace. So, what exactly is body language?
What is Body Language?
We can define body language as the non-verbal way of communication where behavioral movements such as movement, posture, tone of voice, facial expressions, and hand gestures are used to communicate. Body language can affect how others see us and can critically help establish your image in other eyes. However, body language is more intuitive than intentional and therefore remains susceptible to body language mistakes that you must avoid.
Body Language Mistakes to Avoid
One of the significances of body language is to display how to carry yourself. You can use body language to portray confidence in the workplace. Simultaneously, you can use body language to make others feel comfortable and valued. Most successful people are adept at reading the body language of others and tweak themselves to win over other people or influence them. However, in using your body language to impact the workplace, people can intuitively make five body language mistakes that you must always avoid.
Head Movements
During communication, you must have noticed how people make head movements to signify they are paying attention to you. Likewise, you must have done it yourself on several occasions. Head movements are a great indicator to showcase active listening. However, there is a fine line to express active listening and insecurity with the head movements. For example, excessive head-nodding can pass on negative vibes towards management and they can deem you unworthy or not management material. Likewise, it would be best if you also avoided tipping or tilting your head sideways frequently during a conversation.
Fidgeting
Do you have a habit of tapping with your hands and feet at random during a conversation? Also, do you end up playing with the pen in your hand while in a meeting? Such behaviors are known as fidgeting and are considered as a sign of insecurity. Also, it conveys that you are distracted or not interested in the communication, and therefore, this is a body language mistake that you must avoid at all times. What would be better is to remember that the lesser the movement during a conversation, the more engaging you will come across to other people. Besides, lesser facial movements can even make you appear more confident as a person.
Overly Expressive
You can use body language to express yourself. The lesser you use it to convey something or communicate, the better it is. However, the best way to use body language is to keep it subtle. Take, for example, the facial expression. Our first instinct in most situations is to smile to show warmth, and convey excitement. But when you overdo the smile, it can affect your credibility and discourage others from interacting with you more as they might get annoyed or irritated with it. Therefore, when it comes to avoiding body language mistakes, you must consider not overly expressing yourself.
Shallow Breathing
It may sound strange, but the way you breathe can also affect the conversation you are having. From the way you live, people can perceive your mental and physical state. Proper breathing can help the voice carry the command over the words you speak. However, shallow breathing is the one you must avoid in-between negotiation or interactions at the workplace. Shallow breathing is an indication of the person dealing with stress and anxiety. As a result, it can lead to nervous unwelcoming habits during the conversation.
Also, chronic breath-holding and effortful breathing can get perceived as a lack of confidence and nervousness. Therefore, it is vital to keep a check on the way you breathe during communications. Yes, it is easier said than done but perhaps, taking a deep breath before any meeting can help you calm down and be more confident than nervous.
Poor Posture
Body posture is essential. In fact, one might say it is the ultimate representation of body language. Today, numerous articles and books are written on the importance of different body postures, and excellent posture can elevate your influence as a person. Also, a power pose can make you feel confident and unstoppable. It can even heighten your credibility amongst your co-workers and clients at the workplace. For example, standing with feet spread further apart signifies territorial behavior where you feel confident.
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