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After reading this essay you will learn about:- 1. Meaning of Body Language 2. Emotions Displayed By Body Language 3. Body Language Exhibited During Different Professional Interactions.
Contents:
- Essay on the Meaning of Body Language
- Essay on Emotions Displayed By Body Language
- Essay on Body Language Exhibited During Different Professional Interactions
Essay # 1. Meaning of Body Language:
Mona Lisa is popularly known in Europe as La Giaconda. There is no better example of body language and its many interpretations of her personality around the world, than the enigmatic smile of this classic creation of Leonardo da Vinci (Fig. 7.1).
Her smile speaks a thousand words, indicates her mental disposition and expresses her inner self. It indicates, but does not quite reveal. To interpret her fine emotions, we need to look not just at her smile, but also at her eyes and her facial bones and muscles. Her smile is perplexing and mysterious. Is she happy or is she sad? Is she in a contemplative mood or on the verge of revealing an expression?
The viewer of the picture can spend hours and days interpreting her, and getting deeply involved, as if he is the creator. And this is possibly the most differentiating aspect of Mona Lisa—she actually involves the viewer in an unparalleled manner. Watching her, we seem to feel her presence around us.
Her emotions appear to reflect our connection with her. The signals sent by Mona Lisa’s expression are indicative of the powerful signals sent out through every person’s body language.
They bring out the key message:
We communicate the most when we are not speaking!
Only 7% of what we communicate is through words. A significant portion, 38%, is through our voice, which includes the loudness, tone and pitch of communication, and speed of speaking (Fig. 7.2). What about the remaining 55%? As the white portion of the pie-chart indicates, as much as 55% of what we communicate is conveyed through our body language!
Body language is the strongest signal we emit at all times, without even realizing it. Whether it is through eye contact or hand gestures, whether it is through our facial expression or the distance we keep from the audience—we are communicating all the time!
Body language is a key soft skill that reflects your personality. Body language is a critical soft skill that everyone needs to be very conscious of to advance their career. The world’s best business communicators have strong body language: a commanding presence that reflects confidence, competence and charisma.
Even before entering the professional arena, one is judged (in addition to the hard skills) through many soft skills—the crucial one being the body language. The job interview is a case in point. From the moment the candidate enters the interview room, he is under the scanner! His eye contact, his demeanor, his mannerisms, etc. are assessed by the interview team.
Let us say you are all set for your big interview—the one that you’re confident will change your career. You know you can wow the person across the desk with your accomplishments.
Or you’re ready to give the presentation that reflects months of hard work and success. But before you even begin to speak, the rest of your body has already spoken volumes.
Let us now discuss the various emotions displayed by one’s body language.
Essay # 2. Emotions Displayed By Body Language:
Body language is important because it reflects a person’s emotions. Emotions can span the entire spectrum from aggression and power, to submission and relaxation. Each of these emotions is associated with a combination of body languages from different parts of a person’s body.
It is important to realize that more than a particular part of our body signaling certain emotions; it is this combination of all our non-verbal actions that cumulatively reflect the state of mind.
Here are some such emotional clusters that are the most common:
(i) Aggressive:
This is a body language that is not easy to display, yet is very important. In a professional setting there is a line that shouldn’t ever be crossed. However, body language that depicts aggression, while keeping this professional balance, is considered acceptable. In some cultures, an element of aggression in leaders is even considered a strength.
As Fig. 7.3 shows, aggressive gestures first show up through tightened jaws, stiff facial muscles, a somber face and straight staring eyes. At this point, it may be important on some occasions for the other person to notice these subtly, yet surely, developing aggressive body language signals, and take a different course to calm the aggressive person who is getting ready to make some strong comments.
Aggression develops over time, and shows itself in various ways. These include thumping the table with tight fists to make a point, raised voice animated gestures with overuse of arms and fingers-whole body!
Aggressive body language is usually accompanied by poor listening of perspectives from the other person. The aggressor typically is most concerned about making a point, and having his say. Hence, when an aggressor meets another one with the same trait, it often leads to unprofessional and unpleasant situations that both parties later regret to have caused.
The aggressor naturally gets full attention of the intended target audience.
(ii) Submissive:
Submissive body language is easy to recognize. The person holds his head down, closes his body parts towards himself and nods his head in agreement much more frequently than desired. Through these signals, he tries to communicate that he is in full agreement with, and is ready to follow, the other person’s views.
He keeps his chin down (and sometimes has his hands on his chin), as if submitting himself while listening to the other person’s views. He also keeps his palm open—again to indicate this openness.
(iii) Attentive:
This is an important body language both in the corporate world and in the academia. It indicates the level of genuine interest of the listener (Fig. 7.4). There are several ways to indicate attentiveness through one’s body language. These signals encourage the other person to continue speaking.
Attentive body language includes the following:
a. Gazing of the eye towards the speaker
b. Mild nods of head at periodic intervals
c. Chin and body slightly bent forward towards the speaker
d. Saying ‘hmmm’, ‘yes’, ‘is it so’, at appropriate points
e. Not interrupting the speaker, but waiting for him to finish the point before responding
f. Switching off the mobile phone or ensuring that he is’ j not going to be disturbed.
These actions are powerful signals that show undivided attention of the listener. Typically these gestures are not missed by the speaker, and encourage him to continue enthusiastically.
(iv) Nervous:
This body language is important to avoid, especially in interviews and presentations. Nervousness is clearly visible to all. The first sign of nervousness is having a dry throat, resulting in frequent (visible) swallowing of the saliva. Lack of confidence also gets reflected in unsteady voice (often accompanied by a stammer), avoiding eye contact, and head bent down.
During large group presentations, nervousness is common among first-timers. The view of the large audience often brings insecurity in the minds of the presenter, accompanied by the fear of failure. This can lead to losing track of the thought process and mechanical reading of the slides.
(v) Upset:
How does one understand that a person is upset through his body language? Let’s look at the person in Fig. 7.5, and identify some of these signals.
Some body language signals to look out for, to identify ‘upset’ signals are as follows:
a. Tightened jaws
b. Deliberate frown on the forehead
c. Prolonged disapproving nods
d. Walking impatiently at the back or side of the room, with head down facing the ground, and annoyed face
e. Taking off the reading glasses
f. Eyes closed occasionally
g. Avoiding eye contact with others or having a very cold stare
h. Unstable or losing control over emotions (e.g., voice shaking, out-of- control gestures)
(vi) Bored:
Every part of one’s body sends out a signal when one is bored. These could be gestures such as prolonged or frequent yawns or eyes shut for a duration that’s longer than desired. Bored people usually look everywhere other than at the speaker!
They frequently look at their watch or see (or even write) emails/SMS on their mobile devices! They give blank stares when their eyes are open, and have their body significantly bent back to a degree that conveys lack of interest (Fig. 7.6).
Bored people also distract the Fig. 7.6 Boredom speaker (and the audience). They converse on unrelated topics or criticize the speaker privately to their neighbor.
(vii) Relaxed:
Being relaxed is an important gesture, especially in difficult and testing circumstances. It sends a signal of a person firmly in control of himself.
Typical body language that shows a person’s relaxed frame of mind is as follows:
a. Head straight, chest upright and balanced body
b. No folds or frown on the forehead
c. Easy and quiet breathing
d. Arms hanging loosely or confidently placed in the pocket
e. Gentle smile on the face
f. Calm eyes
A relaxed person is easy to have a mature conversation with. He is unperturbed by situations of complexity and takes a balanced, considered view. He thinks through before reacting.
(viii) Power:
Power may be exhibited in two ways—explicit or subtle. An explicit show of power is usually not respected by colleagues or subordinates. It indicates lack of humanity. Subtle hints of power are more professionally acceptable.
Some common body languages gestures that indicate power are as follows:
a. Sitting at the head of a table
b. Standing/sitting or presenting from an elevated platform
c. Outstretched arms while doing a handshake to disallow the other person from coming too close or having a firm grip
d. Patting others at the back signaling superiority
e. Confident look accompanying a firm and deep voice
f. Evaluative looks and demeanour (questioning speakers)
g. Thumping fist on the table
h. Accompanied by key aides at all times
People who display this body language clearly enjoy doing so. However, it is important that they do so carefully, since over-use of this body language may lead to losing respect of others over time.
(ix) Defensive:
A person under attack immediately assumes a defensive posture.
Typical body language gestures associated with a defensive posture are as follows:
a. Tightly folded arms (as shown in Fig. 7.7)
b. Crossed legs
c. Sitting on a reverse chair
d. Wandering eyes
e. Showing nervousness while giving excuses
A defensive posture is usually assumed by people when they are being attacked verbally by the aggressor through sharp public or private criticism.
We now discuss two types of body language and their interpretations that are most commonly encountered in our everyday life—handshake and eyes.
(x) Handshake—The Most Common Body Language:
Handshake is the most common body language. It is a very powerful body language that emanates important signals.
Table 7.1 and Fig. 7.8 mention different types of handshake and the corresponding message.
(xi) Eyes—A Powerful Reflection of One’s Inner Self:
Eyes are possibly the most powerful as part of body language. It is powerful because it sends out the first and most important signal about one’s inner self. Body language signaled through the eye is critical in professional situations. During presentations to the audience, a poor speaker is often fixated on one person or a small cluster of people.
He doesn’t vary his eye contact through the entire distance of the room, and from left to right. A good speaker does exactly the reverse, and gets attention from the audience at large. During interviews, maintaining eye contact with the interviewer is very important.
Lack of eye contact during interviews indicates lack of self- confidence. Similarly, maintaining proper eye contact is also very important during performance discussion sessions between a supervisor and his subordinate. Amongst colleagues and friends as well, a pleasant eye contact is indicative of trust, while a frown indicates lack of it. Figure 7.9 depicts this contrast.
(xii) Entry To My Space—Personal Zones May Vary:
We all have our personal space. The distance to which we allow people to get close to us depends on our degree of comfort and familiarity with them. Broadly there are four categories of people who get into various ‘zones’ in our space.
They are as follows:
a. Close family/friends
b. Professional contacts
c. Transactional contacts
d. Public contacts
For people from each of these categories, we create zones (and sometimes sub-zones depending on familiarity).
The zones we create around us, sometimes consciously and more often naturally, are as follows:
a. Intimate zone
b. Personal zone
c. Social zone
d. Public zone
a. Intimate Zone:
This is the area around us that we guard zealously and sensitively. It is the space (about 25-56 cm from us) that we reserve for ourselves—and to a chosen few. We don’t allow or appreciate most other people’s entry into this space. Those who can get into this space are our close family, such as our children, spouse, parents, siblings, and very close friends.
This zone has a sub-zone called the ‘Close Intimate Zone’ that gets as close as 15cm from us leading to physical contact. Typical body language exhibited in this zone range from putting our arms around a person to intimate eye contact. These reflect our degree of comfort, and a feeling of total security, assurance, care, love and comfort with the other person.
b. Personal Zone:
This is the area around us that we allow entry to our ‘professional contacts’ only. Examples could be office colleagues meeting us for discussions, meeting our professional contacts over dinner etc. This zone can get as close as 46 cm-1.2 m depending on our degree of familiarity and trust with our professional contacts.
This is typically encountered during intense problem-solving session among colleagues, or when teams pour their interest to gaze over a particular diagram to come up with a solution etc.
The personal zone also varies with culture. What is an acceptable personal zone in the Asian culture may not be so in the Western world. One needs to be conscious about these cultural variations in professional settings.
For example, if a person gets too close to another during a professional discussion with someone from another culture, and the other person takes a few steps backward to maintain the appropriate distance, it signifies the span of the personal zone and is a cue that must always be picked up and respected. Crossing this line may lead to undesirable consequences.
c. Social Zone:
At a radius of 2.1-4.6 m we allow people with whom we need to have ‘transactional contacts’. They are typically people we do not know very well, or are meeting for the first time. The purpose of the contact here is often to talk about buying/selling commodities, to render a service, etc.
Since the transaction can be unpleasant, the social zone radius is usually higher to unconsciously prevent discomfort in the course of the discussion.
A breach of this zone, for example by aggressive sales people, is usually not appreciated, and leads to the person responding by receding a few steps backward to indicate through his body language that this aggressive intrusion by an unfamiliar person beyond acceptable limits is unwelcome.
In some cases, however, with people transacting business with us regularly and the familiarity has increased over time, we allow our social zone to range from 1.2-3.6 m.
d. Public Zone:
This is the zone that we keep for our public presentations, address to a large audience etc. Typically extending beyond 3.6 m-4.6 m, this is the area where we expect to have the audience seated. Keeping this distance allows us eye- contact with the audience that extends from left to right, and extending far into the room.
These zones are depicted in Fig. 7.10. A few typically encountered professional settings and the corresponding recommended zones are listed in Table 7.2.
e. Typical Body Language when Zones are Intruded:
People’s reactions when their zones are intruded may vary.
Some common reactions leading to body language signals are as follows:
a. Moving backward to maintain the desired zone distance
b. Expressing displeasure through annoyed stare or body gesture
c. Just moving away to another person in some pretext
d. Appear disinterested in the conversation
e. Guarding oneself zealously through folded arms and stem looks
Essay # 3. Body Language Exhibited During Different Professional Interactions:
People display different body language gestures during professional interactions. The body language displayed when one is speaking over a video conference system is different from one displayed during an interview or at a large group presentation. Let us look deeper into different situations and the commonly observed body language associated with them:
(i) Interview:
There are a diverse set of body language gestures that are exhibited during a personal interview. Some of the desirable and undesirable gestures of the candidate are given below.
Desirable Body Language of the Candidate (as shown in Fig. 7.11):
An example of desirable body language of a candidate during an interview is shown below:
a. Politely looking at the interview panel with a nod on entering the room
b. Sitting only when signaled to do so by the interviewer
c. Sitting with a straight posture
d. Arms resting comfortably on the legs
e. Direct eye-contact, looking straight at the interviewer asking the question, with an expression indicating full concentration to listen to the question
f. Responding with conviction through eye-contact with the entire panel
Undesirable Body Language of the Candidate (as shown in Fig. 7.12):
On the next page are some undesirable body languages of a candidate during an interview:
a. Entering the room hesitantly or in a nervous manner
b. Lack of eye contact with the interview panel
c. Distracting mannerisms in front of the panel (for example, scratching head, shaking legs and biting nails)
d. Elbows and arms on the interview table
e. Chin down or raised, avoiding eye-contact
f. Folded arms
g. Slouching posture
(ii) Manager’s Discussions with a Subordinate Employee:
Desirable Body Language of the Manager:
a. Professional attire
b. Demeanour indicating interest and attention
c. Respectful posture towards employee
d. Eye-contact with employee
e. Leaning slightly forward to convey listening intent
f. Interspersing listening with talking
Undesirable Body Language of the Manager:
a. Casual/informal attire
b. Disinterested, distracted expression
c. Wandering eyes across the room
d. Talking more than listening
e. Feet pointed towards employee
f. Interrupting employee often
g. Receiving/making phone calls
h. Allowing external interruptions
(iii) Discussions with Supervisor:
Discussions with the supervisor are an important part of professional interaction, and have its associated desirable and undesirable body language.
Desirable Body Language (as shown in Fig. 7.13):
a. Smart, formal attire, befitting the importance of the occasion
b. Greeting the supervisor on coming in
c. Neatly folded print of the performance summary/other documents in a folder for easy reference
d. Calm and confident demeanour
e. Straight sitting posture
f. Direct eye contact with the supervisor
g. Taking notes on the supervisor’s feedback in an empty sheet in the folder
h. Leaning forward slightly to show attentiveness to the supervisor’s comments
i. Thanking the supervisor for his comments before leaving the room
Undesirable Body Language (as shown in Fig. 7.14):
a. Entering the room and taking a seat without being asked to do so
b. Informally attired
c. Looking away from the supervisor
d. Entering unprepared with no documents or pen to take notes
e. Appearing nervous, swallowing saliva to wet his throat
f. Engaging in casual discussions which do not add value
(iv) Presentation to a Large Audience:
Here is some body language gestures exhibited during a large group presentation.
Desirable Body Language:
a. Eye contact with the audience—up and down the room, left to right of the room
b. Effective use of hand gestures and animation throughout the presentation
c. Standing at the centre of the stage, visible to the audience
d. Head held high, confident and straight posture
Undesirable Body Language (as shown in Fig. 7.15):
a. Folded hands
b. Looking at only one person or one section of the audience
c. Standing still at the podium
d. Looking at the slides, and not the audience
e. Head down, nervous demeanour
(v) Group Discussions:
Here is some body language gestures exhibited during a group discussion.
Desirable Body Language:
a. Eye contact with the group members
b. Appear very interested in the comments made by each person through the listening posture
c. By standing, or by a commanding voice and content, establish control of the group
d. Seek out the views of all group members by prompting hand gestures
e. Proper attire to gain respect
Undesirable Body Language:
a. Eye contact with one individual only
b. Appear disinterested or distracted when others are speaking
c. Allowing the discussion to drift, without showing visible leadership
(vi) Video-Conference:
Video conference is emerging as one of the most pervasive modes of communication in today’s globalized world. Yet many are not aware of the etiquette for such sessions.
Desirable Body Language (as shown in Fig. 7.16):
a. Ensuring that the camera is focused on all the attendees and zooms onto the speaker
b. Clearly demonstrating sharp listening intent through posture
c. Eye contact at the camera at all times
d. Active participation by all members
e. Hand gestures and voice modulation to emphasize key points
Undesirable Body Language (as shown in Fig. 7.17)
a. Distracting gestures and whispers among members in full view of the camera
b. Not looking at the camera, but at the screen
c. Walking in and out of the video conference room
d. Facial expression appears disinterested in the conversation