Our body’s posture has great significance in terms of our self-confidence and what we communicate to others, with standing or sitting crouched symbolizing insecurity, lack of self-importance and weakness. On the other hand, leaning too far back means that you are too comfortable and that have no interested in what you’re doing or what is being said to you.
The best posture to adopt is to sit straight, with your shoulders back and face forward, this conveys confidence and makes sure that people notice you in a positive way.
Our leg positions have a significant effect on the message we transmit to the person we are sitting in front of. In the picture above are three positions that you should avoid and two that you should adopt.
Positions to avoid:
• Knees together, ankles spread (1) - conveys childishness, insecurity,
and daydreaming.
• Crossing your legs (2) - conveys defensive, remote, and narrow-minded behavior.
• Separated knees, ankles together (3) - conveys dominance and a sense of self-importance, arrogance and even a lack of manners.
Positions to adopt:
• Parallel legs (4) - a neutral posture that conveys a calm and open mindset.
• Crossed ankles (5) - a position that is more common among women and conveys femininity and attraction.
Excessive hand and body movements convey insecurity and a lack of professionalism, which are messages that no-one wants to convey. Playing with hair, finger-tapping or biting nails and lips also convey uncertainty, which should be avoided when you need to be sure of yourself, such as in a job interview.
When we have a conversation with someone who has their arms crossed, we usually feel turned off because the other person isn’t conveying openness. This feeling stems from the fact that crossed arms block off the person’s body and also convey a lack of interest, which makes them seem distant. If this is not what you want to convey, place your hands parallel to your body or back so that you express openness and interest in others which will make for a more pleasant conversation.
When you look into another person's eyes, you’re signaling attentiveness. When you avoid eye contact, this indicates lack of preparedness or lack of professionalism, which can be particularly damaging in business meetings. Prolonged eye contact may be inappropriate as well, so it’s best to keep eye contact when conversing and looking away every once in a while so that it doesn’t seem like your staring for too long.
6. Restless movements
Restless and frantic behavior, such as playing with your hair or phone, can be distracting and interfere with your communication with others. Therefore, when you have a conversation with another person, you may want to focus on them and what is being said and not on other things that will make you seem unfocused and even weak and unstable.
Rubbing your hands together or crossing your fingers makes you look as if you are plotting something, and these are two important positions to avoid. In addition, these movements convey that you are trying to force your opinion on others instead of persuading them with intelligent arguments, which may put people off, so you should try to keep your hands free and not linked together.
Imitating the other person, or mirror behavior helps build mutual trust and makes people unconsciously feel that you like them. Such behavior strengthens relationships and therefore it is recommended to use this from time to time instead of sitting in front of someone motionless. So when you want to show someone that you like them and that you can be trusted, simply adopt some of their body movements during the conversation and convey these important messages directly to their subconscious mind.
When conversing or in the company of others, all they want to know is that they are being listened to. If you stand in front of them and don’t respond to them with your body, you convey a lack of interest, so you should smile or nod to be active in the conversation. When you do this, people will focus on the smile on your face instead of other parts of your body, and feel that they are comfortable with you - they will sense that you are someone who knows how to listen and react accordingly.
