Secrets of Body Language for Business

Welcome to our latest edition of the Secrets of Body Language for Business newsletter!

In today's fast-paced business world, effective communication is key to success.

While verbal communication plays a crucial role in conveying your message, nonverbal communication, or body language, can often speak louder than words.

Did you know that nonverbal communication accounts for up to 93% of all communication? At the very least, it accounts for 50% of your communication. That's why emails and texts with no emojis to indicate the writer's intent can send an unintended message or seem cold or harsh.

That's why it's critical in business to understand and master the art of body language.

Whether it's a job interview, a business meeting, a presentation, or even your marketing content, the way you carry yourself or the models in your business imagery, as well as the nonverbal cues you give off, can all have a significant impact on the outcome.

In this edition, I'll explore the secrets of effective body language in business.

From understanding the different types of body language to tips for using it to your advantage, I've got you covered.

My goal is to help you enhance your professional presence and communicate with confidence, no matter the situation.

Let's get started!

Secret #1

Your body will often reveal way more than you realise. (Don't worry, everyone reveals a lot, including me!)

You may be saying all the right things but your shoulder lifts on one side about a cm or there's a twitch of your nose...

Both of those movements tell me that you either don't have confidence in what you just said or you don't fully believe it yourself.

You're probably feeling extremely self-conscious right now; instead, use the information that your body tells you involuntarily to help you make better decisions; remember, most people don't have their observation skills activated, so they'll miss it.

Understanding your own body language is an extremely useful skill and is much more reliable than a psychic. (Not dissing the psychics as I love a bit of woo woo)

Here are a couple of tips to watch out for in your own behaviour:

1. Look at your professional photos and read your facial expression.

Are they showing a genuine smile or a posed smile? If it's not genuine, change it!

Is your expression neutral/blank? Not engaging, change it!

Here are some examples of the photos I use and each is intentional in its body language and usage.

Can you work out what's intentional about my body language and expressions in each of the above images?

2. Pay attention to your posture as you go about your business, it's giving you valuable information.

Slumped, you're probably bored or disengaged

Upright, engaged and interested

3. Observe your breathing patterns in different situations.

Regulating your breathing when you're feeling stressed is a powerful way to calm yourself down and handle the stress better.

Rather than always thinking that body language is about reading other people, use it to help yourself and improve your communication with yourself and the improvement will help you interact with others better too.

Secret #2

The facial expression of contempt is one of the most powerful expressions to spot when it occurs.

If you'd like to see the video of this, here's the link: https://youtu.be/FNAonRnT6lM

We see this expression from Harry as the interviewer says an excerpt from Spare (Harry's book) about how William is balder than he is...

The contempt facial expression is often seen when we feel superior/better than someone or something else.

In a work environment, if you're seeing high levels of contempt in your team or one member, they think the work or someone is beneath them in some way.

In a job interview if you see this expression, hire with extreme caution! They either think they're above the role or you as the interviewer and they will probably be a nightmare to manage. You have been warned.

In any marketing material that shows people avoid this expression unless it's for an extremely clear objective - it's a cold and distancing emotion. Even though most people don't know what it means they do understand the feeling the facial expression engenders in them and it's not a good one!

Secret #3

I probably say this at least once a week with my videos, but it's vital when decoding other people and yourself...

Context is King!

Always look for clusters of behaviour to try and work out what's going on and if possible, ask questions!!

You know what they say about assuming anything ??

News!

I've got some great training coming up for clients on the following topics:

Confident, Calm, and Capable - Workshop

Purposeful Presenting - Training Day

The Business of People - Training Day

A recently published article in the Daily Mail;

I'm delighted to be speaking at the following event:

Tickets are still available and it promises to be a fascinating event, it's all for a good cause too. May the 4th be with you, and get a ticket!!

I'll be the headline speaker for the Digital Print for Brand Success conference 2023 on May 17th. Click the link below for more information.

And finally, if you need a speaker or a workshop for your event or team which can be uniquely tailored to your audience, just drop me a message. I love to talk. ??

Performance Coaching

I've started to work with a small handful of private clients as I was always being asked to help clients improve their impact with their personal and professional communications.

The package is for 3 months and covers the following:

• Initial consultation to identify blocks and help you set targets to get what you want
• Tools and training
• Feedback and support throughout
• Total of 9 sessions per 3-month coaching
• ￡2,100 in total or ￡800 per month for 3 months

WARNING: Previous clients have made great strides forward in their life

Testimonial from Mark: "At the start of the coaching I was working in a job that was well beneath my capabilities and unfulfilling but didn't know how to get unstuck. After 3 months, I've just started my own business (running alongside my day job for now) I'm earning more money and I am so much more happier and fulfilled."

Testimonial from Sarah: "Adrianne has a knack for seeing through my self-sabotage and impostor syndrome rubbish and by using the letting go process, I've started to make some great shifts!"

If you want an initial discovery session as a trial to see if it might be right for you, just drop me an email at [email protected]

There are only 2 spots available.