Body language mistakes– Communication at work is very important for any professional. The way you relate to your colleagues, your customers or even your bosses will determine the development of your work and also the comfort you can feel in your day to day. When talking about communication at work everyone comes to mind a conversation, a meeting or a report, and many times we overlook that our gestures or our way of acting also say a lot about us . Therefore, today we want to talk about body language mistakes as a form of non-verbal communication and how it influences when it comes to achieving your goals. So, in today’s post we will give you advice to avoid some behaviors that if you leave aside will help you to establish a greater communicative relationship with your environment.
Main body language mistakes you make at work
Take note of these behaviors or gestures that can cause you to transmit sensations or emotions that you do not want.
- Visual contact: It is the first point of our list because we consider it very important. Not looking at your interlocutor’s eyes denotes a lack of confidence and nervousness, so you should try to do it without being unnatural.
- Handshake: When we greet someone in a more professional environment, we often use this gesture that can also say a lot about us. Thus, you should try to be firm but natural at the time of shaking hands. If you do it very weakly you will be showing insecurity but if you do it very hard you can make the other person uncomfortable.
- Sit with a bad posture: In a meeting or a conversation with a client in which you find yourself sitting, you have to try to look comfortable but without falling into a forced or unprofessional position. Sometimes it is difficult for us to sit as straight as possible but it is important to give a good image.
- Show signs of nervousness: There are times when, when we are uncomfortable or in a tense situation, we can not avoid touching our faces, repetitively shaking a leg or playing with our hair. You should try to control this type of body language so as not to give an image of insecurity.
- Play with environmental objects: For example, with a pen on the table. It is a gesture we make when we do not realize it, but in a relationship or conversation with another person it may mean that we are not interested in what you are saying.
- Use your hands a lot when talking: Our body serves as support in the speech, but making too many fusses can show, once again, that you feel insecure, so it is best to try to measure this kind of gestures.
- Not smiling: Of course, it will depend on the situation and the type of communication we are carrying out, but in general, the smile is a sign of empathy , so it is good to use it in measured doses to create a bond with the interlocutor.
Body language is almost as important as our words, and often we are not aware of what we transmit with our gestures, so in this post we have tried to give you some advice when it comes to improving your attitude in the professional field to create the best link to the recipient of the message.
Body language mistakes you should avoid in an interview
- Move around a lot in the chair. 30% of the study recruiters said that they had to take into account that the interviewee moves too much in the chair during the interview, since it indicates that they are nervous and, above all, insecure. To avoid this, look for a comfortable posture that prevents you from constantly changing positions or moving your legs.
- Bad posture. Related to the previous point. One thing is to find a comfortable position and another to adopt a position as if you were in the living room of your house. You’re not, however comfortable you feel and you have to make the interviewer see that you know differences in spaces, routines or hierarchies. One thing is to sit comfortably and another is to sit back in the chair. A bad posture indicates to the recruiters sloppiness, lack of seriousness and distrust. And we do not want to cause that impression. Sitting upright shows interest towards the recruiter and seriousness. That is what must be transmitted. That is why it is important that you feel a little on the edge of the chair but without maintaining a rigid position, since then it will seem that you are paralyzed. It’s not easy, right. But it is important.
- Play with a pen. 33% of the study’s recruiters associate the fact that the candidate plays with an element of the table (pen, paper, clip, etc.) or of the hands (rings, bracelets, watch, etc.) with a tendency to distraction . And the recruiters usually do not value the lack of concentration or the candidates who are easily distracted. In addition, it can also indicate that you are nervous and that you do not know how to handle stress situations. So, if you usually play with your watch, the day of the interview, simply do not take it. And if you see items on the table, do not pick them up. Try to detect your usual tics and train not to do them during the interview. Again: we know that it is not easy, but it is important to show the recruiter that you are a person who does not get distracted easily and that you are paying the maximum attention.
- Do not smile. 40% of recruiters understand that a candidate who is not able to smile during the interview probably does not work well as a team, as it is a trait that shows little empathy. Smiling during the interview shows that you are an empathic person, that you can generate a good working environment with your colleagues, that you are relaxed and that the interview does not paralyze you. That is, you control a stress situation well. Two important moments to smile: when you introduce yourself and when you say goodbye. During the interview, do not force the smile if it does not correspond, but remember that it is important to show a friendly face.
- Do not look into the eyes. The body language mistakes you should never make. Nearly 70% of the study’s recruiters disapprove of the fact that the candidate does not look in the eyes of the interviewer. It does not matter if you are a very shy person or you think that looking directly at the eyes is a sign of aggressiveness. You have to try to look at the recruiter’s face. A good trick is to look at the area that forms the triangle eyes-mouth in the face of the person in front of us. And never fix your eyes as if you were trying to intimidate the recruiter. Look but without aggressiveness, but with empathy and making him see that you are paying attention, that you are an open but with empathy and making him see that you are paying attention, that you are an open person and one that can be trusted. And yes, once again we know: it’s not easy. But we repeat: it is important.
