Good Communicators Manage their Body Language

Good Communicators Manage their Body LanguageAccording to one estimate, there are over 700,000 forms of nonverbal communication which can be grouped into general categories: facial expressions and eye behavior, gestures and postures, vocal characteristics, personal appearance, touching behavior, and use of time and space.• Facial expressions and eye behavior.You face is the primary site for expressing your emotions; it reveals both the type and the intensity of your feelings. Your eyes are especially effective for indicating attention and interest, influencing others, regulating interaction, and establishing dominance.• Gestures and postures.By moving your body, you can express both specific and general messages, some voluntary and some involuntary. Slouching, learning forward, fidgeting, and walking briskly are all unconscious signals that reveal whether you feel confident or nervous, friendly or hostile, assertive or passive, powerful or powerless.• Vocal characteristics.Like body language, your voice carries both intentional and unintentional messages. The tone and volume of your voice, your accent and speaking pace, say a lot about who you are, your relationship with the audience, and the emotions underlying your words.• Personal appearance.Your appearance helps establish your social identity. Our grooming, our clothing, our accessories, and our style have a profound impact on our appearance. If your goal is to make a good impression, adopt the style of the people you want to impress. In most businesses, a professional image is appropriate, but in some companies, a more casual appearance is allowed.• Touching behavior.Touch is an important vehicle for conveying warmth, comfort, and reassurance. In business situations, touching suggests dominance, so a higher-status person is more likely to touch a lower-status person than the other way around. Touching has become controversial, however, because it can sometimes be interpreted as sexual harassment.• Use of time and space.Like touch, time and space can be used to assert authority. In many cultures, people demonstrate their importance by making other people wait; they show respect by being on time. However, attitudes toward punctuality and comfort zones and all other nonverbal communication carry from culture to culture.Ten Positive Body Language Habits of Highly Effective Communicators:1. Show that you are really listing by nodding thoughtfully;2. Show interest in the other person by orienting your body towards the other person;3. Show openness by pointing your feet towards the other person;4. be positive by stroking your chin;5. Show attention by eye contact;6. Show constructive attitude by a relaxed posture;7. Show openness by keeping your hands open;8. Show that you are focused by thoughtful 'um-hums';9. Show co-operation by an open body position;10. Show willingness to solve something by handling documents or materials presented to you.