Communicate Using Body Language

Body language is an important part of communication, and it can constitute 50 percent or

more of the message
you communicate. You might be surprised by how many different types of body language
people use
to communicate their message. Body language types include:
• Aggressive. You’re showing a physical threat.
• Attentive. You have real interest in the conversation.
• Open. You’re open and receptive to others.
• Bored. You aren’t interested.
• Closed. You aren’t open to listening.
• Deceptive. You’re trying to cover up a lie or other deception.
• Defensive. You’re protecting yourself from verbal attack.
• Dominant. You’re trying to dominate others.
• Emotional. You’re identifying your feelings.
• Evaluating. You’re judging and deciding about something.
• Greeting. These include meeting rituals, such as handshakes, smiles, and eye contact.
• Power. You’re displaying your power.
• Ready. You’re wanting to act and waiting for the trigger.
• Relaxed. You’re comfortable and not stressed.
• Romantic. You’re showing attraction to others.
• Submissive. You’re showing you are prepared to give in.
During an interview, it is most important to display attentive and open body language. You
can demonstrate
attentive body language by:
• Ignoring any distractions. Be sure your cell phone is turned off.
• Being still, with relatively little body movement.
• Leaning forward.
• Tilting your head slightly forward.
• Maintaining steady eye contact. Looking at a person shows that you acknowledge and are
interested in
him.
• Furrowing your brow to show that you are concentrating.
• Begin patient. Wait until the other person is finished speaking before you say something.
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Active Interviewing: Branding, Selling, and Presenting Yourself to Win Your Next Job
You can demonstrate open body language by:
• Not crossing your arms across your chest.
• Being animated and responding to what is being said.
• Opening your hands to show that nothing is being concealed. Don’t sit with your fists
tightly clenched.
• Sitting with legs that are not crossed. Usually your legs will be parallel, with your feet
pointing to the floor
or to one side.
• Directing your head toward the other person or looking around at others in the rom. Eye
contact should
be relaxed and prolonged.
• Wearing loose clothing that does not appear tight and binding.
You don’t want to exhibit (or see from the interviewer) bored or closed body language. If the
interviewer displays
boredom or closed body language, your interview is in trouble, and you need to change you
strategy.
The language of boredom includes:
• Appearing distracted by looking anywhere but at the person who is talking.
• Doodling.
• Talking with others or looking around the room.
• Taking an “important” call in the middle of the interview.
• Performing repetitive actions, such as tapping toes, swinging feet, or drumming fingers.
The repetition
may escalate as the boredom increases.
• Displaying tiredness by yawning or slouching. The person’s face may show a distinct lack
of interest and
appear blank.
Closed body language includes:
• Having arms closed with one or both arms across the central line of the body. Less
obvious arm-crossing
may include resting an arm on a table or a leg or loosely crossing the arms at the wrists.
• Having legs crossed, such as the ankle cross, knee cross, figure-four (the ankle on the
opposite knee), or
the tense wraparound with the foot tucked behind the calf.
• Looking down or away. The person’s head may be inclined away from the person who is
speaking, or it
may be tucked down.
Presenting to a Group
You may be interviewed by a panel of people. In a panel
interview (also called a group or committee interview), you
will be interviewed by several individuals at the same
time. My clients have been in panel interviews with up
to six interviewers. Panel interviews, first used in academia
and the healthcare industry, are becoming more
popular in the corporate sector due to efficiency and the
ability for all interviewers to observe the same behavior
and hear the same responses.
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Chapter 16 Present with Impact
“If I went back to college again, I’d
concentrate on two areas: learning to
write and to speak before an audience.
Nothing in life is more important than
the ability to communicate effectively.”
—Gerald Ford, 38th U.S. president
Interview presentations are very successful in panel interviews. One candidate wrote:
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Active Interviewing: Branding, Selling, and Presenting Yourself to Win Your Next Job
“Last but not least was your recommendation that I use an interview presentation. I gave the
presentation
about nine times during the course of interviewing—six with my eventual employer. The
three
biggest things it did were:
• Gave me confidence knowing that I was going to be prepared.
• Separated me from the rest of the competition and provided the employer with a leave-
behind document
that was thorough and professional.
• One last very important benefit of using the interview presentation was that, in my group
interview,
when I indicated that I had prepared a presentation, you could immediately feel and see the
tension
leave the room.
“I believe they were all impressed and, as a result, I got a better offer than they intended to
make. They
just promoted my title to senior sales engineer. It was truly amazing.”
—Robert, biomedical sales engineer
In a panel interview, use the presentation strategies discussed in the following sections.
Make Eye Contact with Everyone
As you present, scan from one face to the next, pausing for two to three seconds on each.
When you’re asked
a question, make eye contact and address your answer to the individual who asked the
question. Then make
eye contact with the other interviewers. As you finish your answer, return your focus to the
person who asked
the question. Be careful not to break eye contact with a person in the middle of a sentence
or a thought.
Learn the Roles
In the initial part of the meeting, ask about each person’s role. It is important for you to
understand each
person’s responsibilities and how she interacts with the position. Do not go by title alone;
ask for a description
of the interaction. As each person speaks, take notes. It is often helpful to make a seating
chart with
names, titles, and roles that you can refer to during the interview. Also, during the interview,
don’t make the
mistake of ignoring people at lower levels; their opinion has weight in the ultimate selection.
Address Everyone
In a group interview, often one or two individuals are quiet. However, even though they are
quiet during the
interview, they will have an opinion about hiring you. Try to get everyone involved by
addressing questions
to each member of the group. You can do this by asking a “supportive” question of the quiet
individuals.
Without commenting on a person being quiet, you can say, “Larry, I know you work closely
with the person
in this position, so I value your opinion. What do you think are the critical job requirements?”
People like to hear their names during your interview, so be sure to refer to each of the
interviewers by name.
Don’t Lock on to the Friendly Faces
In many panel interviews, there will be one or two people who are attentive and smiling.
There may also be
several people who appear disinterested and unfriendly. It is easier to focus on the friendly
people and avoid
the “rejection” of the unfriendly people. However, ignoring the unfriendly may cost you their
support. They
are in the interview, so pay them the same attention you pay to all the other panel
members. This means
making eye contact and asking them questions.
Avoid Perfection
Audiences rarely relate well to people who come across as too polished, and perfection is
not the goal in your
interview.We are most influenced by authentic people who share challenges similar to our
own. Your greatest
position of influence is being alongside your audience, not speaking down to them as if
you’re a subjectmatter
expert.
Presenting with Impact Will Fix Your Interviews
All sales presentations have a goal of moving people from where they are to where the
salesperson wants
them to be—from a prospect to a customer. During your interview, you want to actively
move a hiring manager
from considering you to hiring you. The most effective way to accomplish this is by
presenting yourself
powerfully. Presenting with impact has the following benefits:
• It will make you memorable, differentiating you from your competition.
• It will make you more effective in panel interviews where you need to persuade multiple
people at the
same time.
• Your language will be more powerful and exact. Powerful and exact language will make
you more credible
and persuasive.
• Presenting takes pressure off of interviewers to manage the interview and proactively gets
them the information
they need to make a good hiring decision.
• Presenting well will create a conversation that fosters rapport and trust with the
interviewer.
• A high-quality presentation during your interview demonstrates your presentation ability,
which is a critical
business skill.