The importance of Body Language
Being business or social, body language has a major role to play. It is all about gestures movements and expressions made to deliver message to other people. It is a language by itself, without having to say a word. If you ignore it, you will not know that you are delivering the wrong message across.
My niece just graduated this year with a Computer Science degree. Academically, his results are awesome. But he has the difficulty of getting a job, and he not sure why. He applied for jobs from portals and newspapers, and he went to a lot of interviews. However, none of the interviews results with a job offered.
His parents know that I am in IT field. With desperation, they came to me to see if I can help him to secure a job. I know 3 of my clients are hiring, so without hesitation, I passed his resume to my clients, then followed by the interview session.
My first client refuse to offer him a job after the interview. Since there are 2 more interviews to go, I didn’t bother much on the first interview. Coincidentally, I am on my second client side when my niece having his interview session with them. Since it’s about lunch time, I decided to wait for him outside the interview room.
From the place I am sitting, I able to see clearly what is going on in the meeting room. I started to notice the way he sits, how he rests his legs and arms and the way he presented himself in front of the interviewer. Basically, this is the way he sits throughout the interview.
A few days later my niece still didn’t hear anything from the second company. I’ve decided to take the initiative to ask the interviewer. Sure enough, they have selected another candidate. Then, I take the opportunity to see what is wrong with that interview session. Lack of confident, self-conscious, insecurity, these are the answers from the interviewer. I straightaway relate it to what I’ve observed when I am waiting outside the interview room.
The very next day, I have a ‘run-through’ session with my niece. Explained to him most of the interviewer doesn’t really care about what is the content of your answer to the questions they have posted to you. What they care is how you answer it. Importantly, shared him some positive and negative body language.
A few examples of negative body language that should be avoided during interview are:-
- Avoidance of eye contact – Lack of confidence, low self-esteem
- Crossed arms – Discomfort or defensiveness
- Touch your face or neck – Dishonest or untrustworthy
- Holding Objects in Front of Your Body – Shyness and resistance
- Hiding your hand - Distrustful behaviour
Positive body language such as below should be adopted.
- Sitting position - Keep your back straight. Lean forward slightly to indicate interest
- Nod your head - Demonstrates your interest in the conversation and your agreeability
- Genuine smile - Contagious and can immediately create a more positive environment
- Monitor Voice Delivery - Clear and controlled voice conveys confidence
- Practice power pose - Standing in a posture of confidence, like Wonder Woman. Do this two minutes before the interview
Just some tweak on the body language and whoolaa...... His interview with my 3rd company that I recommended was a success. Now he is a software engineer is a multi-national company. It’s a good start for him and I wish him good luck in his career.
Don’t ignore the importance of body language in any situation, it is sending messages across to other people without you noticing it. And it can affect your confidence level as well.
Body language does play an important role in our day to day life.