Step 1 in building confidence through proper communications, done. Now, what about nonverbal cues?
Patti Wood, a body language expert and author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma, says in a face-to-face interaction with just one person you can exchange up to 10,000 nonverbal cues in less than one minute. “You cannot consciously control all that communication so it can be much more telling than the few words you could exchange in the same amount of time.”
Jacquelyn Smith at Forbes.com
Listening and giving full attention as you probably have observed yesterday is two-prong. One is what goes on mentally. And the other is what you show externally. These days, because of the digital space and remote nature of work, we’ll focus on nonverbal cues during calls.
Day 13 Challenge: Pay Attention to your Nonverbal Cues
Between spoken and visual communication, there is no debate that visual presentations always win. And this is true whether you talk about keeping your audience’s attention or sending an impactful message. The above study is astounding! 10,000 nonverbal cues in 1 minute! Imagine that! So, are you leveraging this knowledge? Or, do you stay hidden in calls?
Tips for absolutely powerful nonverbal cues to boost your confidence:
- Turn on your camera! While silence is also a nonverbal cue, in most cases if you are hidden, it does not serve its purpose.
- Look at whoever is speaking, the entire time they speak. Unless of course, they directed your attention to a reference material or so.
- Position them close to the camera so they also see you look at them. These days, showing the “best angle” seems to be a good thing, so says the youtube beauty gurus. So, if you are in that industry, sure. If you are in the business space, especially if you are in HR, people are more likely to respect and love you for your intellect, presence and the difference that you can make than for your “best angle.”
- Observe their nonverbal cues and respond accordingly. That is, to both their nonverbal and verbal communication.
- Practice your key takeaways from Days 8, 11 and 12.
Do you have other nonverbal cues for confidence? Please do share. I’d love to hear from you!
Thank you! Glad to have you back!
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