A recent article on an Australian website delineates how a person’s body language is interpreted by others.
Body language expert David Alssema, doles out the five worst body gestures during an interview. They are: not enough or too much eye contact, slouching, fidgeting or touching things, crotch display or foot on leg position and hands behind your head or arms folded.
Alssema suggests that one always match the interviewer’s level of eye contact and sit with their hands in their lap.
Suggestions for women in male dominated fields: have your desk facing the door from a corner in your office, always make eye contact and match a man’s handshake, lean forward when listening and stand straight when speaking.
Alssema goes on to state that women are twice as good at reading body language than men. Harvard research suggests that when reading expressions and decoding situations, women were correct 87% of the time while men scored only 42%.
What do you think about body language in the work force?
Joe Navarro , a former FBI agent and non-verbal expert, also has some very interesting and insightful remarks on body language and its influence on others. Here is his video about the Art of Influence.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZPzUHmPUrw[/youtube]
To learn more about body language check out this video: David Alsemma Analysis or view our previous post on lying during an interview.