From the course: Body Language for Leaders (2019)

How body language is read

From the course: Body Language for Leaders (2019)

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How body language is read

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- Body language was our earliest form of communication. When the split second ability to make judgments was often a matter of life or death. The problem is that even though the world has changed, we still read body language pretty much the same way. Let me show you what I mean. First of all, people still make instant judgments. When meeting your new boss, client, or coworker, you have only seven seconds to make a first impression. In that short time, people will have decided that you're trustworthy or not, confident or not, credible or not, and they'll have made these judgments based on nothing but your non-verbal cues. How you entered the room, the amount of eye contact you made, your gestures, your posture, the sound of your voice and the expression on your face. We also look for signs of danger. Your team members are constantly trying to evaluate your state of mind by monitoring your body language. And since the human brain is always on the alert for signs of danger, people will be looking for non-verbal warnings that you're in a bad mood or displeased. That means your body language isn't always read the way you intended. You may be standing with your arms crossed because you're more comfortable in that position or you may be cold. But don't be surprised if others misread that closed gesture as a sign of resistance or negativity. And we need context. I can't make sense of your body language unless I understand the circumstances that caused it. That's called context. And without it, it's easy to jump to the wrong conclusion. Depending on the context, the same non-verbal signal can have a totally different meaning. Someone hunched over and hugging herself while sitting outside on a cold day sends a very different message than that same person in that same position sitting at her desk. One says, I'm cold. The other says, I'm in distress. Sometimes the context isn't so obvious and your colleagues will need it explained. If you yawn in a staff meeting because you were up early for a business call, let people know why you're tired. Without this context, your team will assume you're just bored. Plus, our emotions are contagious. As a leader, any strong emotion you display will cause people around you to automatically mimic your posture and your expression. When you're angry or depressed, your negative body language can spread like a virus to the rest of the team, effecting attitudes and lowering energy. But when your non-verbal signals are filled with warmth and confidence, you help the entire team feel upbeat and energized. When you understand these things, you increase your ability to let body language help you become an even more effective leader. In fact, you'll be turning that oldest form of communication into a powerful new set of skills.

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