Body Language & Presentation
Body language can be defined as the process of communicating nonverbally through conscious or unconscious gestures and movements.Therefore, these previously stated unconscious movements can be either detrimental or beneficial in business situations.
There are a lot of important things to look out for and avoid when it comes to body language. One of the most important and obvious things to avoid is bad eye contact. Exemplary eye contact resembles good listening skills, confidence, and that you are paying attention. This is extremely important in work situations such as interviews, meetings, and simple conversations in the workplace. Poor eye contact can make you look insecure, and unsure of yourself. For example, if you were attempting to convince another company to invest in your product and were demonstrating poor eye contact, they may assume that this is because you are not confident in your product or are providing false information. Therefore, there is a good chance that they would decide not to invest in your product. This one type of poor body language, that may simply be a bad habit for some people, can cause them to miss out on amazing opportunities and therefore lose progress within their business.
One skill that I think is really important to obtain when considering body language is good posture. Will Gaulin, in his blog, says, “One of the most important things in business is your presentation,” (https://medium.com/@wpgaulin/its-all-about-communication-1147be22c85a). In other words, the way that you look and act are directly related to the way you are viewed in business. This is exactly what I am referring to. Imagine being the owner of a business and walking into the office of your employee who is in charge of some really important information. You see them sitting down, slouched with their feet up on their desk, snacking on some Cheez-Its. To me, this would look extremely unprofessional. I would think that this person looks lazy, disorganized, and careless. On the other hand, if I had walked into their office and they were sitting up straight while working away on their computer, I would think that they were working hard to meet their requirements and to do what was expected of them. This would make me happy with and confident in my employee.
I always try my best to demonstrate good body language especially in business situations. I think that good posture, strong eye contact, and clear engagement in conversation are very important. Personally, I was recently involved in a business situation where I felt that my conscious good body language skills were very beneficial. Just the other day, I was applying for a job. Since I just moved to a new area, I have been eagerly searching for a new job. While I was talking to one of the managers, I made sure to obtain eye contact, keep good posture and really pay attention to what he was saying. As I happily conversed with the very friendly manager, I felt as though we were really connecting not only because I was excited about the conversation, but also because I presented myself in a professional way. Shortly after this, I was called for an interview. After this positive experience, I can feel confident that I can continue to demonstrate the same body language and it will continue to benefit me in future business situations.
Gaulin, W. (2017, September 22). Its All About Communication — Will Gaulin — Medium. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from https://medium.com/@wpgaulin/its-all-about-communication-1147be22c85a
