Success in your career can come from a number of things, many of which have little or nothing to do with your actual job description. The day-to-day ways you interact with your peers and your boss can go a long way toward helping build the best possible business relationships, influence and motivate the people who report to you, improve productivity, bond with members of your team and present your ideas with more impact. Depending on which studies you read, around 55% of the way we communicate is non-verbal. Even if you're not aware of it yourself, your body language can serve as a major signal to those around you.With this in mind, in this Whitepaper we wanted to try and condense the many components of your non-verbal

communication into 5 key areas that we believe will help positively impact your career. We have drawn these ideas together into a helpful acronym; SHAPE. Whilst some of the information might seem a lot to take in and almost impossible to remember let alone put into practice, the very fact of being aware of your non-verbal communication can give you an advantage. We wish you all the best as you SHAPE your career!

The Benefits of Better Body Language at Work

SHAPE Your Career:

Smile

Handshake Posture

Action Eye Contact

Richard HansonCEO

Richard DonneHead of Business

Development

shape

November 2015

The human brain prefers happy faces, and we can spot a smile at 300 feet – the length of a football field. Smiling tells those around you that you are approachable and trustworthy. The opposite is also true – not smiling might convey that you are aloof and unfriendly.Perhaps most importantly, Research from Duke University proves that we like and remember those who smile at us and that smiling directly influences how other people respond to you. When you smile at someone, they almost always smile in return making them feel more emotionally positive. Once they connect that feeling with their interaction with you, the rest of your relationship can be built on the best possible foundation.

The right handshake can give you instant credibility and the wrong one can cost you the job or the contract. Too weak and you’re a wimp who lacks authority and confidence. Too strong and you’re a bully – aggressive and power hungry.Handshake behavior has cultural variations, but most would accept that a proper handshake should be firm and steady. Handshakes should only last between two and five seconds and eye contact should be made. Dr Travis Bradberry, a clinical psychologist and renowned author on the subject of emotional intelligence advises that you "Adapt your handshake to each person and situation, but make sure it's always firm".

SM

ILE

HANDSHAKE

A few facts you might not know about smiling;

Smiles Relieve Stress: Even when you are faking it, your smile releases endorphins. It’s easier to smile than to frown: A frown uses more muscles. Babies are born with the ability to smile: It is not a learned behaviour, scientists believe all babies – even blind ones – are born with the ability.

This section is best illustrated by a simple list of Dos and Don’ts

Do Gesture as you talk Making hand gestures whilst you talk can actually power up your thinking. You will find that your speech flows more smoothly with fewer “ums” and “uhs” in between. Use open arm gestures, showing the palms of your hands whenever possible. This conveys the message “I have nothing to hide”. However, you must be careful not to go over the top and make exaggerated gestures which can convey the message that you are out of control.The key then is to use smaller, controlled gestures when you want to emphasise confidence, and open gestures like showing the palms of your hands when you want to convey the message that you have nothing to hide. Don’t FidgetWhen we’re nervous or stressed we are most likely to engage in some self-touching, nonverbal behavior: We rub our hands together, bounce our feet, drum our fingers on the desk or twirl our hair. All forms of fidgeting. Stop this by placing your feet firmly on the floor and your hands palm down in

your lap, on the desk or on the conference table. This send a message that you are calm and confident.

Do SteepleThis power signal is where your hands make a “steeple” — where the tips of your fingers touch, but the palms are separated. When you want to display conviction and sincerity about a point you’re making, try steepling.

Power, status, and confidence are nonverbally displayed through the use of height and space. Keeping your posture erect, your shoulders back, and your head held high makes you look sure of yourself. Stand whenever possible as you will look more powerful and assured to those who are seated. If you move around, the additional space you take up adds to that impression. Widen your stance. When you stand with your feet close together, you can seem hesitant or unsure of what you are saying. But when you widen your stance, relax your knees and center your weight in your lower body, you look more “solid” and confident.If you are sitting, you can look more confident by putting both feet flat on the floor and widening your arms away from your body. Make sure you sit upright. Slouching sends the wrong impression, and a lowered head gives the impression that you're not telling the truth or that you're ashamed.

Lastly, whatever the circumstances, you may want to try a Power Pose. Research conducted at Harvard and Columbia Business Schools, has shown that simply holding your body in expansive, “high-power” poses for as little as two minutes stimulates higher levels of testosterone — the hormone linked to power and dominance — and lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.The positive impact of good posture isn’t just about how you look to others. It also has a direct impact on your health. Dr Raymond Yip, spinal surgeon at the Matilda International Hospital in Hong Kong has spoken about why good health is related to good posture, and how “prolonged sitting will exert heavy pressure on the spinal area”.

Don't Cross Your ArmsThis could be seen as the common sense opposite of Using Open Gestures. Crossing your arms supposedly shows weakness and nervousness, or perhaps worst still, defensiveness. None of the things that you want to convey when interacting with someone.However, outside of initial interactions with people, some research has pointed to the idea that you're 30 percent more likely to stay on a difficult task with crossed arms. Perhaps during a brainstorming session then it might actually be a good idea to cross arms. The overall message is to be aware of the circumstances and try to adapt your body language accordingly.

ACtionP

os

tu

re

Power, status, and confidence are nonverbally displayed through the use of height and space. Keeping your posture erect, your shoulders back, and your head held high makes you look sure of yourself. Stand whenever possible as you will look more powerful and assured to those who are seated. If you move around, the additional space you take up adds to that impression. Widen your stance. When you stand with your feet close together, you can seem hesitant or unsure of what you are saying. But when you widen your stance, relax your knees and center your weight in your lower body, you look more “solid” and confident.If you are sitting, you can look more confident by putting both feet flat on the floor and widening your arms away from your body. Make sure you sit upright. Slouching sends the wrong impression, and a lowered head gives the impression that you're not telling the truth or that you're ashamed.

Lastly, whatever the circumstances, you may want to try a Power Pose. Research conducted at Harvard and Columbia Business Schools, has shown that simply holding your body in expansive, “high-power” poses for as little as two minutes stimulates higher levels of testosterone — the hormone linked to power and dominance — and lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.The positive impact of good posture isn’t just about how you look to others. It also has a direct impact on your health. Dr Raymond Yip, spinal surgeon at the Matilda International Hospital in Hong Kong has spoken about why good health is related to good posture, and how “prolonged sitting will exert heavy pressure on the spinal area”.

The eyes are the most powerful part of our body language, and can express every single emotion Eye contact is one of those things that can become a stumbling block because of how much it needs to be balanced. Comfortable eye contact while speaking denotes honesty, authority, confidence and presence. Staring, however, may be interpreted as aggressive.Eye contact conveys other information as well. Avoiding eye contact altogether makes it seem like you have something to hide, which makes anything you're saying seem suspect. Even the way you break eye contact can send a message. For example, glancing down communicates submission, or that you lack confidence whilst looking to the side projects confidence.It’s also ok to look away occasionally to avoid the other person becoming uncomfortable.

Using Your KnowledgeNow you know how significantly your body language can impact the perceptions that people have about you, let’s look at this from another angle. What advantages might you have if you can recognize other people’s body language?Joe Navarro, former FBI agent and expert in non-verbal communication has spoken about the concept of the “Comfort Dividend”. The idea behind this is that if you are able to recognize through another person body language that they are not comfortable then you have the maximum opportunity to identify the problem and address any issue.

Other Tips and TricksMemorise - If you're meeting someone for the first time, be sure to repeat their name in conversation to help you remember it.Visualise – To display confidence and be perceived as upbeat and positive, think of a past success that fills you with pride and confidence. Take a Walk – Pick up your feet when you walk. Don't shuffle or stomp. Walk tall with your hands at your side. Pitch Perfect – Lower your vocal pitch. Speakers with higher-pitched voices are judged to be less empathic, less powerful and more nervous than speakers with lower pitched voices. This is especially helpful before you get on an important phone call – where the sound of your voice is so critical.

Bibliography

Mehrabian, A., Silent Messages, Wadsworth, Belmont, California (1971) Mehrabian, A., Tactics in Social Influence, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (1969)The neural basis of humour comprehension and humour appreciation: The roles of the temporoparietal junction and superior frontal gyrus Original Research Article; Darren W. Campbell, Marc G. Wallace, Mandana Modirrousta, Joseph O. Polimeni, Nancy A. McKeen, Jeffrey P. Reiss (2008)Carol Kinsey Gorman (2013)http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2013/08/21/12-body-language-tips-for-career-success/

EYE CONTACT

Navarro said that making clients, customers or colleagues feel comfortable is a sure way to win them over -- something he refers to as "the comfort dividend."

Key signs of discomfort; Covering or Rubbing Eyes Wrinkling their forehead Wrinkling nose upwards Squinting Pursing Lips or Biting Lips Touching Neck

One of the strongest signals of discomfort is the interlacing of fingers, with the fingers of one hand between the fingers of the other as below

For Job Seeker and Employer advice, CV examples and blogs please visit Hiring Screen resources as below;

http://blog.hiringscreen.com