Does a good personality matter for a good career? Interview Body language is actually an important communication that is nonverbal.
Besides your qualifications, your body movements and gestures are also judged. Positive body language exudes enthusiasm, interest, and positivity to what the other people are saying.
According to various researches, 60% to 90% of our communication is nonverbal. Therefore, your body language is known to send signals about your feelings.
Generally, our body language is controlled by the subconscious mind. It may not always be according to what we say.
An experienced hiring manager can easily pick up the subtle changes in your interview body language.
They can catch the differences between what you are saying and what your body says and easily deduce how you actually feel. So, in order to make sure that your thoughts and opinions are conveyed the way you want them to, practice your interview body language skills beforehand. Here is how to match your movements with your words.
Hence, for a perfect body language, you need to learn the art. Go ahead and read these tips. Our experts have made these ready for all those who would love to know all about positive body language and negative body language!
7 Tips to Improve Interview Body Langauge
Here we bring to you the best 7 tips that will help you convey positives vibes to your potential employer.
1. YOUR POWER POSTURE
According to recent research conducted at the ‘Harvard and Columbia Business School’, simply holding your body in “high-power” poses for at least 2 minutes stimulates lower levels of cortisol and higher levels of Testosterone. Where Testosterone hormone is closely linked to power and dominance, Cortisol is a stress hormone.
Do check out-
Source- 8 POWER POSES- BODY LANGUAGE AND CONFIDENCE 2022
High Power Posture can also be referred to leaning back with your hands behind the head or standing with your arms and legs stretched.
So, try this when you are feeling tentative and want to appear confident at the same time.
Tips For Body Posture
- Try to keep a proper relaxed posture. Sit in a way that your back is straight (but not stiff) and your shoulders relaxed as well. This will convey confidence. Moreover, this will make you feel comfortable with your surroundings.
- Take up the available space. Do not sprawl out but try to sit or stand with your legs a bit apart. This gives the impression that you are at ease with yourself. Sticking too close to one’s own self may appear as if you are cringy.
- Lean in slightly when someone speaks. This signal successfully shows that you are actively listening. On the contrary, if you lean away, it signals that you are not interested.
- Crossing your arms too tightly gives the visual clue that you are turned-off by whatever is going on around you. So, either you can practice hanging your arms comfortably at your side or you can bring your hands together in your lap. These postures show that you are open to whatever they have to say.
- Maintain good eye contact. This will let them know that you are interested in that conversation. You must look in the eyes of the person by keeping your head high. Remember to do this when they are talking to you and/or when you are talking to them. Ensure that you are not staring down at them. Remember to blink.
2. UNCROSSING YOUR ARMS AND LEGS IMPROVES YOUR MEMORY
Remember to uncross your legs and arms. Although it is comfortable to sit with arms crossed, at times you might seem defensive while doing that. When you cross your legs and arms you unintentionally make yourself smaller. This may put you in the opposite of the “high-power pose”. Moreover, this body posture tends to put down the testosterone level.
Researchers report that when a group of some volunteers attended a lecture and sat with unfolded legs and arms, they remembered 38% more than another group that attended the same lecture, sat with their legs and arms folded. So, to improve your retention power. Uncross your legs and arms.
3. TAKE A STEP BACK
Now you may wonder what sort of interview body language tips is that. Well, stepping backward will help.
Research suggests that backward motion is a powerful way to enhance cognitive control.
When people encounter any difficult situation, they take a step back. This is tested to boost their confidence and ability to cope. You must have seen when an athlete prepares for a longer jump/flip, they first take a few steps back and then lurk forward. That is the trick!
4. A LITTLE TOUCH – FIRM HANDSHAKE
Touch is one of the oldest and quite powerful nonverbal clues
Touching someone on the arm, hand, shoulder for as little as 1/40th of a second establishes a human bond.
In your workplace, in an interview, physical touch or warmth is established through handshaking.
This connection makes a lasting and positive impression.
According to a survey, people are two times more likely to remember you if you give them a handshake. Often a number of people become more open and friendly and thus, it is definitely a confidence builder!
So, why not use this in your interview.
Your handshake can set the mood for the entire conversation.
Where a firm handshake will give you instant credibility, a weak handshake might make you appear fragile.
However, a firm handshake doesn’t mean to crush the other person’s hand. Definitely not!
If you give someone, a death grip, it signals to them that you are a bully. You surely don’t want that.
5. SMILE A CONFIDENT SMILE
A good smile conveys not only your sense of well-being but also sends positive signals to people around you.
They are likely to get the impression that you are approachable, trustworthy, and cooperative. What else would an employer hunt for!
The smile should come on slowly, twinkling the eyes, lighting up the face, and then fading away slowly.
Ensure that you do not give in a creepy forced smile. A simple and genuine smile is always great.
Smiling rightly is most important as it directly influences how other people will respond to you. Remember, a positive interview body language increases your chances of getting hired. You must keep in mind that the hiring manager already has an idea of your qualifications through your resume. An interview is mainly to judge you as a person.
6. MOVE YOUR HANDS
Get your hands moving.
Scientifically, there is an area in your brain, which helps you to produce speech and it gets active while we are talking and making gestures with our hands.
So, hand movement actually helps a person to form clearer thoughts.
It is really easy to do the talking while using your hands-a good way to incorporate gestures into your conversation.
However, do not make it a dance party. Just use it for emphasizing words with your hands that make you appear more assured and credible.
7. WHEN IN CONVERSTION
Experts suggest that before attending an important phone call or interview, you should practice keeping your lips together. Also, making sounds like “hum hum, um hum, um hum.” are good but not in excess.
Furthermore, women should practice and make sure that sentences do not end on a higher pitch. You must be confident and authoritative. Try to keep your voice low and confident.
To show concern you can opt for simple actions of agreement like smiling or nodding.
Unconsciously imitate the interviewer’s body language. Such actions let people to believe that you are on their side. Moreover, you can identify their condition or situation. Start mirroring. Observe a person’s facial and body language or gestures. Then let your body subtly take on similar postures and expressions. This can importantly build rapport and nurture feelings of mutuality.
So, follow these interview body language tips and stay connected to Wantcv for more!
We wish you luck with your oncoming interview!
