Body language plays a significant role in nonverbal communication, and committing these “sins” can undermine your credibility, influence, and relationships. Here are the 7 deadly sins of body language that you should avoid: It requires a significant amount of effort to keep your body language in order.
The majority of the time, you probably aren’t even aware that you’re doing it, much less that you’re doing damage to your company as a result of it.
How frequently have you witnessed children asking their mother for food without actually saying anything, or even hunters working together quickly and discreetly on a large kill?
The situation remained the same even when the first person demonstrated to his friend how to make a fire. The answer to all of these questions is the same, and that solution is body language.
Body language is a kind of communication that is understood and accepted everywhere.
How amazing is it that other people will unconsciously perceive your postures, gestures, and motions, regardless of whether you are doing them deliberately or not?
To tell you the truth, it can have both beneficial and negative effects.
It is claimed that “what you hide by speaking, your body utters.” This proverb is correct.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the tone of one’s body language should exude positivity and self-assurance.
You need to steer clear of the kinds of body language that can be interpreted as a negative comment.
To the greatest extent feasible, you should steer clear of the negative indicators of body language. If you want to affect other people, you should work on developing good body language strategies.
Therefore, if you want to persuade people to take you and your ideas more seriously, the most important thing you can do is steer clear of certain types of negative body language indicators.
You won’t have to worry about giving the wrong signals if you do this. Avoiding these five sorts of body language signals will help you communicate more effectively.
“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
1. Not Making An Eye Contact
When conducting a discussion, the most common faux pas that people commit is looking down and avoiding making appropriate eye contact with the other person. If you can’t even be confident in the words that you choose to express yourself, how can you expect other people to have faith in the concepts that you propose? Some individuals could get the impression that you are uninterested in their business or even that you are arrogant from this.
Maintain an upright posture and stare people square in the eye with self-assurance. Keep your head high. It is important to make it a habit to do it more frequently so that it appears natural and not like an unsettling stare.
“The human body is the best picture of the human soul.” –Ludwig Wittgenstein
2. Fixating On Your Mobile Device
Put away your phone if you’re going to be attending a public gathering, or networking event for that matter.
Even while being addicted to your phone is almost unavoidable these days, it is nonetheless impolite.
At the event, make an effort to interact with other people and refrain from checking your phone in a way that is obvious to everyone else.
It is remarkable how much simpler it is to form meaningful relationships when fewer things are competing for people’s attention, but there are always going to be exceptions to this rule in the event of a crisis.
But behavior in the human being is sometimes a defense, a way of concealing motives and thoughts, as language can be a way of hiding your thoughts and preventing communication.” –Abraham Maslow
3. Altering The Position Of Your Feet Frequently
You’ve probably noticed other folks constantly moving their feet about or changing their weight from one foot to the other.
They may do it unconsciously, but it’s a symptom of bad body language that you should try to steer clear of.
This unequivocally demonstrates that the individual is in some kind of distress, be it mental or physical, and it is not an indication of a productive response.
Therefore, you want to steer clear of exhibiting this kind of body language and gestures at all costs.
“Body language is essential for an actress, even if you don’t use your body in an athletic way. Just to be free, to use it like your voice. A body can be small and have incredible violence. A body talks.” –Anne Parillau
4. Faking An Emotion
Faking a grin or any other gesture is not going to benefit you in any way, so try to keep your feelings as genuine as possible.
It is just not feasible to deceive the unconscious mind of another individual by putting on a phony grin or acting sympathetic toward them.
When you put on artificial feelings, it’s difficult to keep a conversation going for very long.
Be careful to have honest intentions whenever you are having a conversation, and don’t try to imitate someone else’s feelings by gesturing in a way that isn’t natural to you.
While it’s always a good idea to flash a kind smile when you’re chatting with someone, it’s usually an indication that you’re being dishonest if you fake your feelings or use too many gestures that aren’t essential.
You ought to steer clear of using this type of body language because it is unquestionably one of the bad types.
“Body language is a very powerful tool. We had body language before we had speech, and apparently, 80% of what you understand in a conversation is read through the body, not the words.” –Deborah Bull
5. Not Listening
Because of my work in the apparel industry, I have had to communicate with a wide variety of people, including customers, suppliers, and employees.
The ability to listen to the viewpoints of others has been the single most important factor in determining the success or failure of relationships and business endeavors.
Listening with sincerity can have a greater impact on a business transaction, employee performance, and relationship with a supplier than any other mode of communication.
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” –Peter F. Drucker
6. Putting Your Hands On Your Face
Repeatedly caressing your face or leaning back and locking your fingers behind your head are examples of bad body language.
Another negative type of body language is crossing your arms over your chest.
This is a symptom of your resistance or a more protective approach, and it could be perceived as a sign of your lack of interest in the topic at hand.
There are probably only a handful of scenarios in which caressing your face while someone else is talking to you can be considered a positive sign.
It is highly dependent on the specifics of what you are doing and the message that you are attempting to communicate.
On the other side, it may also lead to unfavorable outcomes and give the impression that you are frightened, dishonest, uninterested, or distracted. These are all bad connotations.
“Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.” –Charles Dickens
7. Making A Mockery Of One’s Stance And Gestures
A significant component of effective body language is making appropriate use of postures and gestures.
They make it easier for you to articulate your ideas and thoughts in a way that is both effective and confident.
If you make a mistake with your posture or gestures, though, the deck may be stacked against you.
The act of crossing one’s legs or arms, putting one’s hands in one’s pocket, tapping one’s foot repetitively, scratching one’s arms excessively, or excessively nodding can be interpreted as a sign of being overly judgmental while one is in the process of making a decision.
Other odd mistakes that people frequently make include these. To minimize bad body language, it is best to avoid practicing movements of the body like these.
“Who is Mike Judge? Let me think. The only way I could possibly answer that question would be in a nonverbal fashion. I think I could do an interpretive dance that would answer that question for you.” –Mike Judge
By being aware of these 7 deadly sins of body language, you can take steps to avoid them and improve your nonverbal communication skills. Remember, body language is a powerful tool that can either enhance or undermine your message.