These habits could prevent career advancement
You may not realise that unprofessional body language shouts incompetency.
Professionals have to be mindful of body language in the workplace to appear competent and confident enough for a promotion.
It is no coincidence, as studies show that nonverbal behaviour portrays 55 per cent of the message you convey. Rather ask your colleagues or your employer how you may assist when you have completed all your tasks or if you feel bored – always make yourself proactive. It is easy to yield to subconscious body language faux pas in a professional environment. Take a look at some of the mistakes that could discredit you in your place of work without saying a word:
• Dragging your feet – this habit shows your colleagues and employer that you are either disinterested, lazy or tired. For the record, successful people avoid this unspoken mistake.
• Do not mistaken staring for eye contact – a healthy eye contact in a professional environment is about 60 per cent, according to a health and wellness organisation, Today. On its site, Today said over 60 per cent of eye contact is intimidating.
• Slumping in your seat – always practice good posture, whether standing or sitting. If you forget to stand or sit up straight, think of how you would sit in a job interview – or how you behaved professionally when you were new in your workplace.
• Avoid acting nervously – it is easy to play with your hair, bite your nails and crack your knuckles without noticing it. But these gestures suggest nerves, which makes you look uncomfortable or eager to be elsewhere.
• Tapping your feet on the ground or your fingers on the desk – these gestures suggest that you are daydreaming or bored.
• Give a good handshake – handshakes say a lot about one’s personality, so never give a weak handshake. Not to say you should mirror the current American president’s handshake. Stick to a good, firm handshake.
• Mind your mobile phone – unless your job requires you to work using your phone frequently, avoid checking your phone often and never answer your phone during a meeting, unless it is matter of life and death.
• Crossing your arms – experts like Melody Wilding, a social worker and master coach, said crossing arms paired with crossing legs, is a silent barrier – a ‘don’t disturb me’ gesture, especially in meetings and discussions, not to mention in interviews.
Body language speaks louder because people can say what they do not mean, whereas your body language accurately reveals how you feel.
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