Actions do speak louder than words. Most of the time, it is not your mouth that does the talking, but your body. What do I mean? Your body language speaks louder than your words. In fact, non-verbal communication accounts for 55% of communication while words only make up 7%, leaving 38% with tone. The last thing you would want to do is to give your boss a bad impression of you. While you wish to impress your boss with your words, your body language may just ‘help’ to ruin it all! What does your body language say about you today, especially in front of your boss? Let us explore how your boss sees your body language. 

1. Posture Even before you utter your first word, your posture has already done so. By walking, standing and sitting up straight, you show yourself as being confident, even if you aren’t on the inside. We want to be comfortable when talking to our bosses. But, that doesn’t equate to slouching. By slouching, it tells your boss that you are lazy and not interested. 

2. Handshake Remember the time when you shook someone’s hand that felt like a dead fish? What impression did he give you? Offer a firm handshake to project confidence. Of course, don’t be a bone crusher and try to wring their hands off! Even while offering the best handshake, do not forget about your…… 

3. Eyes Maintaining eye contact while speaking to another person shows that you are giving that person your attention. Decreased eye contact while talking to your boss shows a lack of interest. 

4. Hands Never place your hands in your pocket or fold your arms. These reflect your disagreement and disinterest. As much as you want to use hand gestures to emphasise your point, avoid pointing your finger at your boss. That would be very rude. Place your hands on your lap as much as possible to avoid those. 

5. Face Facial Expression sometimes speaks even louder than words! Do be aware of the expressions you are putting on your face, especially when discussing about serious matters with your boss.   You may see such minor details as unimportant and insignificant. Perhaps you should consider this. If you pay so much attention to your words, which make up only 7%, what more your body language, that makes up 55%.

 

This article first appeared on TBC HR Consulting’s website at www.tbchr.com

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