Body Language Is Powerful — Make Any of These 4 Mistakes, and You're Silently Sabotaging Your Interactions You could be sending the wrong message without realizing it — here's how to stop.
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- Body language expert Rachel Cossar breaks down the nonverbal cues that undermine your credibility.
- Whether in-person or on video, your next meeting can be a success if you keep a few key things in mind.
Fifty-five percent of communication is nonverbal, and when there are inconsistencies between attitudes communicated verbally and posturally, the latter will leave a more significant impression, according to body language researcher Albert Mehrabian.
Despite knowing how much our bodies can and do communicate, many of us are unaware of how others receive our nonverbal cues, and it's an issue that extends into the workplace — especially when it comes to meetings, whether in-person or on video.
Virtual Sapien's body language expert and TEDx speaker Rachel Cossar teamed up with video meetings platform Jugo to create a guide on the gestures and expressions that are silently sabotaging your meetings.
BIZ Experiences sat down with Cossar to learn more about the role body language plays in workplace interactions and the nonverbal cues that could be derailing even the most well-intentioned meetings.
Related: How to Display the Ideal Body Language When Networking
"Body language is an essential part of our communication toolkit," Cossar explains. "As humans, we have evolved to constantly assess people's nonverbals to better understand if they are friends or foes. What people may not realize is that they are continually communicating a message through their nonverbals, whether they know it or not."
Other people are subconsciously picking up on your unspoken signals, which help them determine if they can trust you — and are therefore "critical in our complex world of work," Cossar says.
So, how can you avoid body language blunders in your next meeting? Cossar cautions against making some serious mistakes: showing up late, unprepared, or closed off in posture, gesture or eye gaze — all of them signal "this meeting is not worth our time" and can be a "meeting killer" whether in-person or not.
Additionally, don't ignore distracting visual elements, like screens that shift or feature multiple participants. Mitigate them whenever possible, as "these issues can create mixed messaging and confusion, ultimately diluting an executive's authority and clarity in strategic meetings," Cossar says.
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There are several ways to build trust during meetings, too. Effective cues include open palm/forward-facing palm gestures, active listening (head nods and changes in facial expressions go a long way) and setting the right tone and expectation from the start, Cossar explains.
