What does your Body Say
Do sporting teams collaborate better than corporate teams? Have you ever examined why?
A team has a set of plays where everyone can trust what his team mate will do, where he will be and how he will carry out his part of the program. The same is true in a well run organization. In both instances they communicate this through body language.
It is interesting to see the attention to detail paid by the staff in an Apple Store or at the Mountain Equipment Co-op compared to many other retailers. From the moment you walk in you know they’re interested in your problems and how their product knowledge and skill can help you.
There is a camaraderie amongst them and this camaraderie envelopes and includes the customer. It is built on trust and interest in what they are doing. Respect permeates the interaction.
Mark Bowden, a SEEC subject matter expert in body language and the author of Winning Body Language recently dissected how staff members in these stores have a different body language than other retail experiences. He pointed out the obvious differentiating levels of how engaged staff members interested in the person they are talking to, or listening to, use their bodies differently.
Mark also poses these simple go-to questions that you might want to ponder about for a moment:
- Does this person’s body language demonstrate that they care and is giving honest advice?
- When he/she compliments something you say do you believe them?
- Could her/her body language be influencing your opinion?
Body language is up to 90% of communication and most of us don’t even know what it is saying in most of the conversations we hold.
Does your body tell the other person you are talking straight, demonstrating respect and interest, showing loyalty, being trustworthy, delivering real knowledge or is it communicating distrust, insincerity and a lack of interest?
Mark then demonstrated the acid test – Do you use your body to communicate when you are listening, is it consistent with your words? Is it consistent with your mind and your intent? Body language changes the way you listen, what you hear and the way the speaker talks. Body language puts you in control of the conversation and demands attention and respect even when you are listening.
Mark Bowden can shift the way you listen and the results you get from better listening and he can demonstrate it in less than three minutes – now that is fast and effective communication. Click here and see what he has to say –with his words and with his body.
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