Improve your body language,
improve your confidence!

The way that you move your body and walk has an enormous effect on the way that you feel and your confidence levels.

Lets start with an exercise.

Imagine there are two people standing in front of you - one with "negative body language" and one with "positive body language".

I'd now like you to write down what you are observing with each of these people.

You know, how you feel at any moment in time is linked to what is going on in your head and how you are moving your body.

The way that you move sends subconscious messages to your mind and this either helps or hinder the way that the feel.

Emotion is created by motion. If you sit still for a long period of time your natural energy levels automatically lower.
And what happens when you get up, walk around and return to your seat?

Yes, you have more energy and you're given a boost.

I can't stress how important it is to move and act confidently and positively.

You will give off all the right vibes to everyone around you and it will make them think that you are confident even if you're not feeling it inside.

Yes, that's right. Even if you're not feeling confident, act as though you are.

So, how do you do this?

Well, walk fast and with a purpose. Don't saunter along, walk like you know exactly where you are going and when you get their you mean business!

Gesture with your hands as you talk, it will create motion and you know what that leads to - EMOTION!

The right gestures also have a major impact on building rapport as long as you're not shaking your fist!

All it takes is a smile!

Think for a moment about your confidence role model.

One thing that he/she and confident people in general have in common is that they all probably smile a lot and are happier than their negative counterparts.

It may sound silly, but there is a lot of power associated with a smile.

What I would like you to do is to start smiling more often.

Now, that doesn't mean that you have to walk around with a silly grin on your face all of the time.

But smile as you walk down the street, when you talk to someone, even when you look in the mirror at yourself.

You will be surprised at how better you will feel for it, and it will project a positive image to all others - one that will attract opportunities and people.

Remember that confident people are happy people and negative people are not.

Happy people are also seen as more attractive than unhappy and sad people so that is an added bonus!

You know, the way that we communicate in our appearance, posture, gesture, gaze and expression can be such a powerful tool in the way that we feel and when communicating with others.

The manner in which you communicate and your interpersonal skills are also very important indeed.

Effective communication is vital if you are going to succeed no matter what you are doing.

The way in which we communicate with people is broken down into component parts, and it is popularly believed that people to whom we are speaking understand what we say by interpreting these different elements in varying proportions:

VERBAL
          - 7% of our message is interpreted from the words we use.

VOCAL
          - 38% is picked up from our voice - speed, tone , pitch, rhythm etc

VISUAL
          - 55% is what the other person sees - our body language

Please bear the above in mind when you are communicating to people.

I could write a whole book on body language, and I may do just that, but here are some quick fixes and recommendations that you should start to put into practice:

     - Dress to win - Look at your appearance and ask yourself:

• Do I feel confident?
• Do I look confident?
• What could I do with my appearance to give me the edge?
  
  
  
• Handshakes - Never give a limp wrist handshake, make sure it is firm but not too hard
• Smile a lot more than you have been doing - even if you are a comedian!
• Walk tall with your head and shoulders back. Walk at a brisk pace
• When you talk to people look them straight in the eye
• Keep on moving - Motion creates what?
  
  
• If you are ever feeling down, just have a look at your body language and change it immediately. Even if it has to be false - YOU WILL start to feel better and more confident immediately.
  
  
• First impressions count - so when you are going to meet people for the first time, think what first impression you ant to give them. A smiling face? A good remark? Etc
  
  
• Take more notice of others body language. You can normally tell what others are feeling by the way that they are moving and using their body too. You can use this to your advantage when you are more aware of it.