03 May 10 Positive Body Language
How important is body language in communicating with clients? Emails, texting, twittering, and phone conversations make up a great deal of client interaction, but how important is your body language when you meet face to face or through a video conference? According to a research psychologist at UCLA words make up just 7% of your communication with others. Body language weighs in at a hefty 55% of your interpersonal communication. The third component, tonality, is responsible for 38% of your communication skills. Remember when your mother told you “don’t take that tone with me?” She was right on the money.
Positive body language puts clients at ease and increases their confidence in you as a meeting planner. Good eye contact without staring is one example of positive body language. Uncrossed arms and legs convey an open attitude. Daintily locked ankles hint at resistance to an idea. Relax your shoulders and allow your arms and legs to fall naturally. Smile and nod occasionally when the other person is speaking. Nodding in this context communicates that you are listening, not necessarily agreeing.
Mirroring the other person’s body language can build rapport. Unconsciously, both parties believe they are on mutual ground and feel safer. This usually happens without notice and should not be forced. How and what your body communicates builds the memory clients retain about any meeting. Make sure it is a positive one.
Tags: Ankles, Arms And Legs, Body Language, Client Interaction, Communication Skills, Communication With Others, Confidence, Eye Contact, Good Eye, Interpersonal Communication, Meeting Planner, Open Attitude, Phone Conversations, Research Psychologist, Resistance, Rsquo, Shoulders, Tonality, Ucla, Video Conference
22 Mar 10 Why Are Face-to-Face Meetings Important?
Have you ever stopped to think about why human contact is vital to the corporate world? A face-to-face meeting is much more than getting away from the office, although that can be a contributing factor to a meeting. Psychologically speaking, humans are just hard-wired to be a social species.
Communication takes two forms, verbal and non-verbal. Webinars may be convenient and cost-efficient, and heaven knows they can be a godsend when some virus like H1N1 is on the warpath, but they simply do not have the same impact as a face-to-face meeting. If you have ever dealt with a misunderstanding that came about from a poorly worded email or a chatroom text conversation, you will appreciate the value of a traditional business meeting. Smileys will never replace a genuine emotion and it is difficult to shake hands via a video conference.
In-person meetings help participants build trust and establish social relationships. It is much more meaningful to work as an interactive team than it is to be corporate pen pals. Social interactions exemplify company norms and expectations and create an important sense of belonging. Humor is another aspect of social interaction that can fall flat in text. Shared experiences build rapport within a team and even a familiar accent can put team members at ease with one another.
Tags: Business Meeting, Genuine Emotion, Godsend, Human Contact, Interactive Team, Misunderstanding, Norms, Pen Pals, Person Meetings, Smileys, Social Interaction, Social Interactions, Social Relationships, Social Species, Team Members, Text Conversation, Traditional Business, Video Conference, Warpath, Webinars
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