How to Use Body Language to Your Advantage During a Business Meeting

In a world where a lot of interactions increasingly happen online, there’s an urgent need to understand how to use body language to your best advantage. With the right body language, you can improve on business relationships as well as motivate people to enhance productivity levels at work, Forbes says.

A number of industries are already taking note of this, from recruitment companies to training teams. Here’s a look at some of the best tips on how you can use it to make every business meeting better:

Research

Don’t be afraid to research what you don’t know. Data always gives you a solid background so you have a better idea of how to integrate it into your daily communication habits. You can also ask around for better practices from people you know and trust, especially if you can see how well they carry themselves during a business meeting.

Let Go

Body language is often a way to express what we feel inside: anger, happiness, frustration, or even sadness. However, there are instances where angry people don’t actually know they’re angry, or sad people don’t know they’re sad. And this could get in the way of letting you use your body language in a positive way. Unless you unload those negative feelings and let go of your personal issues, traces of those emotions will always leak through. You wouldn’t want that to happen during your business discussion. Have some of your colleagues been asking you the following questions as of late? “Are you okay? Is there something wrong?” This is a sign that you might want to do an internal check and assess your emotional condition to see if everything is still on an even keel or not.

Know Your System

You can move much more confidently if you know how to work the system you’re using. It also helps if you have a good system on your hands to begin with. A bad one could derail the conversation, which could leave you stressed, affecting your body language in a negative way. By installing reliable video communications from BlueJeans or any other reliable video solutions provider, you give yourself a much better playing field to do business, one that puts you squarely in control of the experience. That way, you aren’t stressed out by tech lags and issues. Instead, you’re relaxed and thus well able to conduct that business conversation with greater ease and confidence.

Improve Your Posture

Most people have a tendency to slump. If that includes you, be extra aware of your posture at all times. Know the power posture, says the American Express. This includes occupying as much space as you can, like standing with your feet astride. Don’t forget to put your hands on your hips. If that doesn’t work, just be confident about taking up space at the table. Some go to a great deal of trouble to ensure that they don’t occupy a lot of desk space. If you want to project confidence, do the exact opposite. Be confident about owning that space. Just be careful not to seem obnoxious about it, though. Some people have issues with personal space, so be self-aware enough not to compromise other people’s personal space when you do this.
Practice Your Facial Expression

Your facial expressions can give your feelings away as well. You want to make sure that your expressions are a match for the business discussion at hand. Some people also spend time practicing how to smile in front of a mirror since it helps them feel more positive, and that positivity shows in how they talk and communicate to others in a business conversation. If you ever wanted to be that one person in the room who always manages to stay calm and centered even during tough negotiations or meetings that never seem to end, try practicing a smile in the mirror every day before a discussion or every morning. That little habit might just be what you need to improve other people’s perception of you and your personality. And the better that perception is, the friendlier you appear to be, and the more likely people are to listen to or cooperate with your ideas. It’s a win-win.

Use Gestures When You Speak

Gestures are a great way to punctuate or emphasize your point. It’s the same thing politicians do. Also, when you gesture, people are more likely to remember what you’re saying during an assembly. However, you need to make sure you pick the right gestures. If there’s no meaning behind those gestures, they’ll hinder more than help people understand what you’re saying. Remember to relax when you gesture as well. Stiff gestures are easy to detect and can tell your audience that you aren’t as confident as you appear to be.

Be on your best during your business assemblies. Try out these tips and see how they make a difference in your relationships at work.