Did you know that when it comes to face-to-face communication, non-verbal signals count for around 55%? Your words account for as little as 7% and tone of voice is about 38%.
When it comes to body language, it’s small changes that can make the maximum difference. Just a tiny diversion from your normal response could make a massive difference to the results you achieve.
Fake it till you make it- body language shortcuts
If you want to convey a certain impression, bear the following in mind. If your target quality is…
Friendliness: 
Your body language tools:
Smiling
Nodding
Warm handshake
Softened eye expression
Steady eye contact
Standing face-on to the other person
Calmness:
Your body language tools:
Measured breathing
Smooth, synchronised body movements
Lowered shoulders, not tensed or hunched
No fiddling
Sitting back in your seat
Pictures: iStock.
Confidence:
Your body language tools:
Steady eye contact
Upright posture
Open gestures
A relaxed facial expression
A smile that is open and genuine
Leadership
Your body language tools:
A firm handshake
Good eye contact
Straight posture
Sitting centrally or at the front
No fiddling or wriggling
Smooth, emphatic gestures
Meeting and greeting
Giving a good greeting isn’t the hardest thing to do in terms of choreography, but emotionally it’s more challenging than you think. It’s unnatural for animals to go padding off to perform affectionate or passive rituals with other, strange animals. If they did, they’d be dog meat. So your leakage – that is, body language that gives away what you’re really thinking – is likely to involve signals of fear, which in turn will emerge as embarrassment. Your denial signs are likely to include:
Looking away as you kiss, hug or say hello
This is called distracted kissing and it looks terrible. Always give the person you’re greeting your undivided attention, even if it’s only for a short space of time.
Dithering
Put simply, charismatic people don’t do dithering. Once you dither during a greeting you’re dead in the water. You’ll put your hand up then drop it and they’ll do the same, and then you’ll both be waving out-of-sync. Go for your greeting with confidence and be definite about how it’s going to look.
Bringing your hands up as a semi-barrier
This is a knee-jerk defence signal after the openness of your greeting. Avoid any barrier gestures after you’ve finished your ritual. It’s easy to fold arms, raise a glass higher up your torso or clutch at your bag after doing a greeting.
