How Can Body Language Improve Communication?

Communication is an inherent part of our lives. We communicate with each other for varied reasons such as conveying information, expressing ourselves and serving the ultimate need of forming lasting connections
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It is due to the lack of effective communication that misconceptions come into place. Thus, it is vital for all of us to learn the art of communicating effectively. Additionally, a perfect blend of verbal and non-verbal tools of communication is required for us to connect in a proper manner. This is because speech becomes powerful when it is supported by suitable non-verbal aids such as body language.

What is Body Language?

Body language is an imperative tool for non-verbal communication. It may be surprising to know that your body language conveys more information than your words do. Moreover, your body language is considered to be a greater credible source of information in almost every situation of our day. This is because the receiver perceives more than half of the message through your body language.

What Constitutes Body Language?

There are several constituents of your body language.
1. Your gaze makes it ablaze





“Your eyes are said to be the mirrors of your soul”. This is because your eyes convey everything that you hold within. All types of emotions – sadness, happiness or anger – are portrayed by your eyes through different types of contra*ctions, expansions and movements. Thus, you begin to communicate with people just by gazing at them.

2. Expressions speak louder than words
You must have noticed that your dear ones can figure out your feelings of happiness, sadness and worry, just by looking at your face. This is because your facial expressions are clear indicators of your mood and feelings. Even emojis you use online with your friends can exemplify the power of facial expressions.
3. Your body posture reveals the unsaid
Your body posture signifies your personality. The way you conduct yourself reveals the intrinsic traits of your character. Your body posture can reflect either a positive or a negative demeanor, depending on how you carry yourself. To convey a strong and influential personality, you have to keep your shoulders firm, your back straight and adorn your face with a smile.
4. Gestures depict whatever you hold within
Hand gestures form an important constituent of your body language. The manner in which you use your hands while communicating lay a huge impact on the effectiveness of your communication. The audience becomes much more receptive when you use appropriate hand gestures to support your speech. Moreover, hand gestures add validity to your words when you use them to point out something.

How to Instill Effective Body Language

Body language is moldable in nature. This implies that you can learn effective body language with consistent practice over a period of time. Not only this, but you can also master the art of reading other people’s body language by attaining perfection in your own presentation style.
1. Smile more often
It has been well said that smiles are contagious in nature. When you smile, you stimulate others to respond back with a smile. This generates a wave of positivity in the environment. Moreover, by smiling, you display a confident but calm demeanor. This automatically makes you appear influential to your audience. Along with this, smiling prompts your mind to release happy hormones such as dopamine and serotonin. These hormones give a further boost to your confidence. Therefore, you must inculcate a habit to smile more often.

2. Exhibit an energetic demeanor
The level of energy you display significantly impacts your communication with others. When you demonstrate a low level of energy, your audience finds you to be unconvincing and weak. Thus, you fail to attract sufficient levels of interest from your audience. You can display an energetic demeanor by using more hand movements and walking briskly.
3. Get rid of confinements
In order to let the magic of your body language do wonders in framing your personality, you have to get rid of all the confinements that hold you back. It requires a lot of confidence to do this. Practicing a power pose can lead to a splurge in your confidence level. It depends entirely on you to choose a power pose, one which is the most suitable for you. Of all the poses, standing with your arms wide open and folding your arms in a firm manner are two of the most popular power poses which you can easily try.
4. Use more hand movements
It becomes a lot easier for you to convey your message properly once you learn how to appropriately use hand gestures. This is because more information gets transmitted through your hand movements than through your words. You must have noticed that little children who are yet not able to speak will communicate by using different kinds of hand movements. They point in various directions and signal towards various directions to get their message conveyed. This is the power of hand movements. Thus, your verbal intera*ction with others becomes more meaningful when you support your words with appropriate use of hand movements.
5. Let your body speak, but only to a limited extent
“An excess of everything is bad” rings true in the context of using your body language as a tool of non-verbal communication. Excessive use of facial expressions, eye movements and hand gestures serves as a source of distra*ction for your audience. This makes it difficult for them to focus on the central theme of your message. Thus, you must regularly sharpen your body language skills to learn how to utilize them appropriately.

The Significance of Body Language at Work

Body language plays a significant role in every field. This is because it determines your personality, which certainly impacts your performance in the respective field of your profession. There is definitely a variation in the degree to which the use of body language influences your professional conduct. Some of the professions highly demand the use of effective and appropriate body language.

1. Teaching
Being a teacher, you have to portray a very confident and authoritative body language. This is because your students pay attention in your class, only if they find you to be impressive enough. Thus, it is mandatory for every teacher to practice influential body language.
2. Public Speaking
The importance of body language cannot be ruled out in the profession of public speaking. This is because effective body language helps you keep your audience engaged in the conversation. In order to excel as a public speaker, you have to display proper and energetic body language skills.
3. Sales
Sales is a profession that has a lot of dependence on your body language. You have to exhibit a charming and confident body language to be able to close deals with your clients. Therefore, as a sales executive, it is essential for you to inculcate effective body language.
To conclude, body language plays an important role in all your communication processes, whether they are personal or professional in nature. This makes it important for each one of us to practice influential body language.