5 winning traits – persuade with your body language

Your body language is crucial when you need your employees, colleagues or manager to change their behaviour and follow your lead. Read how five winning traits can help you persuade with your body language.

When you communicate, you are not only judged on your words, your arguments and your results – you are also judged on everything you don’t say. Your audience spends much of its time decoding your non-verbal communication: your body language, facial expressions and gestures.

Picture a leader who talks about taking responsibility and showing courage while slumping with a downcast gaze; or a leader who says they welcome criticism while standing with arms crossed and a dismissive expression.
Your credibility and the impact of your communication suffer badly when what you say does not match what your body conveys.

5 winning traits – take control of your body

As part of working consciously with your body language – and your non-verbal communication in general – there are five physical traits you need to master. Research shows that there are five so-called winning traits that characterise a persuasive speaker.

1. Make eye contact with your audience

Make sure you look up when you speak. If you only look down at your notes, at the floor or up at your slides, it comes across as a sign of uncertainty. If you find it hard to hold eye contact, pick a point on the back wall and focus on it. That way it looks as if you are making eye contact with your audience, while in fact you are looking just over their heads.

2. Use gestures that explain and emphasise

Hands in your pockets, on your hips or hanging limply by your sides are not the most effective gestures. Use your arms when you explain and drive home your points. If you need to keep your hands under control – because of nerves, for example – hold them behind your back or clasp them in front of you, but make sure you vary your gestures as you go.

3. Show physical readiness

Your body signals readiness when you stand up straight with your shoulders down and both feet firmly planted on the floor (also known as grounding). This gives you the best conditions for breathing all the way down into your belly – which not only signals calm and composure but also gives you a resonant voice and a clear head.

4. Articulate clearly

Make sure you pronounce your words clearly. Poor articulation can mean your audience doesn’t hear – and therefore doesn’t remember – what is said; it can also come across as uncertainty if you swallow half your sentences. A side benefit of clear articulation is that you automatically slow down.

5. Be engaged in your topic

However passionate you are about your cause as a leader, an email, a yawn or a glance at the clock can creep in and steal your attention. But if you don’t seem engaged in your topic, you can’t expect your audience to be. So avoid downplaying or belittling the topic or issue from the outset – and make sure you give your audience the impression that you are genuinely interested in your cause.

Get a tailored presentation skills course for your organisation – read more here.

3 steps – how to do it:

So the next time you need to persuade someone of something – in a presentation, a talk or a meeting – back up your messages with your body language.

1. Make sure what you say matches what your body signals. Vary your gestures and facial expressions to suit the situation.
2. Get off to a good start – stand firmly with a straight back and relaxed shoulders. That way you show physical readiness and come across as genuinely interested in your topic.
3. Look up and pronounce your words clearly – your audience will not only hear what you say but also remember it better.