How much is your Body Language Costing you?

personal-branding-power-of-body-language
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Learn how you can make your life easier and take yourself to the next level simply by understanding the messages your and others body language says. Most people do not realise that body language is what primarily makes up one’s image in another person’s mind. It was Dr. Albert Mehrabian, the famous behavioural psychologist who identified the key components that influence people in communication, be it one-on-one or one to a group. His study results surprised many who had not understood the importance of the non-verbal component of communication.

 

 

Congruency quote

Image Source- Image Group International

Being aware of what body language does to your personal brand and your identity is especially essential for potential leaders, entrepreneurs and senior executives. Great leaders and successful entrepreneurs and executives communicate (sit, stand, and gesture) in ways that truly make them stand out amongst others, exude confidence and increase their status.  

 

This is why executives, entrepreneurs and leaders can greatly benefit from a structured personal branding system with hands-on coaching from an expert Personal Branding Coach that can help them to learn more about effective use of body language and also how to read the body language of others in order to become more impactful.

 

Being aware of your body language adds power, authenticity and value to your personal brand and allows you to be your authentic self using not only verbal communication but also your non-verbal communication.  

 

Some of the benefits that strong and positive body language brings for you are-

 

  • Being aware of what your body language says about you to people increases your communication effectiveness and thus, potentially opening up new avenues for you.
 
  • Strong body language also might result in individuals adapting faster and better to changing workplaces or workplace conditions, which is very important in today’s gig economy.
 
  • Positive body language helps individuals to naturally have a more enlivened and enthusiastic outlook towards life. People with positive body language tend to thrive and come out on top when facing different life challenges.
 
  • Strong and positive body language allows you to build your stress and anger management skills which in today’s fast paced world, can be a life saviour.
A strong personal brand with effective use of body language allows individuals to recognise what is happening around them, if there is a crisis or if a situation needs to be dealt with immediately and helps them to respond quickly, effectively and in a way that truly makes them stand out as an influential leader, powerful executive or a successful entrepreneur.

 

    Personal Reputation Quote

Image Source– Image Group International

 

 

 

As can be seen from Warren Buffet’s quote above, it is extremely easy to ruin your hard earnt reputation in a matter of minutes. This can happen if your body language conveys signals of you being untrustworthy, inauthentic and inconsiderate to others around you. This not only blocks individuals to move ahead in a professional context in the corporate world but it also creates tension in their personal lives.  

Poor body language leads to weak personal branding and it’s a recipe for disaster and something that needs to be dealt with urgently as it conveys a lack of confidence.

Personal Branding, Body Language and Confidence                              Image Source– Image Group International

Body language in business

Image Source– Image Group International

 

 

In today’s tech savvy world, many people including successful businesspersons find it highly uncomfortable to have important fact to face interactions. This can result in dire consequences as they may not be able to put their critical points forward and may even devalue the worth of their personal brand.  

A personal branding coaching system becomes crucial here to avoid such dire consequences. An expert personal branding coach can teach you even if you are an introvert on how to step outside of your comfort zone and have positive, influential and powerful face-face interactions that will truly make you someone that commands respect, trust and authority.  

 

 

As I have said before, one of the reasons many people face issues of miscommunication or a breakdown in communication is that a lot of people find it uncomfortable to talk face-face and therefore, prefer to interact via a digital medium. This is where things can go horribly wrong.

Although technology has its perks, we may deny ourselves important interpersonal cues of communication when communicating through a digital medium (even FaceTime, Skype, etc.) and ultimately risk a breakdown in communications.  

Therefore, being aware of the ways to positively use your body language in order to strengthen your messaging and personal brand while improving one’s face-face communication skills is of utmost importance in order to succeed.

 

“No matter what industry you work in, we are all in the people business. Regardless of how tech savvy you may be, face-face meetings are still the most effective way to capture attention of participants, engage them in conversation and drive productive collaboration.”

  -Michael Massari  (Ceasars Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of National Meetings and Events)    

 

Moreover, body language, personal branding and reputation are all interconnected. Your body language plays a big role in building and also in maintaining your reputation. It is extremely important to build a solid, trustworthy and powerful reputation for an individual because your reputation is your personal branding and something that sets you apart from everyone else in this chaotic world.  

 

 

 

Some examples on what body language does and how it can affect your brand are described below-  

  1. Image is everything! Your body language is one of the primary aspects that others around you use to create an image of you in their minds. Your reputation, credibility and your success all depend on what your image is. Therefore, it is extremely important that you are aware of your body language and how it is contributing to your image.

 

  1. In a corporate environment or any environment where money and power is prevalent the body language of potential investors and clients can give you an intuitive indication if they are an ideal match to work with you or if you are better off without them.

 

  1. Your body language plays an immensely critical part in how successful you are going to be, be it in your personal or professional life.

 

  1. Good body language skills help executives to make their employees feel at ease around them, this in turn, allows employees to be more vulnerable and honest. An honest working environment always results in greater results for any corporation in the long term.

 

  1. Authentic body language is one of the important aspects of what separates a leader who is trusted, recognised and respected as compared to a leader that most people are sceptical about. Body language plays a massive role on who stands out as a powerful leader.

 

 

Non verbal Communication

Image Source– Image Group International

  This article was first published in Thrive Global.

 
    Jon Michail | Image Consultant | Personal Branding Coach | Business and Personal Branding Strategist | Author | Group CEO and Founder, Image Group International | Image Group International are Entrepreneurial Activists… Rebels With a Cause Jon Michail, Founder and award-winning Chief Imagemaker together with his team at Image Group International help executives, entrepreneurs and changemakers to build, grow and monetise their personal brands, (online and offline) by positioning them to stand out so they attract their ideal clientsconnections and investors. They are committed to maximising an individual’s personal impact, influence and value in the ever-changing and disruptive business environment. Image Group International is recognised as Australia’s leading personal brand image advisory, with over 31 years of proven results including China and South East Asia.
 

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