Experts say that roughly 93% of communication is non-verbal. That’s a deceiving number, because everyone then thinks that the rest is body language. But it’s not. According to a study led by Dr. Mehrabian Professor Emeritus of Psychology at UCLA, that percentage breaks down into three areas. Seven percent of communication is verbal. 38 percent is vocal and 55 percent is visual. So even though it’s only 55 percent, and not 93%, how you communicate with your face, arms, hands and body really says a lot about you – and it can tell employers a ton.
Body language experts can detect evasiveness, lack of confidence and even lying by someone’s body language. The really scary thing is that you don’t have to be an expert to see these things in some people, just observant, which is what some employers are.
So, with so much at stake, how are you preparing your body language for your interviews? Let me guess, you aren’t, which can be a giant mistake. Because you never get to see yourself during in an interview. So how do you know how you come off? Short answer: you don’t.
Here’s what I’d suggest. Do several practice interviews with someone you know. You may even want to video yourself and watch it afterward. If you really want to see how you do, try and set up a practice interview with someone you don’t know and get his feedback after. That way you’ll likely be more nervous and some bad body language habits may creep in.
If you think you're already good and don’t want to do any practicing, here are a few pitfalls you should be aware of.
1. Do you look your interviewer in the eye when you talk to him? If you don't, he'll think you're either unconfident about what you're talking about or you're being evasive.
2. Do you cross your arms at any point during the interview? That’s classic defensive behaviour that I, as an interviewer will try to get to the bottom of (quick tip: you don't want an interviewer thinking like this).
3. Do you smile and smile often? Smiling is just a great way to diffuse tension and project confidence. Besides, the best way to get people to smile at work is to hire people who smile naturally. Companies like smilers.
4. Do you fidget in your chair or tap your hands on the table when you talk to the interviewer? This is classic nervousness that’s showing up for a number of reasons. It could be the question that's being asked or the environment. Either way an intuitive interviewer will notice and drill into it, which isn't a good thing.
5. Do you mumble your answers? This in general isn't okay, especially if the company is looking for a 'good communicator', which is what you'll see as a 'desired' trait for MOST job descriptions, especially entry level positions.
There are a number of other things I can detect when I interview someone that may indicate that they’re not the best fit for us, mostly because they tell us that the candidate isn’t all that confident, and we ALL want confident employees. So don’t unwittingly give an employer the impression that you’re not confident by falling into one of these pitfalls.
So, with so much at stake, how are you preparing your body language for your interviews? Let me guess, you aren’t, which can be a giant mistake. Because you never get to see yourself during in an interview. So how do you know how you come off? Short answer: you don’t.
Here’s what I’d suggest. Do several practice interviews with someone you know. You may even want to video yourself and watch it afterward. If you really want to see how you do, try and set up a practice interview with someone you don’t know and get his feedback after. That way you’ll likely be more nervous and some bad body language habits may creep in.
If you think you're already good and don’t want to do any practicing, here are a few pitfalls you should be aware of.
1. Do you look your interviewer in the eye when you talk to him? If you don't, he'll think you're either unconfident about what you're talking about or you're being evasive.
2. Do you cross your arms at any point during the interview? That’s classic defensive behaviour that I, as an interviewer will try to get to the bottom of (quick tip: you don't want an interviewer thinking like this).
3. Do you smile and smile often? Smiling is just a great way to diffuse tension and project confidence. Besides, the best way to get people to smile at work is to hire people who smile naturally. Companies like smilers.
4. Do you fidget in your chair or tap your hands on the table when you talk to the interviewer? This is classic nervousness that’s showing up for a number of reasons. It could be the question that's being asked or the environment. Either way an intuitive interviewer will notice and drill into it, which isn't a good thing.
5. Do you mumble your answers? This in general isn't okay, especially if the company is looking for a 'good communicator', which is what you'll see as a 'desired' trait for MOST job descriptions, especially entry level positions.
There are a number of other things I can detect when I interview someone that may indicate that they’re not the best fit for us, mostly because they tell us that the candidate isn’t all that confident, and we ALL want confident employees. So don’t unwittingly give an employer the impression that you’re not confident by falling into one of these pitfalls.
