Reading Body Language Is A Strategic Skill In Business Dealings, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
Reading Body Language Is A Strategic Skill In Business Dealings, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
By: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group ™
It is essential in today’s world of business to be able to read body language. It is a strategic skill that can give you a real advantage in negotiating and in other business dealings. I strongly believe this because of my personal and professional experiences for more than 35 years and because of what modern communication science has to say about body language.
According to Albert Mehrabian, in “Psychology Today” (1968) referring to a personal spoken message – “…… of the total message, 7% is conveyed by words; 38% by the vocal tones, and 55% by facial and body expressions.” In my opinion, this alone confirms the importance of being able to read body language as a strategic skill.
Body language, or nonverbal communication, is a second source of human communication and is often more reliable or essential to understanding what a person really means and what is going on beyond the words. You may have heard the saying about a persons actions being so loud that one cannot hear what they are saying. Accurate knowledge of body language is critical for success in interpersonal relationships in the business world and in personal life.
Acquiring the ability to read body language is a coachable goal and one that I will emphasize more strongly to my clients.
So, what are some of the basics of reading body language? In researching that question, I found a great resource in Max Wideman and his Issacons (abbreviation for Issues and Considerations), which provide a summaries of positive and negative gestures and what meaning they convey. First, here is the summary of positive gestures from Max Wideman’s Issacons.
Acceptance: hand to chest; open arms and hands; touching gestures; moving closer, one to another; preening; sitting on one leg (for female)
Confidence: steepling (fingers touching like a church steeple); hands behind back, authority position; back stiffened; hands in coat pockets with thumbs out; hands on lapels of coat
Expectancy: rubbing palms; jingling money openly; crossed fingers; moving closer
Cooperation, readiness, openness: open hands; hands on hips; hands on mid-thigh while seated; sitting on edge of chair; arms spread, gripping edge of table or desk; moving closer; sprinter’s position; hand-to-face gestures
Evaluation: hand-to-face gestures; head tilted; stroking chin; peering over glasses; taking glasses off, and cleaning; putting eye glass ear piece in mouth; pipe smoker gestures; getting up from table and walking around
Reassurance: touching; pinching flesh; chewing pen or pencil; rubbing over thumb; touching back of chair on entering room; biting finger nails; hands in pockets
Self-control: holding arm behind back; gripping wrist; locked ankles; clenched hands
And here is the summary of negative gestures with the notation from Max Wideman that these gestures descriptions reflect North America gestures and do not necessarily represent gestures correctly in other ethnic cultures.
Boredom: doodling; drumming with fingers; legs crossed, foot kicking; head in palm of hands; blank stare
Defensiveness: arms crossed on chest; legs over chair arms when seated; sitting in arm chair reversed; crossing legs; fist-like gestures; pointing index finger; karate chops; fast eye blinking (I’m lying!)
Frustration, annoyance: short breaths; tchsk sound; tightly clenched hands; wringing hands; fist-like gestures; pointing index finger; running hand through hair; rubbing back of neck; kicking at ground or an imaginary object
Nervousness: clearing throat; whew sound; soft whistling; picking or pinching flesh; fidgeting in chair; hands cover mouth when speaking; not looking at the other person; tugging at pants when seated; jingling money or keys in pocket; tugging at ear; perspiring or wringing of hands
Suspicion: not looking at you; arms crossed; moving away from you; silhouette body towards you; sideways glance; feet/body pointing towards exit; touching or rubbing nose; rubbing eyes; buttoning coat, drawing away
Territorial claim: feet on desk; feet on chair; leaning against or touching an object; placing an object in a desired space; elevating oneself; cigar smoking; leaning back with hands behind head
If you want to become a more effective communicator and gain a real competitive edge and you want to learn more about the strategic skill of reading body language, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com
Reading Body Language Is A Strategic Skill In Business Dealings According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach - To learn more about this author, visit Glenn Ebersole's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Reading Body Language Is A Strategic Skill In Business Dealings, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
By: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group ™
It is essential in today’s world of business to be able to read body language. It is a strategic skill that can give you a real advantage in negotiating and in other business dealings. I strongly believe this because of my personal and professional experiences for more than 35 years and because of what modern communication science has to say about body language.
According to Albert Mehrabian, in “Psychology Today” (1968) referring to a personal spoken message – “…… of the total message, 7% is conveyed by words; 38% by the vocal tones, and 55% by facial and body expressions.” In my opinion, this alone confirms the importance of being able to read body language as a strategic skill.
Body language, or nonverbal communication, is a second source of human communication and is often more reliable or essential to understanding what a person really means and what is going on beyond the words. You may have heard the saying about a persons actions being so loud that one cannot hear what they are saying. Accurate knowledge of body language is critical for success in interpersonal relationships in the business world and in personal life.
Acquiring the ability to read body language is a coachable goal and one that I will emphasize more strongly to my clients.
So, what are some of the basics of reading body language? In researching that question, I found a great resource in Max Wideman and his Issacons (abbreviation for Issues and Considerations), which provide a summaries of positive and negative gestures and what meaning they convey. First, here is the summary of positive gestures from Max Wideman’s Issacons.
Acceptance: hand to chest; open arms and hands; touching gestures; moving closer, one to another; preening; sitting on one leg (for female)
Confidence: steepling (fingers touching like a church steeple); hands behind back, authority position; back stiffened; hands in coat pockets with thumbs out; hands on lapels of coat
Expectancy: rubbing palms; jingling money openly; crossed fingers; moving closer
Cooperation, readiness, openness: open hands; hands on hips; hands on mid-thigh while seated; sitting on edge of chair; arms spread, gripping edge of table or desk; moving closer; sprinter’s position; hand-to-face gestures
Evaluation: hand-to-face gestures; head tilted; stroking chin; peering over glasses; taking glasses off, and cleaning; putting eye glass ear piece in mouth; pipe smoker gestures; getting up from table and walking around
Reassurance: touching; pinching flesh; chewing pen or pencil; rubbing over thumb; touching back of chair on entering room; biting finger nails; hands in pockets
Self-control: holding arm behind back; gripping wrist; locked ankles; clenched hands
And here is the summary of negative gestures with the notation from Max Wideman that these gestures descriptions reflect North America gestures and do not necessarily represent gestures correctly in other ethnic cultures.
Boredom: doodling; drumming with fingers; legs crossed, foot kicking; head in palm of hands; blank stare
Defensiveness: arms crossed on chest; legs over chair arms when seated; sitting in arm chair reversed; crossing legs; fist-like gestures; pointing index finger; karate chops; fast eye blinking (I’m lying!)
Frustration, annoyance: short breaths; tchsk sound; tightly clenched hands; wringing hands; fist-like gestures; pointing index finger; running hand through hair; rubbing back of neck; kicking at ground or an imaginary object
Nervousness: clearing throat; whew sound; soft whistling; picking or pinching flesh; fidgeting in chair; hands cover mouth when speaking; not looking at the other person; tugging at pants when seated; jingling money or keys in pocket; tugging at ear; perspiring or wringing of hands
Suspicion: not looking at you; arms crossed; moving away from you; silhouette body towards you; sideways glance; feet/body pointing towards exit; touching or rubbing nose; rubbing eyes; buttoning coat, drawing away
Territorial claim: feet on desk; feet on chair; leaning against or touching an object; placing an object in a desired space; elevating oneself; cigar smoking; leaning back with hands behind head
If you want to become a more effective communicator and gain a real competitive edge and you want to learn more about the strategic skill of reading body language, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com
Reading Body Language Is A Strategic Skill In Business Dealings According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach - To learn more about this author, visit Glenn Ebersole's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
|||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Glenn's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Make It Happen Salesperson Selection Why Banks Say No eguide Write Marketing Plan Relational Software |
|
 | ||
 |
The Top 10 GTD Times Posts
Best Posts for Productivity | |
 |
The Top 10 ProBlogger Posts
Best Posts for Bloggers | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
