Why appearance and body language is crucial for your success in professional life

Body languageand appearance falls under the non-verbal communication category. The power ofbody language is often under estimated. The fact is that no matter how wiselyyou choose your words, if your appearance or body language is not supportingthe message you are trying to convey, it’s not going to work. Body language ismuch more than making eye contact, firm handshake or continuously smiling (smilingis good but having a smile on your face all the time can make you look quitesheepish).

Following aresome points that you must remember and apply in your business meetings andcommunications.

Getting the aid of appearance:

When we talkof appearance, it includes both.

i)          Your appearance in oral communication

ii)         The appearance of your message inwritten communication

Good brainsare undoubtedly more important, but good looks do not go in vain either. Infact, they become essential if meeting with clients or making sales is includedin your job description. Spend some of your earnings on buying good professionaldresses, shoes, jewelry or perfume. As far as written communication isconcerned, use good quality papers, envelopes, and most importantly a neatorganized message. Typos or grammatical mistakes will also ruin the appearanceof your message.

Body Language:

Your bodyposture, gestures, expressions, hand movements or your voice tone, each of themcontributes in making your communication effective or ineffective. The sooneryou realize it, the better your chances to improve. Imagine yourself indifferent professional scenarios and visualize your body language. Were you tooaggressive or dominant when communicating with your subordinates? Did you havethat closed body posture during the last business meeting you had? Do you thinkyour interviewee noticed that you were nervous, even when all of your answerswere reasonably good? Body language can convey some pretty useful messages evenbefore you have uttered a single word.

Improving your body language:

Improving yourbody language needs practice and a lot of that. It’s not easy to change yourgestures, movements or posture that you have been carrying since yourchildhood, but it’s not impossible at all. Start from your facial expressionsand voice. Make eye contacts when necessary; try not to reveal the negativeemotions during business meetings from your face e.g. boredom, anger ortiredness. Record your voice and then listen to it. This practice will give youan idea on how understandable your oral communication is. Avoid making gesturesas much as you can, especially if you are meeting some foreigners. Don’t makeunnecessary movements while talking; it will only distract your audience. Youcan even control your nervousness by just acting more confident. Ask yourfriends or family members to comment on your body language and if they are kindenough to point out some shortcomings, try to improve on them.