10 ways to show respect through Body Language during a conversation

Richard Branson says," There's nothing as company culture, just treat your employee as you want to be treated."

One thing we all want is Respect. It's important for us to be respected, but how many of us actually give respect to others? Sometimes, unknowingly we tend to behave in a way that the person in front of us, doesn't feel respected. Here are 10 quick tips, to show respect in your behaviour during a conversation.

Things to do:

1. Ask Open ended questions

If someone is sharing something with you or even talking to you, you should ask open ended questions. If you ask open ended questions the person will feel that you are actually taking interest. Also, asking open ended questions will make the person more open up and if the person talks more, you both will succeed in making good rapport with each other.


2.. Smile

When you smile, you are welcoming. And when you are smiling during a conversation, it is very accommodating gesture for the other person. A nice and genuine smile will make the person feel comfortable and the person ends up opening more to you.

3. Nodding

To give someone respect, it is also recommended to nod during the conversation. Nodding will tell you that the person is actively listening to what you are saying. Don't bobblehead, meaning nod too much , which might symbolize you are in a hurry and are rushing the conversation.

4. Body Point

Have you ever noticed a person , when you are talking t them, only the head is on your side, the rest of the body isn't. Well, if you didn't, notice henceforth, and if you did, that means the person is not into the conversation at all. It is very important to have a total body point when a person is speaking to you, so that you would listen to him/her completely and also, the person would feel good. 

5.  Subjugating gestures

These are the gestures which are opposite to the dominating gestures. Where palm down is a dominating gesture , palm up is a subjugating one. If we show any authoritative gesture in a conversation the person who is speaking might feel lack of respect. Few dominating gestures are : Cowboy cross sitting, Hands behind head, Legs on chairs or table etc. 

THINGS TO AVOID

1.  Smirk

This is one look we are very familiarised with . So, now that we know, how does it feel to see on others face, let us avoid doing the same with others. The smirk or contempt is a sign we feel superior or others are inferior to us, So, better avoid this face in any conversation.

2. Using the phone

Using the phone during a conversation symbolizes absence of  respect. It is very simple, as if you are saying, I have better things on my phone than what you are speaking. So, even if it is a child you are speaking to just put the phone aside when you are listening to them. They would feel you are actually interested in what they are saying.

3. Shifty Eyes

If we are not interested in the person we tend to look here and there. On the opposite, if we maintain eye contact it means we are interested in the person. Some people are just habituated of having shifty eyes while talking, but you need to understand that an unknown person would not know your behaviour. So, avoid shifty eyes. 

4.  Fidgeting

Fidgeting is a big NO NO , when it comes to any conversation. If you are continuously shaking your legs, or tapping on the table, the person whom you are talking to will know you are not interested in the conversation. If you are really restless and can't help it, try flexing your toes inside the shoes, or stretching the fingers ( closing up the fist and opening it up).

5. Using manipulators

Manipulators should not be confused with fidgeting. Manipulators include gestures like adjusting collars or sleeves, scratching or wiping face, picking up imaginary lint from the dress etc. The more you use manipulators the less confident you look. 

And finally one thing to say, if it is your employee, a child, or even a stranger, paying respect to everyone will fetch us respect. 

Like they say, Give respect , get respect. 

Smile naturally ! It's important.

Many of us don't think that smile has that much of importance in our daily life. But little do we know that Smile is an important factor for forming first impression.

Recently the Femina Miss India beauty pageant show was on a general entertainment channel. We will start with the first picture which was on Newspaper.

 Smile

Now , we have 21 beautiful contestants here. We are not debating if the picture is photo-shopped or not. But we will pay close attention to the smile.

Out of 21 girls, 13 chose to give sensuous look. Sensuous look is when a girl has her chin up a little bit, eyes a bit narrowed and lips opened...again a bit.

But few girls chose to smile here. Now let us look at their smiles.

Now no.3,13 contestant is smiling but if you look at the smile, the smile is not looking natural. Only lips are stretched .

No.7 is smiling too. Her eyes have narrowed compared to others, which gives an impression that it is a real smile.

No.9,10, fake smile again. When we smile, the smile should be stretched and eyes should be narrowed down.

No. 11 and 19, are showing teeth, which is supposed to be a good smile, but are miserably failing in that.

Last are No. 14 and 21, who are smiling, which is mostly looking like smirk. We don't want to smirk on people who are supposed be judging us.

So, next time, if you smile, in any competition, try smiling naturally, not for people, for yourself.

7 skills a good salesperson requires

1. First Impression

The process of forming first impression takes just few seconds. Some researchers say that it may take fractions of a second to form an impression. Therefore, how to present yourself the first time you are meeting with a client is really important. There are various things that you need to take care like, the expressions, the head movements, the gestures, postures, body point etc.

2. Elevator Pitch

The next skill to come into the list is the elevator pitch. The moment the sales person shakes hand ( which is also to be learned) with the client he/she should know what to say. Whether you should say your name, your company or about your product, the sequence matters. Therefore preparing an elevator pitch would really help . This way , a salesperson won't have to utter, look for words, or even use fillers in his/her speech.

3. Open Body Language

Open body language contributes a lot in any conversation. A better knowledge of open body language will let you make a good rapport with the client. There is no use of a good introduction if someone speaks with a terrible body language. Use of open body language is required while interacting with the prospective client. If the client is with closed body language during the discussion , you can also make your client open through following the body language techniques.

4. Mirroring

The concept of mirroring is used to form a bond and rapport building . Mirroring is copying each other's gestures and postures to symbolize, they are in the same page with the person they are talking to. People do it subconsciously for them, who they like. Some people mirror the voice, the pitch , the tone and even cadence. Salespersons are now learning mirroring to impress the client .

5. Micro Expressions

Micro Expressions are the emotional leakage which are involuntary when a person wants to hide the feelings and emotions. Micro Expression lasts for 1/10th to 1/25th of a second. Training on micro expression will not only improve the understanding of expressions, but also enhance the emotional intelligence. A person who understands other person's emotions is more likely to become successful as he/she can control the conversation.

6. Negotiation

Not everyone's cup of tea is Negotiation. Some are born with the skill, some learn it and some have to prepare hard for it. But now we have an opportunity to learn and enhance his/her negotiation skills. A good negotiation should always end up with the smile. Both parties should compromise but it should be a win-win situation for both. A good salesperson should understand that he/she  should stop when the body language of the client just starts to change and not to wait for disgust or anger or even sadness.

7. Respecting Space

In the world of non verbal communication, Space is referred as proximity. When there are two people talking , it is very important to respect each other's space. A salesperson should know when to lean into a conversation and when to back out, when to reach out to the client non verbally and when to allow the client. Knowledge of right use of proximity gives the person a big advantage during a conversation. Wrong use of proximity may land up problems for the salesperson .