Ace Your Next Interview With These Body Language Tips

Simple body language tweaks to give you an edge in professional environments

1. Observe

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Arguably the most important part of any interview is observing the other person in the room. The vast majority of human communication, somewhere between 55% and 85% on any given day, takes place through nonverbal cues. To understand the impact that you make on someone all you really need to do is look! In particular pay attention to their eyes and their feet (without directly looking down). If their feet are bouncing around or their eyes tend to look down and avoid eye contact then they may be uncomfortable, so try to lighten the mood! If they have their legs crossed and still, and they make solid eye contact, you're doing great!

2. Eye Contact

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You've heard it before, and now you'll hear it again. Eye contact is key! However, what you may not know is why. Often times when eyes wander it can be seen as unprofessional, especially if your eyes are elsewhere on a person's body. To avoid this uncomfortable confusion, keep your eyes in an imaginary box that constitutes a "professional gaze". This is a box that includes the forehead and the eyes, but ends at the tip of the nose. Make sure not to look below the nose to avoid being misconstrued!

3. Proper Posture

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Posture may be something we aren't too good with these days. After all, we text and are on our phones pretty frequently. In an interview or a presentation is one time that you may want to change that. People are more likely to respect someone with good posture, and by sitting straight up you open up your chest, which instinctively cues others to be inclined to trust you. This unconscious bias could be what helps score you your next job. In addition, try to do other things that help open up your body. Try to avoid crossing your arms over your chest, which can seem restricting and untrustworthy. instead, place them over your lap.

4. No Happy Feet!

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Yes, the penguin from Happy Feet is adorable. But under no circumstances do you want happy feet! Ex FBI Agent Joe Navarro claims that feet are the most honest part of the body. This is because it is rare that the movement of the feet is conscious. In most cases they simply reflect our mind. "Happy Feet," in the case of an interview, are more like nervous feet. As blood pressure rises and our hearts begin to speed up we tend to try to calm ourselves down. In order to accomplish this the brain gets the body to move in order to activate nerve endings. That is why your hands or feet may shake. Also be aware of pacifying actions that come in the form of nervous ticks. This could be scratching your legs or hair. It could be biting your nails or cracking your knuckles. Whatever your version of "happy feet" is, be aware of it and try not to let it distract your audience from what you have to say.

5. Maintain Balance

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Lastly, be sure to maintain balance, both in your body language and your speaking. Try not to be too aggressive or dominant in your speech or posture, especially if you are being interviewed by a member of the opposite gender. Men being interviewed by women often take up too much space in the interaction, which can lead to an uncomfortable dynamic and the belittling of the female interviewer. For women being interviewed by men, men are often off-put by an opposing dominant presence (according to the Stanford Press). No matter the gender of you or your interviewer, always be sure to avoid being to dominant or too submissive. If you are having a tough time figuring out if you are doing either, simply mimic the body language of your interviewer! People naturally find comfort in people like themselves, so that can never be a bad place to start!

I Hope you enjoyed these tips! Thanks for reading and good luck!