You should think about it. If your body could talk, what would it say? Are you friendly, approachable or intimidating? Do you project that you’re ready for a raise? We place a great deal of importance on our appearance, the clothes we wear and managing first impressions. Did you know that studies reveal that 38% of a person’s perception of us is based on Body Language (BL)?

Therefore, in addition to learning how to dress to our advantage, it helps to know how to consciously direct our body’s language to send out the right messages. Whether intentional or not, your gestures, ee contact and posture will reflect your attitude and sentiments. Did you know that you can hear a smile in your voice? Try saing hello with a frown. Hear and feel how it sounds.

In the United States, avoiding eye contact can imply hiding something or being nervous. Americans have natural eye contact about 80% of the time. Asian cultures are comfortable with much less. Allowing your shoulders to curve forward makes you appear passive and/or tired. Contrarily, having overly squared shoulders can make you appear rigid and inflexible.

The trick is in understanding the subtle messages you send and reading how other people respond to you. Here are two simple guidelines you can use:

1. Smooth, curved and flowing gestures are perceived as gentle, friendly, approachable and sensitive, such as gracefully pointing with a curved open palm.
2. Sharp, straight or angular gestures are often perceived as being intimidating, authoritative and sometimes aggressive.

If you naturally use either of these BL styles, you might want to observe the responses your body language elicits in conjunction with any desired outcomes. If, as a manager, your style is very gentle and you experience difficulty commanding authority, then you could consider sharpening your gestures a bit.

Notice how others communicate and respond to your communications. You’ll be clearer in managing personal and professional relationships. The beauty of body language is that you don’t need to change your clothes in the middle of a meeting in order to fit into the situation. You always have control over your gestures and comportment.