Body language is a powerful tool that you can use to your benefit in any conversation. As the unspoken piece of communication, body language helps us reveal our feelings, emphasize a point and build greater trust within a group.
American author and social psychologist Amy Cuddy was the first to discover how changing your body language can make you feel more powerful and confident. Although simple, the use of strong body language techniques can help you gain control in any conversation.
Through the use of facial expressions, hand gestures and tone of voice, non-verbal communication can be used for you or against you, depending on what it looks like. Once you know how to use it to your benefit, you’ll also be more capable of understanding and interpreting other people’s body language!
Using body language to set the tone of the conversation
The difference between a relaxed conversation and a tense one lies in the arms of body language. Experts agree that nearly 93% of all communication is a mix between non-verbal behaviour and tone of voice. While our words are important, how we express ourselves matters so much more!
If you want to appear more confident, relaxed and friendly, it’s important to use effective body language techniques to help set the tone of the conversation.
Some of the best ways to do this is by:
- Maintaining comfortable eye contact
- Having an open, relaxed posture and face toward the person you’re conversing with
- Using calm and friendly facial expressions that gives off a sense of positivity and interest in a conversation
How mirroring can shift the dynamic of a conversation
Mirroring is an underrated communication technique that helps you build trust, display greater empathy and is more likely to lead to mutual understanding in any conversation. On a subconscious level, mirroring a person’s body posture and nonverbal behaviour signals to them that they are more connected and engaged with you.
Mirroring starts by observing a person’s body language and subtly adjusting your own to match. Better understood in the neuroscientific community is “limbic synchrony”, physically matching the behaviour of someone else can create an emotional bond and lead to greater cohesion.
It’s not about what you say but how you say it
When it comes to body language, your hand gestures and posture are only part of the puzzle – the other key component is your tone of voice. How you speak can say more about your confidence and reliability than what you’re actually saying.
To improve your tone, it’s beneficial to practice speaking at the right volume without mumbling. It’s also important to pay attention to your cadence. When we speak too quickly, it can show a sign of nervousness or lack of self-confidence.
Takeaways
- Body language makes up 93% of a conversation and consists of facial expressions, hand gestures and tone of voice
- You can transform the tone of any conversation by using comfortable eye contact, offering an open and welcoming posture, as well as incorporating the mirroring technique to emphasize understanding, connection and engagement
- To improve the tone of your voice, slow down your cadence, enunciate each word and speak clearly and confidently