Saturday, 1 Apr 2017
Successful entrepreneurs know how to carry themselves in a way that helps sell their brand.
How you present yourself says a lot. It is also key in securing the trust of both your employees and customers.
One should understand every aspect of the business, including body language when dealing with all kinds of people.
Here are a few tips:
Build trust with people around you. When you are involved in a business, you don’t just let things fall into place and pray hard that everything will be alright.
When talking to people, you need to face them directly while maintaining eye contact. It is a no-no to look beyond the person you are talking to.
Nodding assures the other person that you are interested to what he is saying. It is nonverbal sign informing that you are engaged in the conversation.
Think before you speak. In any conversation, we have a responsibility to be careful with the words that we choose. It is also important to choose words that can be easily understood. You wouldn’t want to have a ‘guessing game’ for a conversation.
What you say is important. Hand gestures can can cue the other person to an important point that you are making.
Be critical but not too feisty. What has been your experience when you had your job interview? The way the interviewer and interviewee position themselves during the conversation can affect the quality of conversation.
You may not realize it, but when an interviewer sits directly towards the interviewee, it may make the interviewee feel intimidated thus, no matter how qualified an applicant may be based on his work experience, he or she may not feel confident enough to answer the questions.
Be in control. When negotiating, you body language will strongly affect how you are perceived. Always stand tall and straight. It exerts a positive aura.
When seated, make sure that you sit high. Slouching may mean being uninterested, boastful and not reassuring. And again, when talking to others, the seats should face each other at an angle, rather than directly.
When negotiating and seated on a sofa, instead of leaning your back towards the sofa, sit on the edge while your hand is rested on the arm rest.
Be the boss, yet be among your employees. One of the “diamonds” of a company is having loyal employees. As a boss, you can only win the hearts of your employees if you make them feel that they can always talk to you. Always have a positive attitude. Come to work with a smile.
Your staff will have a negative feeling towards you if you always talk to them with crossed arms and clenched fists. These gestures are sure ways of not making your employees feel comfortable at work. Remember that your company’s growth would also depend on your relationship with your employees.
Do you have any other tips you’ve personally noticed throughout your career, that you would advise others on? It’s more beneficial to think about than you might realise, Anatole