Body Language During Interview
Body Language During Interview
1. Sit all the way back in your seat
2. Don't go for direct eye contact
3. Use hand gestures while speaking
4. Show your palms
5. Plant your feet on the ground
6. Work on your walk
7. Breathe deeply, and speak on the exhale
8. Nod your head while listening
9. Mirror Your Interviewer
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[Link] Everyone
12. Shake Hands
Sit all the way back in your seat
• Sit firmly and lean your back
straight against the chair
• Its an automatic signal of
assurance and confidence
• Don’t slouch
Don't go for direct eye contact
• An effective way to ensure you
look interested and engaged is
to look different parts of
someone's face every two
seconds, rotating from eyes, to
nose, to lips
• Never just drilling into the
interviewer's eyes
Use hand gestures while speaking
• You can put your hands on your
knees or you can move your
hands when you speak
• Moving hands while speaking
shows honesty and integrity
Show your palms
• When your palms are up, it
signals honesty, trust and
engagement
• It’s one of the reasons we
shake hands, to show the
open palm
• If we don’t see open palm
gestures, it puts us on our
guard
Plant your feet on the ground
• During interview always keep
your feet firmly on the ground
• There's also a scientific
benefit to keeping your feet
grounded. Planted feet can
help you go between creative
thought and highly complex
rational thought
Work on your walk
• Interviewers often make a hiring judgment within the
first 10 seconds of meeting you. How you walk into
the room is a part of that judgment.
• Walk with confidence, spine straight, shoulders
pulled back and head up while walking
• Each stride should be roughly one to two feet wide.
• Walk directly toward the person you are meeting
with every body part pointing in his direction,
maintaining eye contact with occasional breaks to the
side.
Breathe deeply, and speak on the exhale
• One way to soothe interview nerves is to breathe
properly
• Focusing on the breath is a vital part of the interview
process. It is recommended to inhale when the
interviewer asks you a question, then speaking on
the exhale, following the air flow
• Deep breathing engages our parasympathetic
reaction, which calms us down
• Taking 10 deep, diaphragmatic breaths before the
interview reduces our heart rate, blood pressure and
stress hormone level
Nod your head while listening
• Aside from keeping eye and face
contact, nodding your head while
listening is an additional way to show
attentiveness
• Nod your head occasionally to let them
know you are enjoying and understand
what is being said
Mirror your interviewer
• While your default should be to sit
up straight, aligning your body's
position to that of the
interviewer's, known as mirroring,
shows admiration and agreement
• If Interviewer smiles, then smile
back
• If Interviewer wants agreement,
nod your head
Smile
• A genuine smile is often
contagious and can
immediately create a
more positive
environment
• Keep your face smiling
and positive while
answering
Address everyone
• If you have more than
one person interviewing
you at once, make sure
you briefly address both
people with your gaze
and return your
attention to the person
who has asked you a
question
Shake hands
• A firm handshake can help you to
demonstrate confidence, create a
bond, and become more memorable to
your interviewer — all in less than
three seconds
• So it’s recommend mastering your
handshake
• But don’t shake hands voluntarily.
Reciprocate, if Interviewer initiates the
same