Developing a positive Body Language
Only 7% of communication is verbal. Body language represents 93% of communication. Effective
communicators make effective leaders. Hence it is mandatory for managers to develop positive body language
skills in order to be more effective in your leadership roles. Unfortunately, Indian managers spend 93% of their
time in attending training programs to improve their oral and written communication skills. Whereas they spend
only 7% of their time polishing their body language skills.
Americans spend US$ 1 billion annually on training programs to develop communication skills. However, 70%
of these budgets are spent on body language workshops. In recent times, China is in the forefront of conducting
body language workshops and aims to train 100,000 managers in developing positive body language skills by
2002. A majority of these managers are employed in export oriented units targeting U.S. markets. Japan, was
one of the pioneers in this field and continued to conduct advanced research on the effect of body language
synchronization on productivity. However, the last decade has seen the Japanese move away from people
oriented issues to kaizen,TQM and quality related issues. What is positive body language? Body language is not
your outward appearance, but the way you conduct yourself. One of the most important signs of positive body
language is congruence. Congruence is the ability to be comfortable with oneself in attire, posture and
movement. Congruence is the ability to be at ease with oneself. Congruence can be cultivated. Congruent
individuals are more likely to be noticed in a group.
How can congruence be developed? Congruence can be cultivated through a simple visualisation. Just imagine
your life in slow motion. Undertake every activity as if participating in a slow motion movie. Move slowly,
steadily but purposefully. Avoid jerky movements as you walk. One should flow like the movement of a fine
nibbed ink-pen on smooth paper. The mind and body are intricately linked. The more relaxed your mind is, the
more positive is your body language. Meditation is an effective tool towards cultivating a soothing state of
mind, resulting in powerful body language. Zen masters have a permanent soothing, meditative look on their
faces, cultivated by years of practicing meditation. Zen meditation increases anti-oxidant levels in blood,
reducing free radicals, thus reducing the vagaries of ageing. Zen masters in their seventies and eighties sport a
youthful, radiant look on their faces, as a result of their disciplined meditative practices.
Silence is another tool to cultivate powerful body language. Attentive listening is powerful body language.
Effective managers spend 80% of their time listening and 20% of their time talking. Breathing rates, blinking
rates, eye movements, voice pitch, voice tone, voice timbre, facial gestures and body postures are a few of the
components which can be improved to cultivate a positive body language. However care should be taken to
improve one component at a time. Only long hours of practice coupled with strict supervision of qualified
experts can ensure the integration of these body language skills into your daily communication patterns.
Attending body language workshops is one of the ways in which you can discover the present status of your
body language quotient (BLQ) and strategies to improve the same.
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Murli Menon is the President of phenoMenon consultants inc., Ahmedabad. For further queries about
phenoMenon’s stress management workshops based on tribal meditation email zenlp@[Link]