Body Language and Interviews

Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd

subconscious feels threatened				and we move away only to		find		the	other
person moves in yet again!				Your goal at the interview		is	to	make the
interviewer		feel	comfortable -	even	if their space is smaller	or	greater		than
you	would	like.	Try practicing with friends before the interview to see						if you
can	notice	tiny	changes in their face or breathing when you cross						their
comfort zone.			Remember	that	good body language is	in	effect		good

etiquette. Good etiquette is simply behaving in a way to make others feel

completely comfortable and at ease with you.		Territorial zones	vary
enormously around the world, so do bear	this in	mind, particularly if	you
are being interviewed by somebody from a	different culture.

There Is No Substitute For Thorough Preparation

In addition to researching the company, and thinking of examples of situations in the past that actually demonstrate how you have used your skills and strengths at work, in particular prepare for any areas that might be a difficult area of questioning, e.g. what did you think of your last boss? It is very important that you find something to say that is both truthful and positive, no matter what your feelings. A lie will be evident through your body language e.g. a shift in body language, eyes momentarily averted, shallower breathing, hand to face or crossing of body. Once the interviewer suspects a lie, anything else that is said becomes questionable.

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Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd

Eye Contact

When listening and speaking, you should be giving eye contact for the majority of the time. If you are asked a question that requires thought, you will need to avert your eyes to 'find the answer'. Eye movements are known to stimulate different parts of the brain, so if you do not know the answer to a question, do not continue looking at the interviewer, you will not find the answer there! It is perfectly acceptable and even advisable to leave a pause before answering all but the most straightforward question - it not only gives you thinking time, but also indicates to your interviewer that you are giving the question due consideration rather than providing a rehearsed answer. When pausing, try to keep your mouth closed as you will look more intelligent than if your mouth is open, and breathe out through your nose, which will help you stay relaxed (the out breath produces chemicals of calmness). When listening and speaking, aim to keep eye contact for the majority of the time as this will denote a strong level of honesty and straightforwardness. The 'acceptable' level of eye contact varies from one country to the next. In the UK we prefer a 'soft gaze' as opposed to the Scandinavian and Russian more intense look (which the British can find

intimidating), and up to about	8 0 % of	the time	focussed in	the business
triangle (the area across the eyes	leading	up to the	centre of the	hairline).

In a panel interview, remember everybody there will			be party to the decision
as to who receives the job offer.	Give everybody	equal eye contact even		the
ones who seem to be giving little	to you - they	will	be aware whether	you
are including them or not.

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Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd

Creating Rapport

As your interview		starts, your main aim			should be to create a strong sense
of rapport	with	your	interviewer.	Rapport means getting on the same
wavelength	- it doesn't		necessarily	mean	agreeing to everything.

Mirroring - The Truth and the Myths

Many people have heard about mirroring, and wrongly believe that if they copy the movements of the interviewer, this will create rapport, i.e. if the

interviewer sits back, the interviewee should	sit back	too,	then they sit
forward and you sit forward. This ruse will	be obvious	to	the interviewer

who is also an 'expert' at reading body language and it will be clear to them

that	you are effectively	mimicking them which is likely to make them feel
very	uncomfortable and	annoyed.

Mirroring	happens as a result of rapport, you	may be in difficult waters if you
rely on	it to artificially create rapport.	If you watch two strangers in a

restaurant who appear to be getting on very well, you will see their bodies naturally mirror each other. The more we see them 'getting on', or being in rapport, the higher the level of mirroring you will observe.

To create rapport, you need to get your mind focussed on being genuinely

interested in the other person - to								have an intent to understand their
business		need,		their	ideal	candidate,		effectively to	understand	their mind
set.	You		can	help	the rapport		by	showing interest through your body
language		-	by	having	your	torso	and	knees facing	towards t h e m , leaning
very	slightly forward.				By	having	this strong intent to create			rapport, to

understand their thinking the mirroring will almost certainly happen - very naturally.

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Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd

What If My interviewer Starts Off With Negative / Hostile Body Language?

Do not let this throw you, your intent should remain the same - to understand the mindset of the interviewer - what is the problem, what are they hoping for? Remember there is nothing your interviewer wants more than for you to turn out to be the right person for the job - that way they can stop spending their time interviewing and get on with their day job . We

don't know why he / she may appear negative				- they might just		have had
some bad news, or they	have	spent too	long	interviewing poor	candidates,
or perhaps nobody has	told	them	their	body language	is	negative!

Additionally it is worth remembering the interviewer might even be more

nervous	than you are.		This	is surprisingly common but is something very
few of	us consider.		The	line manager who conducts the interview	has
probably	never been	taught		interview skills and the gremlins in his or	her

mind might be saying the interviewee will be judging him or her, they don't know what questions they should really be asking though the candidate will

know	what should	be asked, they might appear foolish		or inexperienced to
the	candidate.	Assume this to be the case	and go		into the	interview
intending to put the interviewer at ease!
Do NOT allow your subconscious to believe			the interview is over, the
interviewer doesn't like you, or the belief will			become	a	reality.	Instead,
ensure you make		them feel as comfortable as	you can,		perhaps by	moving

your chair back a little to give them plenty of 'territorial space', by ensuring your body language remains very open and maintaining interest in them, as described above. Do not aim to mirror their negative body language or you will most certainly discover the interview is over very quickly indeed.

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Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd

Effective Listening

One of the most important strengths your interviewer is likely to be looking for is strong communication skills - in fact in a recent survey good communication skills were ranked as being more important than an MBA amongst a sample of major employers.

What is a good communicator? It is not somebody who is able to talk at length to an individual or a group, but rather somebody who is able to listen effectively and respond accordingly. If you are truly interested in the role and the interviewer, you are more likely to be sitting tall (denoting energy and interest), slightly leaning towards the other, certainly with torso and knees / feet facing them . You will be engaging in conversation (the 'inter' 'view'), not producing the pre-rehearsed monologue. If you are to appear authoritative with a high degree of credibility, your head will be upright. If you are to appear approachable and very open to your interviewer, you head is more likely to be tilted slightly to one side. Do try both postures out in the mirror and notice the difference. You might be moving from one to the other during the interview process.

A Good Communicator listens attentively; a Poor Communicator is more interested in talking than listening.

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Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd

What Should I Do With My Hands?

It is strange that these things on the ends of our arms seem to take care of themselves with no conscious thought all of our lives except when it comes to an interview and then it is as if they have just sprouted!

What you do with your hands needs to be consistent with what you have to offer. If you are applying for a senior position where your offering is very clear - this is what you have to offer, this is what you will do and this is how you will do it - almost take it or leave it, the gestures will show the backs of the hands and when resting, they might be held together in front of you with fingers interlaced in the 'Chairman's pose'. The interviewer will see the backs of your hands indicating that this is a topic you are very clear about and are relatively closed minded over.

If however you are wishing to show that you are open minded and adaptable, a gesture with a strong hand exposing the palm will re-enforce your open mindedness. If you make any gestures with your hands, ensure your hands are strong. Check out in the mirror making a gesture with a weak hand, fingers curled as opposed to a strong handed gesture with fingers straight - you will probably notice that the strong handed gesture makes you appear confident, whilst the weak hand will make you appear - yes, weak!

Remember you are at interview to reveal your 'person' as well as your 'position'. The hands placed in front of you with fingers interlaced will make you appear as if you are trying to hide the person and are just trying to show them the 'position'.

It is good to show a few small gestures with your hands, though there is a strong correlation between fewer and small gestures belonging to the more

articulate	higher	socio	economic	groups	and	frequent	larger	gestures
belonging	to the	less	articulate,	lower	socio	economic	groups.	Body

language is the language we are all born with to communicate our feelings. Before we learn to speak we need to make very big gestures to ensure we are understood and the more articulate we become the fewer body language gestures we need to make to ensure our messages are accurately conveyed. It would be perfectly normal for an individual to make some gestures during an hour long meeting, so do not plan to sit ramrod still or it comes back to

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Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd

hiding	the person	and just being prepared to expose the 'position' part of
you.	It is worth	mentioning here that of course there are cultural variations,

so an executive in Italy is likely to make many more gestures than his or her peer in England.

The Most Important Tip Of All

You

will

have

noticed that almost the entire contents of

these notes

have

been

dedicated

to the time before the interview begins in earnest, and

that

is

for

a

very

good

reason.

Once

the

meaty

interview

questions

begin,

please,

please

almost forget your body language! Yes, forget it!

If

you

follow all the

advice given on

the

preceding

pages, you will be

ready

to begin the interview feeling confident and relaxed whilst at the same time energised and enthusiastic. You will have created a good level of rapport with the interviewer and support staff, and the interviewer should have their 'positive filter' in operation, i.e. they are wanting you to succeed.

Remember that your conscious brain can only handle 3 - 5 bits of information at any one time and all of the conscious brain needs to be wholly dedicated to listening carefully to the interviewer and formulating succinct answers demonstrating your strengths as well as formulating subsequent questions. You can not afford to be thinking of your body language or you will miss vital content.

Do however remain observant to your interviewer's body language (your subconscious will be doing this anyway) and respond accordingly. If you see them 'glazing over', pause, finish quickly and ask them if that is the information they wanted. If they look puzzled, ask them if you have communicated sufficiently clearly - remember, this is an 'inter' 'view', not an opportunity for a monologue from you!

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Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd

I n Summary

Body language is a hugely powerful form of communication - we are experts at reading it, but we need to learn how to speak it effectively. Do not underestimate the length of time it takes to adjust from bad habits - they may well have been with you for a life time - determination and regular practice are the key. Check your body language in a mirror and ask helpful supporters what they think will make the biggest difference for you from the list on the last page. Work only on one aspect at a time until it is firmly 'in the muscle' or happens beyond your conscious awareness - it is then and only then that it becomes truly powerful.

The stages between boxes 2 and 3, and 3 and 4 will take time . This is the time when you are deepening the neurological pathways. Rather like when you first learned to drive a manual car - the early stages were probably rather painful because you had a lot to remember in your conscious brain.

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Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd

The more regularly you practiced, the easier it became as various aspects moved from the conscious to the subconscious. Now as experienced drivers, we drive 'unconsciously'! The more you practice your body language, the faster it will become unconscious, so use every opportunity to practice and ask for support from as many people as you can.

Although this has been written to support you in interview, do not forget that an interview is merely a meeting, so these techniques will work very well in any meeting where you seek to get on with another person.

Start to enjoy the art of people watching and aim to bring your feelings into your conscious brain - what is it precisely that makes me think that those 2 people do not know each other very well, yet they clearly like each other? What exactly am I seeing? You will soon become the same expert in your conscious brain that you are in your subconscious.

Good luck and remember the successful	candidate does not	have	to	be
streets ahead of the number 2 - often	it is a hairsbreadth	down	to	gut

feeling on the part of the interviewer (i.e. their subconscious). What could you do to get you a hairsbreadth or more ahead?

Research And Study

The most famous and widely quoted research was very small and was conducted by Professor Albert Mehrabian, Dept. of Paralinguistics, University of California:

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Body Language and Interviews © Positive Potential Ltd
Other researchers of the subject		include:
Professor Michael Argyle:
•	Human relationships are	established,	developed and maintained
	mainly by non verbal signals ... Non verbal signals have four and a half
	times the power of verbal ...
Professor Ray Birdwhistell:
•	In face-to-face conversation, two thirds		of communication is non-
	verbal.

Dr. Frank Bernieri, Assoc. Professor of Psychology, University of Toledo,

•See page 5

Research results vary. However, they consistently conclude that in a face- to-face encounter, non-verbal communication has considerably more influence upon another person than the content of the speech alone - it cannot be ignored.

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