10 tricks of successful people’s body language

1. Support direct posture

Our brain equates power and the amount of space a person occupies. Standing straight, even with your shoulders arched a little back, we demonstrate a position of power and visually occupy more space. Slouching, on the contrary, take up less space and radiate uncertainty.

If you are sitting, you will look more confident if you put your legs straight, spread your arms wider and spread your things, if possible, to occupy as much space as possible.
2. Do not abuse gestures

Increased gestures indicate that you are either delaying the truth or hiding something. Confident people gesticulate a little, but use open gestures that say that there is nothing to hide. The most common of them are open palms and Steve Jobs' favorite pose is a “pyramid” (touching the fingertips of one hand with the fingertips of the fingers of the other hand, without holding the palm of your hand).
3. Talk at the bottom of their voice range

In the workplace, the quality characteristics of your voice can be a decisive factor in how you are perceived. Those whose voices sound high look less sensitive, weaker and more nervous compared to those whose voices sound lower.

Try to emphasize important points, reducing the tone of voice. Speech therapists teach a simple method of reducing the tonality of the voice: to tighten your lips and say "am ham, am ham, am ham." This will relax your ligaments and lower your voice to the optimum pitch.
4. Attentive to your interlocutor

Whatever you talk to, looking at your watch is a clear sign of disrespect, impatience, and demonstrating that you have better things to do. The same applies to the location of the body: turning the body away from the interlocutors is also a picture of disinterest or distrust. To show that you are an attentive interlocutor, you need to turn the body to the speaker and tilt your head slightly.
5. Do not cross limbs, do not clench fists

This seems to be the most common body language rule. If you want to be perceived as open, confident and interested, do not cross arms and legs, do not put physical barriers.

Clenched fists, like crossed limbs, mean that you have taken a defensive position and you have something to hide.
6. Relate their movements to actions

The correspondence between your words with facial expressions and movements always makes it possible to feel how sincere you are. When we are nervous or stressed, we calm down thanks to non-verbal actions: we rub our hands, drum our fingers on the table, smile nervously, fiddle with jewelry, constantly make contact with our face or hairdo, and fidget. And when we do all this, we strip our credibility statements. It is stillness that sets the mind on calm and confidence.
7. Hold eye contact

Sustained eye contact indicates confidence, leadership, strength and intelligence. You need to keep your eyes on the same level if you are talking about something important. For example, looking down, you are hinting at a lack of confidence or shyness - so any of your words lose their force.

In general, eye contact during a conversation needs to be maintained between 50-60% of the time. If you caught the interlocutor’s eyes, it’s good to hold him for 7-10 seconds longer when you listen than when you speak. A simple way to maintain eye contact during a meeting: look at the interlocutor during the greeting for as long as you can see their color.
8. They smile a lot

A smile suggests that you are an open, reliable, friendly and confident person. The human brain responds positively to smiling people. Moreover, it remembers better than those who smile.

Frowning, you show that you are upset about what is happening around, and also condemn. Having smiled, you are most likely to call a smile in response and improve your emotional state and your interlocutor for the better.
9. Use the correct handshake.

Weak handshakes are a signal of uncertainty, while too strong can be perceived as aggression. Adapt your handshakes to each person and situation, but make sure they are always confident.

A correct handshake is important for any specialist, and especially for women, whose self-confidence is evaluated by a handshake much more often than men.
10. Keep a distance

If you stand too close to the interlocutor (closer than 40 cm), then neglect your personal space and put the interlocutor in an awkward position. Do not break this rule, especially when you first meet.

Have you been legally refused a vacation?

the employer can give the vacation to whom it is obliged and for how long for Work.ua experts of the Unified electronic system "KADROVIK-online" explain.

Know to whom and by how much, according to the law, your management is obliged to provide leave, and to whom it has the right to refuse. And if the employer breaks the law, do not hesitate to tell him about it.

How to find an approach to a problem boss

1. Obsessive friend

Such a leader is overly friendly, constantly invites you to chat after hours, pulls you into office gossip. Sometimes he enjoys his own influence and builds friendships to the detriment of work. He cannot make a tough decision regarding a subordinate. Only those whom he does not like can be dismissed with ease.
How to behave with an “obsessive friend”

With such a boss, the main thing is to establish clear rules of work and boundaries. If you do this consciously and in advance, then it will be easy to control the situation. For example, you can remain friendly in communication with the leader throughout the day, but refuse to go to the bar together after work.

But it’s important not to set unnecessary boundaries, because of which you may no longer be considered a friend. Such a leader should see you as an ally, then your position will be stronger than expected.

See also: What to give to barefoot? About presentations and gifts.
2. Micromanager

With such a leader, you feel constantly monitored. The micromanager pays too much attention to trifles, constantly hanging over the soul. The staff is discouraged and even annoying. If your boss is a micro-manager, then you are familiar with situations of non-acceptance of reports only because you used a paper clip, not a bracket.
How to work with the "micromanager"

To win the favor of such superiors, you need to do the work as the leader sees in his imagination. And in order to know what is on his mind, you need to ask specific questions, analyze and remember all the signals coming from him.

But all is well in moderation, so do not let the boss's obsession with details make you feel untenable. Remember: a good report without a bracket is still a good report. Although the boss is obsessed with details, your good work is appreciated first.
3. Tyrant

The tyrant constantly makes decisions that nourish his ego and is primarily concerned about how to maintain power. The tyrant looks at the staff as a gang of robbers on board his ship. He has a classification of people in his head, and he behaves accordingly with them:

    workers with good achievements who call into question his ideas, he considers rebels;
    those who accompany their results with gestures of loyalty will be in the place of a senior assistant;
    if the employee does not work well, he remains to clean the latrine and scrub the deck.

How to neutralize the "tyrant"

A tyrant has a good strategy of presenting his ideas so that he can ascribe to himself some of the merits. Then he satisfies his ego without tearing your idea to pieces. And such a boss must be praised every time in order to remain in good standing.

In addition, in order to survive under the command of a tyrant, you need to finely choose the time and place of the battle. If you practice introspection, you can determine when to join the battle, and when you just do not need to pay attention to what is happening.
4. Incompetent

A common situation is when the head of the subordinate employs old-timers of the company with knowledge and skills that the inexperienced leader lacks.
How to interact with an "incompetent" leader

If you find it difficult to work with such a boss, most likely you are more experienced than him. If you are not able to change such an appointment, it is important to suppress your vanity and share experience and knowledge without poking a person in it. Give information that the leader does not have enough to grow to his role, and you will become his ally and trustee.

See also: How to create an effective team?

5. Robot

For the robot, you are employee number 72, who has a labor productivity of 84% and an experience of level 91. Such a leader makes decisions based on numbers. If he has to draw conclusions without relevant data, he will self-destruct. He makes almost no effort to communicate with his subordinates, he only looks at numbers and identifies invaluable employees and those who must leave.
How to tame the "robot"

To successfully operate under the supervision of a robot, you need to know what the leader appreciates, and be able to show him that.

Schedule face-to-face meetings one on one, and answer some of his letters personally by going to his office. If you make him communicate with you personally, even very superficially, then you will become something more than a list of numbers. But do it in small doses, not assertively, so as not to frighten off.
6. The Dreamer

There are leaders who cannot concentrate on the immediate task, but endlessly offer some kind of innovation. And when the time comes for the implementation of the next vision, it turns out that the boss has already switched to the next idea, and you have to deal with the consequences yourself.
How to open the eyes of the "dreamer"

The best way to interact with such a leader is to control his thoughts. Do not sweep away ideas directly, otherwise it will seem to be criticized. Better help him focus on what is needed to translate the plan into reality. Plans will often be scattered by your questions when the manager understands what actions are required on his part.
7. Seagull

Instead of finding a viable solution in collaboration with the team, the seagull gives out stamped recommendations. And then it suddenly disappears, and all you can do is rake the mess. A seagull speaks with employees only if it is necessary to extinguish a fire. But even then it appears and disappears so rapidly and puts so little thought into its actions that it only exacerbates an already poor situation.
How to land a "seagull"

A seagull is best served by a group approach. If the whole team comes together and gives constructive feedback without threats, the seagull is more likely to find a more effective way to interact with its employees. It is easy to recognize seagull behavior from the outside, but he himself often does not know that he harms his twitchy decision-making style. If the team gives him a little push, the situation will change for the better.

How do professional weaknesses make benefits

You are inexperienced = you want to learn and are not a threat

As an intern, it’s hard to feel like a horse. But this can be a promising advantage: when you are in the position of an intern, you are not perceived as a threat or competitor and more willingly will be taken under wing. Therefore, they will share useful information faster. When building relationships with such experts, imagine yourself only as a curious novice. Be patient, act enthusiastically, energetically and with consistency.
You are easily distracted = you have something to share

If you are enthusiastically looking for new information, this may be an occasion to build new relationships. Use your information dependence to learn new things and share knowledge with those who do not have time to dive into industry news. Send these people useful or entertaining links.

Author and media strategist Ryan Holiday advises on this subject:

You are not as busy as your mentors, so your time can be spent on finding useful information. For my mentors, I was a source of new information, trends, opportunities. I asked for a lot, but tried to give something in return.
You are not a narrow specialist = you have different approaches and points of view

The job you are interested in may not mean the experience or education that you have. But do not despair, because it is in your power to bring something of your own, unique. Best ideas arise at the intersection of different disciplines. You have your own qualifications, and maybe it is your opinion that the company needs in order to move to a new level. Think about how ideas and experiences familiar to you can be applied in a new environment.
Are you afraid = you know what is really important

Writer Tim Ferris says that "what we fear most is what we need most." He advises this exercise:

When I experience paralysis or indecision, I record all the worst-case scenarios. Very detailed and very specific. Then in the second column I write everything that I can do to prevent them. And then what can I do to turn them back or minimize the damage if these scenarios start to run. Then it becomes clear that the worst scenarios are very rarely so terrible as you imagined them.

After that, fear is much easier to deal with. Maybe you will see that the risk is not worth it, that the consequences of the worst case scenario are too serious. Analysis of your fear allows you to clear the fog before your eyes.

Related article: 5 tips on how to achieve success at work
You are incompetent = you can prioritize

Do not believe it, but even incompetence can be useful: this is a polite way to avoid certain tasks or activities in order to spend time on something that you are much stronger (and what are really interested). Entrepreneur and venture investor Mark Andrissen writes:

The best way to ensure that you are never again asked to do something is to completely ruin this matter the first time you are asked to. Of course, at the same time, it is assumed that there are other, more important things in which you are just competent.

5 examples of elevator presentations

Example 1. You want to find a job

In this example, you talk about your main advantages and skills, reinforce them with an example and directly ask if you have a place in the company:

“Hello, my name is Svetlana. I am an ecologist and I am looking for a job that will help me use my research and analytical skills. Over the past few years, I have strengthened them by working with local environmental organizations and authorities on the issues of preserving and maintaining the quality of water resources. Also in the future I would like to develop educational programs to inform the public about the protection of water resources.

I know that your organization is involved in water quality control projects. Tell me, can I try to become part of your organization and strengthen it with my knowledge? ”
Example 2. Do you want to take part in a performance

A more eccentric example for creative people:

"Hello Andrey! My name is Olga Bessonova, I love you as an artist, I play in the theater myself, star in television projects, series. I would very much like to participate in your performance, “Poetry of the Soul,” which will be held on August 20th. I know that you will read poetry, and I would like to complement the performance with my participation. I’ll be happy to come up with a choreographic production, set design, driving sets, and I would like to dance to some music during your reading, if possible. And to dance something understandable, some kind of theatrical pantomime dance.

Listen to me, please. I can show a few steps right now, if you will. Look? What do you think?"
Example 3. You want to reach out to your boss with a new idea

Does your boss still not find the time to listen to you? You will need a maximum of 30 seconds to convey the problem and its solutions. This can be done by simply following the head of the corridor:

“In our organization, most employees do not have access to printers for printing documents, although they need this for work. We need to give everyone the opportunity to quickly print out documents so as not to lose working time for unnecessary communications.

I propose to put one printer for use by all employees in the secretary's office. You can either purchase a new printer, as N did in solving a similar problem, or use a printer from the purchasing department for this purpose, since it is not very involved in the work of the department. Any of these options is cheaper than the third - to purchase printers for each employee. "
Example 4. You distribute your product or service

A good solution if you are promoting a product or service. Tell who you are that you are developing, your advantages over competitors, and add a final question provoking dialogue:

“Our company is developing mobile applications that help organizations streamline the training of their employees. This significantly reduces the time spent by top managers, allowing them to engage in more important tasks. Unlike most developers, we visit customer companies to pinpoint the needs of future users. This approach ensures that, on average, 95% of our customers are satisfied with the beta versions of our products.

Tell us how your company copes with distance training of personnel? ”
Example 5. You are looking for investors

This option is suitable for the “viral” video, and for personal meetings, if you are looking for investors for your business.

"Hi! I'm Philip Kravchenko from Just Pizza. Yesterday, the revenue of our small pizzeria amounted to more than 80 thousand hryvnias. We plan to replicate our success and build a global company.

How? We create an efficient production model, combining fast food and cloud technology, and get a “smart” pizzeria, where the IT system is a means of production and allows us to achieve previously unprecedented efficiency. We are looking for investors to develop through franchising. Our idea has already shown its efficiency, and the market and the popularity of the product allows you to grow to incredible proportions.

Our eyes burn, but at the same time we are patient and efficient. Let's conquer the world together. Perhaps this will be one of your best investments. ”


The examples described above are not a panacea. Rather, a clear demonstration that such a speech can be useful in many situations. Only you yourself can tell about your individual advantages in colors and with a twist.

And Work.ua wishes you to definitely turn your mind on, come up with your own presentation, rehearse well and be able to use it at the right time. And such a moment, believe me, is sure to come.