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Show Confidence
Through Your Walk and Posture
No one ever has too
much confidence - ego, yes, confidence no.
Do you keep in mind
that your walk and posture bespeak your confidence before you
begin your pitch? They influence your audience of one or one
hundred to make initial decisions about your capabilities ...
before you even shake hands, begin a conversation or show your
first slide.
The way you stride
down the hallway, across the parking lot or into a room is a
powerful first clue to how you feel about yourself. Walk erect
with your head held high, your shoulders back, your chest out
and your stomach in. With the aura you create, you command
respect without ever saying a word. When you overdo it with a
swagger or a strut, it can equate with egotism and a pompous
attitude. Underdone, like when you have your back arched and
your head stuck out and down, shows a lack of confidence.
When you are giving
a presentation, use your walk as a form of physical punctuation.
Strengthen transitions by stepping to the side, pauses by
standing in place and emphasis and persuasion by moving forward
as if you want to touch the audience. If your movement is
unnatural or mechanical, it will detract from your presentation.
Standing in one place throughout a talk may indicate you're
"frozen to the spot" by the fear of speaking.
Your posture
talks, too.
Once you have
walked into that meeting, office or conference and found your
spot, your posture becomes a telltale sign. Remember what your
mother used to tell you, "Stand up straight". You literally
"make your stand" through your posture. It tells people how
confident you are, how much self-esteem you have and how you
want to be treated.
Taking up a
reasonable amount of space equates to having power. Plant your
feet about 8 to 10 inches apart with one slightly in front of
the other. This allows you to easily change weight from one foot
to the other. This is particularly important if you are behind a
podium; you don't noticeably appear to be shifting weight (which
you need to do so you don't get frozen in the "speaker"
position). When you don't do it smoothly, this shifting can be
distracting to the audience ... and to you when you become
conscious of it.
This stance also
makes you feel more comfortable, balanced and grounded, which is
a plus when you undertake the arduous process of
starting/maintaining a conversation. Women often think it is
more ladylike to assume the first position in ballet, i.e. the
inside back of your left foot rubs against the inside arch of
your right foot. In reality, women who stand in this position in
business look as if they might topple if given a nudge.
Avoid the
fig-leaf stance.
A stance to avoid
is what I term the fig leaf. In addition to having your feet
close together and your hands crossed over your genital area,
you may tilt your head sideways as you look up to engage in
conversation. This posture almost always guarantees you a loss
of respect and power before you ever say a word!
Remember how your
ancestors claimed their land? Stake your property, too! Failure
to stake your claim reminds me of a saying from my German
heritage: "Mache dich klein." (Make yourself small.) It's what
my mom would say to me repeatedly when she viewed my eagerness
to speak to everyone in sight as annoying chatter instead of a
natural asset! What I am encouraging you to do instead is to
"Mache dich grose." (Make yourself big!) Expand and claim your
space! It's yours for the taking.
A tango instructor
said it well: Stand as if you own the world. I learned this from
one of my coaching clients who was taking dance lessons.
Attitude plays a vital role. Think highly of yourself (you will
stand taller), and the world will notice and react accordingly.
How to achieve
good posture
· Stand with your
back to a wall and look straight ahead. Make sure your head and
your back are touching the wall. As you remain standing there
for a few minutes, periodically touch your shoulders to the wall
and hold for 10 seconds. This automatically makes you pull in
your tummy and stick out your chest. Take a few steps away from
the wall, and practice the same techniques on your own.
· Envision the John
Hancock Building in Chicago, one of the tallest in the world.
Now, stand up. Imagine your body is a tall, narrow building.
Plant your feet 8-10 inches apart. Now, make sure your knees are
directly about your feet, hips above your knees, stomach above
your hips, chest above your stomach and head above your chest -
such that if you took a piece of heavy string and dropped it
from your nose, it would fall between your feet. Keep this image
in mind as you stand around at networking events, meetings and
receptions.
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