With this in mind, it’s worth taking these advice points with you into your next meeting, here are a few key points to keep in mind:
“Look into my eyes, the eyes, the eyes, not around the eyes, don’t look around the eyes, look into my eyes – you’re under!”
As Little Britain’s fictional hypnotist character Kenny Craig (played by Matt Lucas) references a lot to looking into one’s eyes, make sure you look into their eyes!
Numerous studies have shown that people who make higher-levels of eye contact with others in business are perceived as being:
- More dominant and powerful
- More warm and personable
- More attractive and likeable
- More qualified, skilled, competent, and valuable
- More trustworthy, honest, and sincere
- More confident and emotionally stable
Successful Business Women/Men across the world are known for the impressions they make during face-to-face meetings, whether it be someone new or someone they have known for many years and enjoy working closely with.
A gaze in the right direction never wavers from the eyes of the person they are speaking with, making them feel as if they are the most important person in the room – and so they should be – this is something you can adopt into your networking approach too!
Make sure you make as much eye contact as possible – don’t make it appear that you’re looking behind them to see if the next bus is coming…
Express yourself, with a tool you’ll know well – your boat race!
One thing that people will automatically see first when meeting you is your old cockney rhyming boat race – more commonly known as your face.
But, will they remember you by the end of your networking meeting though?
Maintaining an interested facial expression in networking is very important and goes hand in hand with the previous point of maintaining eye contact.
Use movements of the hands, the shoulders, or the entire body to express ideas, sentiments, or attitudes. Your eyes and mouth play a key role, as well as the positioning of the head to reinforce the spoken word and to convey feelings.
These gestures and facial expressions add visual and emotional emphasis to your speech. They may stir up your feelings and therefore enliven your voice.
Don’t blow it all with your arms!
Don’t worry, we don’t encourage you to blow up your chances of good networking by bringing any weapons with you…
But just imagine greeting a loved one or friend after a period of not seeing them for a while with a huge hug upon their return, but hang on, they’re not holding out their arms with a hug in return? Bit rude…
Well, this is similar to having your arms folded when speaking to someone and your arms are in a position that gives even a subliminal hint that you’re not interested – not very welcoming is it?!
Ultimately, you’re not going to give off a positive impression as your arms are telling the story of someone who is signifying boredom and someone who isn’t interested in what your fellow networker has to say.
Stand yourself in good networking stead
It is always worth standing yourself in good stead when it comes to networking, your stance can tell a story of someone who either wants to be there or would rather be back in bed with a pillow and a cup of tea for company.
Make a conscious effort to stand in a manner that is open and welcoming, rather than blocking people out of your conversation. Stand up tall and straight and be proud, don’t appear to leaning on something, as this will make you appear bored or tired.
It’s important that we make the effort, because not only will you stand yourself in good stead, but you might even get something out of a good conversation with a well connected individual.
Remember that much of your future networking success rides on how you come across in that first encounter. You want people to perceive you as alert, interested, knowledgeable and trustworthy.
You could benefit from being a part of Nexus Networking Group for now and the future of your business, while making friends in the process through the art of good body language!
If you want to find out more information in relation to all our services at Nexus Networking Group, please contact our email – gavin@hawkhurstai.com – alternatively, you can call Gavin on 07776 157 503.