Ignore the Nonsense You Have Heard about Body Language

• 00:05 For starters, we need to clear the air.
• 00:07 There is a tremendous amount of misinformation, disinformation
• 00:13 on the internet, on books everywhere about body language.
• 00:18 You have probably heard at some point that 93% of all communication
• 00:23 is your body language and how you say it, not what you say.
• 00:29 Not true at all.
• 00:30 You may have heard that if you stand with your arms on your hips it fills you with
• 00:35 confidence and you'll have great body language when you speak.
• 00:39 Science does not indicate that's true.
• 00:42 You have probably heard that a professional
• 00:45 business person isn't supposed to move their hands when they speak.
• 00:48 Again, not true.
• 00:51 You may have heard that if you look up and to the right or down or touch your nose,
• 00:55 it means you're lying.
• 00:58 No, it may just mean your nose itches.
• 01:02 There's a tremendous,
• 01:03 tremendous amount of bad information out there regarding body language.
• 01:07 I'm gong to help you cut through all that.
• 01:10 And I do want you to focus on one source of real expertise.
• 01:14 And guess what?
• 01:16 You already have it.
• 01:18 Your own eyes.
• 01:19 Your entire life you've been watching other people, in business and
• 01:23 in life, talk to you, engage with you, communicate with you,
• 01:27 present, whether it's on TV, a conference, a business meeting, or one-on-one.
• 01:32 You already know what, in your gut, makes you feel uncomfortable about that person.
• 01:38 I want you to use that in helping yourself.
• 01:42 The number one tool I am going to give you is a way of practicing business meetings,
• 01:48 business presentations, media interviews, and judging yourself.
• 01:54 And I'll go ahead and tell you right now, some of you aren't gonna like this,
• 01:56 you gotta video record yourself.
• 01:58 Just use a cell phone, use a webcam, use an iPad,
• 02:04 use any video capture that will allow you to look at yourself.
• 02:09 Because if you look at a video of yourself conducting a meeting,
• 02:14 giving a presentation, delivering a PowerPoint or
• 02:18 practicing a media interview and you find that you're stiff, or uncomfortable, or
• 02:23 nervous, or tense, guess what?
• 02:26 Everyone else would see it the same way.
• 02:29 So you have the ability to critique yourself and improve yourself right away.
• 02:34 So I want you to focus on that.
• 02:36 I wanna build on your strengths, rather than giving you a lot of cockamamie,
• 02:43 half-baked, pseudo-scientific analyses that says,
• 02:47 oh my gosh you looked down for eighth of a second and you scratched your chin.
• 02:52 Leave all that nonsense aside.
• 02:55 We're gonna focus on practical tips that work in the real world.
• 03:00 Everything I'm telling you is based on having worked with
• 03:04 thousands of executives from six continents for the last 30 years,
• 03:09 based on how audiences actually perceive them.
• 03:12 I want you to be perceived as confident, relaxed, and comfortable and not nervous.
• 03:18 If we do that, you will be in great shape and
• 03:21 your body language will work in your favor so that you can do what’s really
• 03:26 important, get people to understand the ideas you care about.
• 03:31 No one is going to buy your product, hire your company, engage your
• 03:36 services just because of body language, you still have to communicate the ideas
• 03:41 that really differentiates you and that people will see as high value.
• 03:47 With all communication, it's never just about the style or the substance.
• 03:51 It's both.
• 03:53 Your body language is very much a part of your style,
• 03:56 but you've got to have the substance, too.
• 03:59 If we can eliminate your worries, your concerns about the body language,
• 04:03 then you can focus on really making the substance of your business come alive.

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