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Helping employees perform at their best is exciting, but it isn’t always easy. Well-meaning mangers can sometimes counteract their own efforts by approaching employee coaching the wrong way. Giving feedback constructively can be invaluable to employees' career growth and can help them develop critical skills they will carry with them as they ascend toward roles of greater responsibility. Through thoughtful coaching—and by avoiding the leadership pitfalls below—you can help set up your employees for long-term success.
Mistake #1: Not Giving Feedback at All
It’s human nature to want to be nice and avoid rocking the boat. Few of us relish conflict, but giving feedback directly is critical for your employees to be able to improve themselves. They need your help recognizing where they have fallen short, as well as their areas of success, in order to grow and reach their potential. Without that information, they are likely to continue along the same path.
Mistake #2: Letting it Pile Up
Because providing constructive criticism is uncomfortable, some managers wait until there is a laundry list of issues that need to be corrected before they set up meetings to coach employees. This is unfair to the employee, because he or she may have no idea that they were doing anything wrong, and now they face a long and overwhelming list of errors they must correct. Delays in giving feedback set up employees for failure. Instead, check in frequently with your employees to let them know how they are performing and how they are pacing against the objectives for their role.
Mistake #3: Not Setting Clear Expectations
Employees should not have to be mind readers when it comes to what is expected of them. Coaching employees effectively includes working with them to clearly define what success looks like for their role. Having well-defined goals and expectations gives the employee the opportunity to plan ahead and maintain control of their own progress. With increased clarity comes faster, better results.
Mistake #4: Giving Vague Feedback
When offering your employees constructive criticism, make sure to always be specific and offer examples. If you tell your employee, “I really need you to learn to write better,” it will be very hard for the employee to correct or improve the behavior—what exactly does “better” mean? Instead, say something like, "Before you turn in reports, please make sure to proofread for spelling and punctuation errors. Your last report had several errors, which could have been avoided with a little more time and attention paid to accuracy.” Giving feedback of this kind lets the employee know exactly what you are referring to and what they can do to improve.
Mistake #5: Doing All the Talking
Mentoring and coaching employees should be a two-way process. Employees should be given the opportunity to explain themselves, ask questions, and provide ideas. By speaking with, rather than at, employees, leaders gain perspective and allow employees the opportunity to clarify feedback and solutions necessary to correct their performance missteps.
Mistake #6: Prescribing Solutions
You’ve been around the block, and you probably have great ideas to help your employee improve his or her performance. At the same time, no one solution is right for everyone. While your ideas will certainly be helpful, they should be offered as suggestions rather than directives. Allowing employees to devise their own plans of action also helps them learn to be more self-sufficient going forward, and enlisting their help encourages them to look at problems from a different angle.
When employee coaching is done in a positive and collaborative way, managers find that employees become eager for feedback rather than fearful of it. Great coaching empowers employees by providing clear paths to success and opportunities to build on their strengths.
Companies put a great deal of time and energy into plan exciting and rich social events, community service activities, and employee experiences, but companies rarely include strong company culture and how it’s created among their achievements. Rather than overlook cultural and community events, companies should recognize and laud these rituals as major wins. Social activities, team building, and philanthropic initiatives unite teams, reinforce values, and improve employee morale. They help team members feel connected and remind them that they are so much more than cogs in a revenue-making machine. After all, employees spend more time with their work families than their real families, and it’s natural to want that time to be meaningful.
Companies with a robust company culture are linked to a lower turnover rate, according to a Columbia University study, which can impact morale and, more importantly, productivity. Happy employees devote more of themselves to their jobs, and strong business values help breed passion for the company and work, which supports employee longevity.
Business values can shape the way employees view their work and the objectives they are expected to achieve. When companies promote collaboration, creativity, and encourage employees to freely share their ideas, it often pays off in the form of innovative thinking that can help power more rapid organizational growth.
Believe it or not, company culture can have a direct impact on the bottom line. According to research by the University of California, happy employees have been found to be more productive. According to the study, these employees were 31% more productive and delivered 37% higher sales. Business values can improve employee engagement, which not only leads to greater performance, but also a better quality final product.
As companies seek out up-and-coming talent, it is to their benefit to consider the values of those they hope to recruit. Millennials choose companies the same way they choose products: based on beliefs. They want to work for companies that have strong business values and whose cultural values connect with their own.
While all companies want to be recognized for the results they produce, culture can often be the factor that helps companies standout in a crowded marketplace. Consumers are often most loyal to brands that appeal to their own sense of values, and clients like to hire companies that will reflect well on them. Companies that adopt sustainable manufacturing practices, for instance, can incorporate responsible manufacturing into their brand identity to edge out the competition with environmentally conscious customers and clients.
Strong business values can help to reduce internal politics, support greater alignment with company goals, and enable a clear understanding of processes and approaches. Employees at companies with a strong company culture quickly understand “the way we do things here” and reduce wasted effort. Companies like Cydcor, where open and candid communication is ingrained in the business's values, can benefit from reduced bureaucracy and empower their team members to resolve conflicts through direct and constructive conversation.
At Cydcor, we value our company culture as a critical part of what drives our organization. We recently created this video looking back at a year of cultural events that included a company-wide day in the field, department volunteer days at local charities community service events, participation in corporate games and sports competitions, a community health fair, a wine tasting evening, and celebrations of diverse holidays from Halloween to Diwali. Cydcor believes that engaging our team members in rich cultural experiences and creating a shared set of company values has been one of our many secrets to success.
Company culture is so much more than holiday parties and picnics. It is the route through which team members find their place in an organization. Culture helps employees feel that they are part of a company, not just working for one. It gives their work purpose, connects them with their teams, and helps them feel invested in something much larger and more important than the daily grind. By investing in and nurturing business values, organizations can create an environment that helps employees perform at their best.
It’s no secret that effective leadership is critical to any company’s success. While each CEO brings a unique set of abilities to the table, there are some valuable CEO traits that everyone should have. Whether you’re a fledgling leader or a seasoned pro, adopting these 7 CEO traits will help you become more effective in your role.
In today’s challenging business environment, change is inevitable and adaptability is the new competitive advantage. Great leaders recognize that the strong CEO trait of being able to adjust makes you more valuable in an ever-changing environment. It enables you to excel as a leader because you gain experience and learn to modify your responses to handle different situations appropriately.
Communication is key in any company, but it’s an especially important CEO trait. Having good communication skills means knowing how to position matters in the best way possible to help you achieve your desired outcome. Communication isn’t only verbal—it includes non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and body language which can affect the impact of your message. Great leaders are able to be unemotional and manage conflict by giving everyone a voice, but not necessarily a vote.
A high-performing CEO trait is the ability to listen. Great leaders consistently listen to others and seek out the ideas, opinions, and even the advice of others. They recognize the need to be able to read people and adapt their management styles to elicit the kinds of responses and actions needed to produce results. Effective leadership comes from those who are continuously learning and are open to feedback from others.
Strong CEOs are influential, inspirational, and good motivators. They are able to create alignment and get all stakeholders—whether employees, board members, or clients—to buy into the business’s strategy. Having buy in at all levels is critical to effective leadership, executing the business’s strategy, and achieving its goals.
Taking calculated risks means considering all the possibilities and probabilities before taking bold and assertive action that has the potential to produce growth and results. Effective leadership requires driving transformation and innovation by daring to take these calculated risks and learning from the occasional failure along the way. Embracing risk also helps to overcome the fear of failure, as leaders realize that setbacks are the most effective way to learn and grow.
Effective leadership requires a clear vision that team members can buy into. CEOs need to be able to communicate in such a way that they instill confidence in others and elicit the kinds of actions and thinking that result in better performance. Effective leaders have conviction and are able to understand all the working parts of a business, and make quick, far-reaching decisions that benefit the company as a whole.
Many high-performing entrepreneurs will tell you that having resilience is key to success. Despite best efforts, the path to success isn't always a direct journey. Sometimes success is built on failure; as a leader, you need to be able to turn failure around and learn from mistakes. Successful CEOs are resilient because they understand the impact of failure, learn to think differently, and are determined to achieve their goals no matter what.
Having these key CEO traits will help differentiate you, foster effective leadership, and elevate you to become the most exceptional leader you can be.
Pivotal coaching moments in sports are great metaphors for business and life, because we’re all trying to win, make progress, or get to the next level. The best coaches—and the most inspirational speeches—strip away all the distractions and remind us that accomplishing goals is completely possible if we own our greatness.
In this small-town sports film, Matthew McConaughey plays Marshall University’s new football coach, Jack Lengyel, who arrives in the aftermath of a 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 Marshall team members and boosters. Lengyel encourages his team, telling them that even though they are vastly outmatched, if they play with all their heart, they can never lose, regardless what the scoreboard says. Marshall goes on to win on the final play of the game. The message is clear: accomplishing goals—even difficult ones—is possible when you believe in yourself and your team.
One of the most memorable underdog stories to play out on the international stage, the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s improbable victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet team, was made for Hollywood. Kurt Russell is Coach Herb Brooks, who delivers the stirring “This is your time” pregame inspirational speech that sparked the team’s gutsy gold medal run. This is movie offers plenty of inspiration for anyone facing impossible odds.
High school basketball coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) benched his entire undefeated team in 1999 due to their collective poor academic performance. His role as a tough, principled mentor has its shining moment when, after a defeat, he tells his team in an inspirational speech that he’s watched them mature into men who have achieved victory within themselves by excelling as students. Coach Carter is a great reminder that success is a journey, not just an end goal.
The pressure is on Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) and the Permian High School football team to make the playoffs in light of the local community’s high expectations. In his halftime inspirational speech during the final game of what would be an undefeated season, Coach Gaines sheds new light on the true meaning of perfection: being a person of integrity in your relationships.
This Oscar-nominated movie about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that ends up winning the state championship excels, offering on-the-court lessons about dedication, determination, and redemption. Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gives an intense pregame speech, imploring his players to forget about winning or losing and instead, play to their potential. If they do that, the results will come. This movie is sure to inspire anyone who believes that hard work, passion, and grit can take you anywhere you want to go.
Newly appointed African-American high school football coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) must lead his team’s first racially integrated season in 1971. Battling lingering racial prejudice from the community while breaking down barriers between his own players, Boone takes his team out to the site of the Battle of Gettysburg to deliver an inspirational speech about unity. This movie sends a powerful message about the importance of supporting each other in accomplishing goals.
These coaches emphasize the value of having heart, sound principles, integrity, unity, and seizing the moment when it’s go time. In sports, and in life, coaching can make all the difference. The next time you find yourself facing adversity, seek inspiration from these examples of great coaching to up your game when it comes to accomplishing goals.
It’s common for people to have misconceptions about any industry or field they haven’t directly experienced, and sales is no exception. Some people may shy away from making a career in sales, because they have preconceived notions of what working in sales is all about. If you’re considering getting into sales, it’s important to have the right information. Here we uncover 10 sales myths—and offer you some sales facts to combat them.
1. One Pitch Fits All
When it comes to sales, one pitch doesn’t fit all. Every prospect has different needs and as such, every pitch must be tailored to suit those unique needs. Positioning your message to suit your customer is critical to landing that sale. Perform your due diligence—research the customer or the market so you can better understand them and communicates in a way that addresses their interests and concerns.
2. Scripts are for Rookies
This is a particularly malicious sales myth. The fact is that preparation is always beneficial. Simply put, it provides the framework for your prospecting campaign. Even seasoned salespeople must practice their pitches. Writing a script will help you to anticipate any questions the customer may have, and it helps to ensure you know the key benefits of the product or service you’re selling.
3. The First Three Minutes Determine the Success of a Sale
While first impressions do count, the first three minutes is not long enough to establish if you’ve closed the deal. Everyone is different, and many customers decide to make a purchase after they’ve grown comfortable with the salesperson. Rather than focusing on any arbitrary time limit suggested by this sales myth—apply that attention to establishing a relationship with the customer by engaging them in conversation and asking them relevant questions to help you better position your pitch.
4. Sales is about Getting People to Buy Things they Don’t Want
Good salesmanship is about connecting people with things they need, not convincing them that they need something they don’t. Great salespeople become great by asking questions and seeking to understand exactly what the customer is looking for so they can provide the best solutions. That’s an important sales fact to repeat often and eagerly.
5. Salespeople Care More about Commissions than about People
This sales myth is just silly. Like anyone, salespeople hope to be successful at what they do, and the fact is you can’t be good at sales if you don’t like and care about people. Great salespeople are passionate about what they do and they love and care about their customers. Good salespeople are concerned about creating satisfied customers—those are the customers who keep coming back.
6. Salespeople are Born, Not Made
With anything in life, commitment and training are key ingredients to becoming successful. While many of your personal traits will prove beneficial to your sales career, training, practice, and ambition are what will ultimately decide your success as a salesperson. In fact, great salespeople pride themselves on maintaining a student mentality—a passion for lifelong learning, growth, and development. You can develop yourself and your skills by using free online resources such as blogs or watching TED talks. Check out two Cydcor blogs in particular: “How to be a Successful Salesperson” and “How to Write a Winning Elevator Pitch.”
7. Salespeople are Only out for Themselves
Salespeople are certainly not out for themselves. Great salespeople are working to build a business and add value to their organization, not just to make a sale. They’re interested in being as efficient and effective as possible to achieve their goals. They know that the success of others doesn’t take away from their own chances for success so they’re happy to share what they know and see others reach their goals. This is one of the more damaging sales myths out there—those who walk this walk quickly discover that it won’t take them far.
8. All Salespeople are Extroverts
It’s a common sales myth that all salespeople are outgoing and assertive. Being a successful salesperson means having the ability to make people comfortable and being a great listener—whether you’re an introvert or extrovert. Being an attentive listener is key because it allows you to hear what the customer really wants and needs. This, in turn, better positions you to address their concerns and fulfill those needs with the right products and/or services.
9. Technology Rules
Technology has advanced at a rapid rate. While it has certainly helped speed things up and improved the resources available to salespeople, there are just some things computers can’t do. True selling always comes down to having great people skills and sales skills. No matter what, face-to-face contact remains invaluable in the sales industry because people connect with other people more than they do with any other form of advertising.
10. Great Products Sell Themselves
While great products are easier to sell, they still need to be sold. It’s up to the salesperson to create awareness of the product. Customers need to understand how your product or service can fulfill their needs and where and when those needs can be met. Even a great product needs marketing and sales support.
Gearing up for another business trip? Perhaps you’re a frequent business traveler and want to streamline the process, or maybe you’re preparing for one of your first business trips. Either way, having a systematic routine for getting yourself ready to hit the road will end up saving you time.
Here are eight smart business travel tips to make your business trips go as smoothly as possible with a minimum of inconvenience and, if you play your cards right, extra perks to boot!
1. Make a Checklist
Make a checklist to help you remember essentials as well as those random items (spare flash drive, phone charger, extra business cards, etc.) that you will inevitably find yourself searching for once you're mobile. Update your list as needed. A thorough checklist will make everything else seem just a little less stressful.
2. Don't Check a Bag
Bring a carry-on bag that meets airline specifications for size limits and pack versatile items that take up minimal space. Checking luggage can cause complications when flights are delayed or bags are misplaced, and it’s wiser and more convenient to have your belongings with you.
3. Get Pre-screened
Sign up for TSA Precheck and Global Entry as well as frequent flier programs. Shorter waits save you time, and airlines recognize frequent fliers not only with flight miles—which can add up quickly to a free flight or two—but also with perks such as seating upgrades and priority boarding as well as airport hospitality lounges.
4. Bring Your Own Snacks
Bring healthy snacks that are easy on your digestive system and keep your hunger at bay until you arrive at your destination. Airport convenience stores sell these usually inexpensive treats at a big markup, so make sure to bring your own along during your business traveling. Nuts, dried fruits, granola bars, and fresh fruits such as grapes, apples, or oranges all make great travel companions and will make you less likely to purchase expensive, caloric, and bland prepackaged foods on the airplane.
5. Dress Well
Dressing for success is always a good idea, but even more so on business trips. Not only do you stand a better chance of being upgraded, but dressing well will make you feel more confident and comfortable. You never know when a great networking opportunity might arise.
6. Use Technology to Plan Ahead
To make your business traveling as comfortable as possible, consult seatguru.com for a transparent look at your plane's seating configuration, including exit rows, lavatories, and in-seat power ports. You can even request seat changes on the app. Opentable.com makes it easy for you to secure dinner reservations in your destination city with its more than 20,000 worldwide restaurant members.
7. Stay Healthy
Regardless of your destination, you will encounter breeding grounds for germs in high-traffic areas such as airports. The last thing you want to bring home with you is a virus that drains your energy and leaves you feeling under the weather. Antibacterial wipes are an important ally that will sanitize your tray table or any other makeshift common use space where you set up shop.
8. Maximize Your Time
Looking to get some work done during your flight? Make sure you have a few essentials for remote working situations. Spring for some good noise-canceling headphones, a necessary investment for keeping your train of thought on the tracks. Proper headphones will allow you a modicum of privacy and the ability to focus or relax without disturbances. Make sure to bring a portable keyboard, which turns your smartphone or tablet into a laptop so you can salvage some productive moments and still have room for a beverage on your tray table. Finally, don’t forget a portable external hard drive. If you need to access volumes of paperwork, a compact external hard drive is your answer.
Seeking to not just survive, but also to thrive as a business traveler? If you incorporate these business travel tips into your business trip routine, you will return to the office refreshed, invigorated, and ahead of the curve. Staying savvy to the latest in travel innovations will allow you to master the art of business travel in the course of your own business undertakings.
For many, the idea of speaking in public is daunting. While a little nervous energy is healthy, excessive public speaking anxiety can be crippling. Being charismatic and engaging doesn’t necessarily come naturally, even to successful business people and world leaders. Whether it’s a keynote speech for hundreds of people or a simple team meeting, it takes a lot of effort to be a great speaker, starting with controlling your nerves.
Learn how to manage your nerves and boost your confidence so you can confidently conquer public speaking.
1. Get into the Zone
Focusing mentally before a public speaking event will allow you to give your best quality output. Make sure you’re comfortable with the venue by arriving a little early to get a feel for the set up. If possible, do a brief run through with the microphone. Whether it’s a small breakaway room or even the parking lot, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and take a moment to focus. Different people need different things, so you’ll need to learn what works best for you.
2. Warm Up
Public speaking can feel like a workout. Get yourself physically ready by doing some vocal exercises, which will help you project your voice and come across more confident in your delivery. Now, strike a power pose. Amy Cuddy, a body language researcher at Harvard Business School, suggests power posing to ease nerves before a presentation or public speaking engagement. According to Cuddy’s research, simply putting your hands on your hips or striking the CEO or Superman pose for two minutes will reduce your levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. This will give you a boost and make you look and feel powerful.
3. Work on Your Body Language
Public speaking isn’t just about what you’re saying, it’s also about how you’re saying it. The way you convey yourself—your body language, your facial expressions, and even your gestures—can affect the impact of your delivery. It’s important to be mindful of these nonverbal cues. Simple things like keeping your posture upright and expanding your chest helps. Smiling and making eye contact will put your audience at ease even if you’re speaking about a more serious topic.
You can read more body language dos and don’ts in our blog, 8 Common Professional Body Language Mistakes to Avoid.
4. Memorize Your Content
Memorizing the sequence of your slides or your note cards—whatever you’re using to prepare or presenting visually—will help you to feel in control and allow you to anticipate which slide comes next, making you look more professional. Start by memorizing key points and you’ll slowly begin to weave a story line. It will also reduce the likelihood of you getting off track should you feel overcome with your public speaking anxiety.
5. Tell a Story
The more data-driven your content, the harder it is to keep your audience engaged. Telling a story with your content is a good way to connect with your audience. It will help them understand where the concept comes from and what it means. The key is making sure you have a thread that links the different ideas and concepts throughout your presentation.
Structure your material so you start and end strong. Don’t waste time with a longwinded introduction, especially if you have a time limit. You may even consider starting with a personal anecdote or provocative question—something that will make the audience feel they can relate to and connect with you.
6. Rehearse
The best way to boost your confidence is to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. This will also help you memorize the material. Ideally, rehearse in front of someone. If that’s not possible, you can use a mirror. Always time yourself while rehearsing to ensure you don’t exceed the time you’ve been allocated. If your presentation includes a question-and-answer session, you can prepare some model questions and answers ahead of time to help ease your public speaking anxiety.
7. Pace Yourself
Be mindful not to lose your audience. There’s a fine line between speaking too fast and too slow. Speaking too fast can make you come across as nervous. You can manage the pace of your public speaking by including pauses before or after key statements. This will make them stand out and have the added benefit of giving you a breather.
8. Stay Hydrated
Drinking warm drinks before your engagement will soothe your throat. Nerves can make your mouth go dry, so keep a bottle of water nearby to keep hydrated.
Like most things in life, practice makes perfect when it comes to combating public speaking anxiety. The best way to build your confidence is to take up every opportunity you can to speak, no matter how small the audience. The more experience you have, the more confident you’ll be and the better you’ll become at managing your nerves.
Whether you’re seeking to advance your career or grow your business, making progress toward your goals can come down to your ability to enlist the help of others—often through activating one’s personal power bases. Perhaps you need to ask for a raise or a promotion, or maybe you need to request funding to kick off an exciting new project or cover the cost of new hires. Whatever the case, understanding how to get others on board is critical to achieving the outcome you’re hoping for. But if you’re low on the totem pole or just beginning to establish your fledgling business, asking others to reward you with money, time, or increased responsibility can feel like a David vs. Goliath scenario.
Don’t underestimate yourself, though: you may have a lot more personal power than you think. A person’s power bases are the sources from which they draw credibility, influence, and character, traits that can be assets when asking others to help your cause. Power bases can come in many forms, and you may have more than one effective power base to draw from. You simply need to learn how to identify your power bases and use them to your advantage. By recognizing the sources of your power, you can feel more confident as you ask for the things you need to achieve your goals.
Recognizing your personal sources of power is critical to your ability to collaborate with others and ask for the resources and opportunities you’ll need to grow your company and advance your career. It’s easy to underestimate oneself and overlook how much you have to bring to the table. Success in business requires constant negotiation, and by understanding your own power to get others on your side, you improve your chances of achieving the results you’re hoping for and reaching your goals.
While it’s important to know what you should do in meetings and negotiations, knowing what you shouldn’t do is often just as important – and it begins with bad body language.
The best sales managers know that while you may have a polished sales presentation, tasteful attire, and a product that practically sells itself, you can still miss out on closing a sale if your body language is out of sync with your words. While it’s true that first impressions make a lasting impact, cumulative body language is important. If you are in the habit of demonstrating any of the following body language in sales meetings, it could be enough to hurt your sales performance, turning a potential yes into definite no.
There is no overstating the importance of presenting good body language in sales or any business interaction – it can make all the difference. Don’t send the wrong message with self-sabotaging nonverbal communication. Be prepared and well-rehearsed when you walk into a meeting. Be conscious, too, about what you do while you are speaking. You are, after all, providing visual accompaniment to your eloquent words. Once you ensure your words and actions match up, you’ll start to notice fewer closing doors and more closing sales.
If you’ve caught yourself demonstrating some of these examples of bad body language in sales meetings, consider the correction of it one of your professional New Year resolutions.
If you’ve been using our negotiating tips, then it’s entirely likely a sale is on the horizon – so it’s important to be able to recognize it. As a salesperson, it’s important to stay tuned into the customer and what he or she may be feeling, thinking, or doing. It easy to get too caught up in delivering the perfect sales pitch or projecting energy and forget that sales is a two-way communication. It involves give and take; the exchange of information to and from both parties. Customers are constantly sending signals about what they want, what they need, and what they are thinking. And, if you just learn to pay attention, and know what buying signs to look for, these messages, both verbal and non-verbal, can make your job as sales person a whole lot easier.
Buying signals are indications the customer gives that he or she may be nearing a decision about your product or service and may be interested in making a purchase. These ready-to-buy cues, can be easy to miss if you’re too focused on what you need to say or do next. Learn some of the most common buying signs, so the next time a customer is ready to buy, you won’t miss out on the sale.
Listening and paying attention is just as important as saying the right things when trying to make a sale. Customers communicate a lot about how they’re feeling about the product for sales people who are willing and able to pick up their signals. Overlooking these, sometimes subtle, buying signs could mean missing out on sales and doing more work than necessary. Becoming an expert on customer behavior and learning the classic buying signals can make selling a whole lot easier by giving you valuable information about the kind of customer you’re dealing with.
It’s not always what you say that makes the biggest impression. Before you even open your mouth, nonverbal habits you’re not even aware of could jeopardize your ability to make a good impression, close a deal, get promoted, or earn a new customer. Professional body language is critical to any business exchange, and it’s just as important to be aware of the things you’re not saying as it is to be aware of what you are. In other words, through your posture, body language, habits, and tone, you may be speaking volumes without even uttering a word.
Body language in meetings and exchanges can make a world of difference in your business conversations. Everything we do communicates something, so why not communicate as clearly as possible. Avoid these eight body language mistakes during your next meeting, and when you do have the opportunity to speak, your words will have the impact you’re hoping for.