7 Seconds that Can Change Your Life – Maybe American Idol’s Pia Should Have Read This
If you are professional, chances are good you’ve done some sort of body language training – eye contact, where your hands are, when you smile, etc.
Did you learn that when you meet someone, within 7 seconds, people have judged you?
Are you trustworthy? Are you submissive or a leader? Do they even like you?
Maybe Pia Toscano, the last person to leave American Idol, failed to convince people she’s “idol-worthy” with her body language (although she may already have a recording deal, so she’s probably still ok.)
According to coach, speaker and consultant Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D., during a 30-minute negotiation, two people send over 800 non-verbal signals to each other. So if you focus only on what you say, not what you do, during a negotiation, you may lose ground or even lose the deal you want.
Scientific research shows that when words and body language are out of synch, it’s like you’re speaking gibberish. The recipient can’t even process the messages.
Goman is the author or 11 books, including her just-released “The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help – or Hurt – How You Lead” (Jossey-Bass, April 2011, 978-0470876367). This book is one of the few resources that coaches leaders – managers, CEOs, etc, in the art of using their body language to be more effective. Goman has coached 100 organizations in 24 countries on effective business communication and the hidden impact of body language. Read more about Goman on her website at www.ckg.com.
