Body Language Is Louder! - Organizational Behaviour

Most of us would have one time or the other formed an opinion or taken a decision on the basis of an individual’s body language. While it may seem incorrect at first, to our astonishment, our judgment based on body language proves correct most of the time! Leaders and managers, who know the art of analyzing and interpreting nonverbal communication, have a clear advantage of making informed professional decisions.

Nonverbal communication plays a distinctive role in the recruitment process, where the recruiter has limited information about the prospective employee. The only source of information that a recruiter has during an interview is the resume. While the resume conveys a lot about an individual’s professional accomplishments, it certainly does not throw light on the personality. It is here that interpreting nonverbal communication plays a critical role, leading managers to make better recruiting decisions.

The signs

What does nonverbal communication convey? According to organizational behaviorists, body language and other forms of nonverbal communication give away a person’s outlook, interests, approach and level of self-confidence. For people who know the exact signs to look for, nonverbal communication is the more ‘audible’ form of communication. It helps get a better insight into the behavioral aspects of a person, the skills necessary for the job and the temperament needed to excel in it. These are important aspects for accomplishing desirable levels of performance in a job. So, a keen analysis of nonverbal signs will enable recruitment managers to take a holistic view of the individual and make a decision accordingly.

There are a number of nonverbal signs that recruiting managers can look for. These signs reinforce the first impressions of an individual, rendering decision making faster and better.

The first impression may not be the last impression, but it certainly conveys a lot about the way an interview will shape up. The telltale signs include posture, hand movements, handshake, eye contact, facial expressions, dressing and attentiveness. Each of these signs conveys a deeper meaning and has a lot to do with an individual’s conduct during the interview.

Body posture:

A sloppy posture and a hunched back are not good signs, as they reflect disinterest and low self-esteem. However, if a person walks in with a lot of ease, sits straight in his chair and does not spill himself over the place, it surely indicates self-confidence and high self-esteem.

Handshake:

During a handshake, the firmness with which an individual clasps your hand determines his confidence and desire to have a positive interaction. People who give a lame handshake indicate low confidence and low self-esteem. Similarly, those who give an overbearing handshake indicate aggressiveness.

Dressing:

Candidates who walk in wearing casuals like jeans and jacket convey instantly an off-putting sign about the level of seriousness they associate with the interview. Interviews with such candidates start on a negative note as their dressing has already led to some impression about the individual’s abilities. On the other hand, candidates who present themselves in their formal best—a suit for men and a saree or Western formals for women—make a positive first impression. A candidate’s style of dressing is one of the most powerful nonverbal signs as it goes much beyond projected exterior, revealing subtle nuances of the candidate’s personality. An interesting exception here is advertising and media-related companies that are known to conduct interviews in an extremely casual setup. Overdressing may not be taken too well in such organizations! However, a majority of organizations place a premium on candidate presentation, of which dressing is an integral part.

Eye contact and attention span:

How attentive is the candidate? The attention span of a candidate can be adjudged by the eye contact that he makes with the interviewing panel. Disinterested candidates move their eyes all over the room, without really making any eye contact with the members of the panel. Lack of eye contact conveys disinterest and low self-esteem. Candidates who make frequent eye contact during the interview indicate confidence and conviction in what they say. Leaning forward and asking for clarifications too indicate interest in the process, and eagerness to share stories and facts about one’s personal and professional lives.

Facial expressions:

Facial expressions and body language are the loudest form of nonverbal communication. Any mismatch between what one says and his facial expressions is indicative of deceit. It is fairly simple to know if a person is lying by reading the facial expressions; when lying, the person looks away, avoids eye contact and is visibly nervous. An overconfident person, on the other hand, will have himself nicely placed, with arms on the table or behind his head. Such individuals begin to answer even before a question is put to them fully. Such overconfidence is indicative of aggression, which like under-confidence, is not too likeable.

Interview is the talent conduit for organizations. Hence, applying the right skills to make informed recruitment decisions is important for managers. The role of nonverbal communication in decoding candidate behaviur cannot be underplayed as it reveals far too many aspects of individual personality. Therefore, applying the skill of deciphering nonverbal communication for better decision making will help develop the right talent muscle.

Published by TheManageMentor.

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From May 2010