You may be a successful entrepreneur with excellent leadership skills but do you look like one? Influencing people’s perception of you is called impression management. And in today’s world building a positive image is essential to be successful in any industry.

Whether you are looking to crack a job interview or want to impress investors, your body language plays a key role in effective leadership communication. Here are five body language hacks that will make you look like a leader:

1. Make Eye Contact!

Nope! We are not talking about staring at people. But when you make eye contact while talking to someone, it makes you look more confident and interested in the conversation. People who don’t make eye contact look timid, shady, and uncomfortable either with the conversation or the entire environment. Keep a subtle gaze and be comfortable with holding eye contact while talking. Learn how to build a magnetic personality in this video from Dr. Vivek Bindra- the best motivational speaker in India- 

2. Pay Attention to Posture

Power and authority are often expressed by non-verbal language. You don’t have to shout out and demand attention. All you have to do is pay attention to body posture. When you want to project leadership presence at a conference or in a meeting, sit tall and claim your territory. Sit tall, don’t slouch, uncross your legs and place your feet firmly on the floor.  Widen your arm position and keep your elbows away from your body.

To avoid looking unsure or hesitant, widen your stance, relax your knees, and center your weight in your lower body. Keeping your posture erect makes you look more confident and credible.

3. Quit Fidgeting

Fidgeting is your body’s response to a situation where you feel confused, anxious, or uncomfortable in a certain situation. Fidgeting includes biting nails, and moving legs nervously, which signals you are anxious. People often start doing it without even realizing that they are shaking their legs, biting their nails, or sweating their palms. So when you catch yourself doing this, take a deep breath, relax and stop fidgeting.

4. Smile To Make a Difficult Task Seem Simple

Only human beings are bestowed with the ability to smile. And this is unfortunate that as compared to kids, we adults laugh and smile less often. No matter the task, when you frown or grimace, your brain releases stress chemicals into your bloodstream. And this creates a vicious circle: the more stressed you are, the more difficult the task becomes.

When you smile, your brain gets the message that the situation is not-so-bad. However, avoid smiling like a creeper. Have a happy and relaxed demeanor when you enter the room to put other people at ease and increase credibility.

5. Sound Like a Confident Leader

How you say a certain thing matters more than what you have to say! And as a leader, you can be sure that people will not only be listening to you but will also be evaluating how you say what you say.

Put enough emotion in your voice, so that you don’t sound like a well-rehearsed parrot. Speak politely but sound confident. Don’t mumble or speak too fast as it might make you look under-confident. Take pauses while speaking wherever it is appropriate. It’s unexpected, it’s attention-getting, and it’s effective . . . very effective. And avoid using the words “like” or “um” too much. This will make you sound more confident. Always make sure you are speaking with enough volume to be heard. And remember to enunciate and speak clearly.

In the workplace, how you conduct yourself matters a lot! Well, the first impression certainly shouldn’t last a lifetime but can affect how a person perceives you when meeting you for the first time. With these 5 hacks, you can improve your body language and appear to look more confident.

The idea of managing a business is easier said than done and we completely agree with you. This is why to help you move forward with your business goals, we at Bada Business offer an exclusive Business Coaching Program that comes with Foundation courses, specialized courses, and value-added courses. To know more about our courses, visit: www.badabusiness.com