Keeping Your Cool

We’ve heard it before – communicating with confidence is key.

“Body language is just as important as words,” says Janine Driver, body language guru and best-selling author.

But with the pressure to master positive communication, some women overcompensate with enthusiasm. When does being self-assured turn into trying too hard?

Often, it’s when we want to impress the boss.

Women often come on too strong by walking into their boss’s office and hand-delivering an early assignment, according to Driver.

“Crossing the threshold into their office can be inappropriate and irritating,” says Driver. “Stop within the frame of the door. We frame things we value, like pictures, so frame yourself.”

Interrupted? Driver tells Little PINK Book, if we put our hand up to get a word in: “We think confident, while colleagues think ‘overly aggressive.”

So how do we effectively defend ourselves?

According to Driver, it’s best to “lean back away from your chair. Don’t say a word, and do a steeple.” When someone makes a “church steeple with their fingertips, they are often perceived as powerful.”

Appearing “level-headed” is another winning secret not enough women tap into. Tilting your head when speaking conveys ‘emotionally charged,’ to people around you. Driver stresses the importance of keep your head straight, especially when talking to your boss.

Bottom line: now that you’ve taken the initiative to get in the game, let your body language represent who you are. The goal is to appear confident and strong, yet relaxed and likeable at the same time.

Bonus PINK Link: You’ve learned to balance your body language, now balance your schedule.

a time when your colleague’s body language spoke to you.

By Louise Cook

“Nothing is more revealing than movement.”
Martha Graham