Are you a teacher?  Trainer?  Perhaps a coach, counselor, physician, or presenter?

Many more professions could potentially be rattled off on this list, all able to benefit from some quick body language secrets.   Really anyone involved in:

I recommend watching this interview of Vanessa Van Edwards of “The Science of People.”  Although geared towards teachers, its reach extends far beyond the teaching profession.  Yes, we at Powerhouse Ed of course view it through its translation as a teaching best practice (perhaps one of the most neglected best practices considering the attention the role of body language gets in educational discussion and training); however, we also see its implications in other professions as well.

If not a teacher, just fill in the blank with whatever it is you do in the following statement:

3 Tips to Improve Your ________ Immediately.

In the video, Vanessa cites a study conducted by a professor who was seeking to explore the impact of nonverbal behavior.  He controlled the variables (same script, same slides, same textbooks, etc.).  In one class, however, he changed his nonverbal behavior, things like hand gestures and nonverbal expressiveness.  How would nonverbal behavior influence his students’ evaluation of him at the end of the semester?

The professor hypothesized that the use of nonverbal behavior would improve his students’ ratings of his teaching ability.  The resulting data corroborated this hypothesis.  But what he also found is that his ratings improved in every single area: content, organization, textbook quality, etc.

Wait, say that again?! Textbook quality?  

Yes, textbook quality!

Wow.

So, how can you immediately benefit from some of these secrets?  Well, since this post’s topic is on body language, it makes sense to direct you to the video where you can actually see the tips in action.  I recommend watching the video in its entirety, but if you don’t have the time, fast forward to the 9 min. 30 sec. mark and enjoy!