Congratulations! The first hurdle is over. Your application documents made a positive impression. You were invited to a personal interview. Your professional competence is therefore suitable for the company. But do you also fit into the company as a person and vice versa? That should now be explored – this is where your impact and body language come into play. The reason: Posture, gestures, facial expressions, and voices provide a lot of information about our personality. So what should you watch out for?
This is how you make yourself a favorite
Acting authentically is the key
Think in advance: What role do you want or have to embody? What performance, i.e., presentation, is required of you? And do these roles suit you? Selling yourself as someone you are not or adorning yourself with non-existent skills will not get you anywhere and will not convince anyone. The reason: As soon as you deliver a performance that does not suit you, you lose impact and, at the same time, all your sympathy points. A fake body language usually backfires, but you can optimize your style and replace negative signals with positive ones. But you have to practice and train that beforehand!
The crucial milliseconds
Keep in mind that a judgment will be made on you after just a few milliseconds. After a blink of an eye, the recruiter unconsciously decides whether the applicant looks likable or not. If you manage to persist in the eye of the beholder, you will automatically be assigned competence. However, if you give an unsympathetic impression, you are more likely to be assumed incompetent. Crazy how we tick: An excellent first impression is often half the battle! What can I do to make a great first impression?
Eye contact creates contact!
Maintain eye contact. This is perceived from three seconds; for four seconds or more, you express interest. People who avoid eye contact, on the other hand, appear shy at best, often listless or as if they have something to hide. Conversely, however, you should also avoid staring and what seems to be eye contact for minutes.
Smile, but please do it correctly
“The smile you send comes back to you.” An Indian proverb that holds in most cases. If we give a person a genuine smile, then we inevitably get a smile back. What does that mean? Please don’t put on a permanent grin. Your eyes should look friendly. Laugh with them!
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Handshake: rubber or vice hand?
In this case, the handshake is the first physical contact between you and the potential employer. Don’t underestimate this one. According to Knigge, the higher-ranking person rings in the greeting. So wait for your hand to be extended. Studies show that a short, firm handshake gives an applicant the best chance. A weak handshake (rubber hand) or a vice handle usually fails.
Voice creates mood
Consciously choose a calm, deep voice and a slower rhythm. Tip: Imagine that you taste something delicious. Then what do you say? “Mmh.” That is the right pitch to be convincing with the voice. In the conversation, you adjust the speed, pitch, volume, speech rhythm and use similar words and expressions as your counterpart. But no unity at any price.
Sitting posture: make yourself three centimeters taller
Don’t slouch in a chair. Do not hide your hands under the table or legs. Instead, work energetically by straightening your chest, placing your hands on the sides of the armrests or at the table. Build trust by showing your sensitive body parts: Turn your upper body towards the person you are speaking to, turn your face frontally and show the neck area and the palms of your hands while speaking.
The nonverbal response is power
If you want to communicate successfully, you have to contact the future employer, i.e., first establish a connection. If there is no connection, you will not achieve anything. Getting into resonance is achieved through verbal and non-verbal equality. Adapt your body language to that of the person you are speaking to and the situation. And behave similarly. Practice synchronous body language. This means that you get closer to your counterpart using body language. That involuntarily makes you likable.
Why? People like people who are who they want to be. To establish a connection, it is essential to adapt to another person’s body language with empathy and respect. In psychology, one speaks of mimicry. How should you reflect body language?
- Never everything. This is kidding!
- Mirror selectively. The basic rule is: only perform the behavior that suits you.
- Mirror time-shifted! Only when you start to speak (“Yes, you know…”) and at the same time do you change your body language.
Practice the interview beforehand. Then perform all non-verbal gestures, postures, facial expressions, and mimicry congruently, and it looks believable.
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