Not too long ago I wrote about how to find the most important person in the room by reading specific body language cues. (By the way, thank you to all the magazines and other blogs that picked up this story!)
Recently, a colleague on LinkedIn asked how do you present yourself as the most important person the room?
Great question!
While the body language cues I discussed in the first article came primarily from how people react around you, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few things you can do to bring the “air of power” back to you.
1.) Look the part: As nice as the saying is “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, we still do it every day. You want to be as well dressed and as well groomed as possible. Don’t worry about having to stretch your credit card limit on clothes. You can find some great looks for low prices. You want to make sure whatever you wear it is fitted, current, and classy. Good image consultants can be very helpful in this area.
2.) Feel the part: The first person you have to convince is yourself. If you feel shy, insignificant, and scared, it will translate to your facial expressions, body language, and voice. Think of ways that you can pump yourself up. Before going to any event that intimidates me, I play my favorite “go get ‘em” music in my car – loudly. Music is one of the best ways to get your mojo flowin’. You can also get a friend to give you a pep talk. Use them as your pre-game coach. However you get there, get there! The more confident you feel, the more powerful you present yourself.
3.) Be the part: Once you’ve accomplished looking powerful for a first impression and feeling powerful inside, you can then project your powerful nature to the rest of the world. Here are a few power stances you can use when networking and wanting to appear approachable. Nothing projects power like confidence. If you want to appear confident and approachable, you’ll want to be sure to:
Have a genuine smile
Open body language (uncrossed arms and legs, no hands in pockets, palm up gestures)
Strong eye contact
Nodding when listening
Slight tilt of the head
Feet pointed in same direction
While some of these suggestions on “be the part” may seem simple and obvious, you’d be amazed at how many people overlook these necessary confident signals. The main reason why people fail to project these signal is that they don’t believe it. They don’t believe they are powerful. They don’t believe they are significant. They don’t believe in their confidence. This is why step 2 is so critical to this process. You body language leaks the true thoughts your mind (both conscious and subconscious) has.
If you believe it, they will see it.
Absolutely a BRILLIANT topic!