Only five per cent perspiration

Published: Monday, Dec 12, 2005

Education Plus Visakhapatnam Ninety-five per cent of an interview is through body language and interviewers are looking forpositive vibes more than hard work and job skills. So get savvy and train mind and body to say the right things.

In the selection procedure for a middle level executive at one of the high profile MNC call centres the unexpected happened recently. A much-favoured candidate who was recommended by the company's recruiting agency was rejected. The cause written on the upper corner of the file was: "Communication not at par and it filtered down to unfavourable body language."

He had all the correct answers but his body language had rubbed the interviewers on the wrong side. What is body language? "In simple words it is what we see on a person," says A.S. Prasad, trainer and managing director of CTC Communication. "We have all heard of the adage `first impression is the last impression' be it good or bad. This is the scenario where the body language counts. The subtle yet powerful messages emanating for a person's body have a major influence on the impression a person creates. It is difficult to hide inside feelings and they get reflected on one's body instantly and clearly as the surface of a lake reflects the moon,'' says Mr. Prasad.

In interviews and group discussions, positive body language matters a lot. In fact, according to a recent finding, body language counts for over 95 per cent of the total communication during an interview.

"The non-verbal cues are more important than the verbal ones and body language is so important that it torpedoes what he or she wants to say," he avers. According to Mr. Prasad, in most cases verbal messages do not jibe well with the body statements and the credibility crumbles, as most interviewers believe that non-verbal communication is more eloquent, honest and accurate than verbal communication.

Non-verbal communication is not only powerful but also reveals one's confidence. World over interviewers believe that words can deceive but body language cannot as they come from the sub-conscious state of mind. It is more spontaneous and less controlled and it shows one's true feelings and attitudes. So it is important that one gains control over the sub-conscious to develop a positive body language.'' One can develop a positive body language by gaining control over internal communication. According to Mr. Prasad, positive body language comes from positive thinking.

One has to move from negative words like `problems' and `may be' to more action-oriented words like `challenge' and `let me try.' It is a matter of internal perception and the best example could be that of the story of David and Goliath. While David thought that Goliath was too big to miss and took it as a challenge the others including his brothers felt Goliath was too big to hit and viewed it as a problem. If public speaking is a problem for one, then my sincere advice is to go for more public speaking to get over the problem," says Mr. Prasad. Most persons falter at the pre-interview stage itself. The mental frame gets worked up with all sorts of queries like what would the interviewers ask and how tough would the interview be, and finally creates a mismatch between the verbal and non-verbal communication system. Mr. Prasad gives a few hints to overcome mismatch between verbal and non-verbal communication system: One should be confident from the word go; should have a clear idea of why he or she had come for the interview and what they want; the expression on the face should be as if they had come for a discussion and not for an interview; and the feeling they should vent out is "I want to tell you about myself and why I want to associate with the company or the institute."

Dos and don'ts

Body language is linked to internal thinking and synchronisation between them is a must.

To develop that, one should take part in synchronised activities like swimming, jogging and skipping on the physical side and mind mapping on the mental front. Remove all negative words from the mental dictionary.

Apart from the other common things like `sit straight', `put hands on your thighs' and `maintain normal eye contact', the most important thing is to avoid asking the person who was interviewed earlier what the questions were and how tough the interview was, as this would unsettle him or her.

SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE

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