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Body language for power and confidence

Yesterday Men's Health UK asked me to give some body langauge tips to help men appear more confident and gain trust. Here are a few of the tips I shared.

To gain trust and look confindent
Some tips for men
• Walk up to people with confidence. Keep your head level and your hands at your side unless you want to shake hands. Be sure to keep your hands out of your pockets. Showing the palms of the hands shows you or open. Research indicates that we don't trust people with hands in their pockets. Make sure your right hand is free to shake hands. Always shift any briefcases, papers, beverages or cell phones to your left hand before you begin the greeting so you handshaking hand is free.
• In business Smile briefly. Don't overdo it. If you smile too long or too much, you can be perceived negatively. submissive. An over-extended smile can create negative impressions, such as “overeager,” “easily manipulated” or “not intelligent.” Women need to take special care not to over-extend the smile as it can reduce personal power and can even be misinterpreted as a sexual come on. When going to "chat up a girl" smile before you approach to make her feel that you are safe and not about to "attack"
• Make eye contact. There is a substantial amount of research showing that good eye contact increases feelings of trust. Don't stare, but don't look at your shoes. Making eye contact as you approach lets the person know you want to interact. Men need to extend the eye contact with other menfor a least three seconds without blinking or looking away as they shake hands. When first interacting with a women you need to be careful of holding eye contact for more than three to five seconds at a time so you do not look to agressive or predatory. Some of those "win women every time" website will say to stare a women down...but I disagree. If you want to date a women, make her feel safe. If you want to have a sexual conquest you can stare for longer and if she stares back you have a signal that she may want a sexual conquest as well, but for a relationship establish trust first.
• Face the person heart-to-heart. When you stand at an angle and don’t face the person squarely, you are sending the symbolic message that you are not being straight and open. You may look as if you need to protect yourself, you do not like the other person or you feel the need to reduce the intimacy or the duration of the interaction. Body Language is symbolic show your heart.