“Your body language speaks, even when your words are absent.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (Click to Tweet)
“This Is How To Be Better At Concealing Body Language”
People don’t realize; they’re always negotiating.
What does your body language say about you? A married couple was discussing selling their home when the topic turned to the realtor they’d use. So, they reached out to a few realtor services to begin their selection process. During the interviews, they informed one realtor that they had several other realtors with whom they’d be speaking. The realtor asked who the others were. The male spouse mentioned the name of one realtor in particular, and the realtor to whom he was speaking slumped noticeably. When asked why his body sank, he said, “she’s good,” referring to the realtor that the spouse mentioned!
The display of someone’s body language gives you insight into their thoughts and what’s behind the actions they commit. And the exhibition the realtor’s body language displayed indicated that he sensed he’d lost our couple’s listing before they determined with whom they’d list their property. FYI, the couple did list with the realtor’s competition, the one the realtor stated was good.
To discover how you can conceal some of the body language signals that don’t benefit you, continue.
Anticipate Shock
Before entering a negotiation or any environment, consider what you might encounter that would shock you or cause irritation. And then, be prepared to conceal your real emotions if doing so doesn’t serve your intent or purpose. Practice hiding your feelings. That can be easier said than done. But by practicing the technique of suppressing your genuine feelings, it’ll become easier to implement body language concealment when needed.
Quick Recovery
Sometimes, it can be challenging to cover the disdain you have for someone, their actions, or an environment. And that’s when your body language may leak information – display an emotion before you have the chance to control it. Nevertheless, when leakage occurs, if you recover quickly, most of the time, non-body language observers will miss your gesture.
To recover quickly, don’t let your disdain linger; replace it with a smile or other sign to cover your real emotions. In some cases, a slight sweep of your hand across your mouth can be what erases the frown. Once your hand has passed your mouth, the smile appears, replacing the frown.
Mental Imprint
People sense body language based on their past experiences. Thus, the meaning they assign to body language gestures is somewhat dependant on the mental imprint they have of similar movements they’ve seen in the past. That’s why those movements have become imprinted in their mind. And that’s how they’ll assign meanings to your actions.
Therefore, to better conceal some of your movements, understand how they may be interpreted based on the meaning someone may assign to them. Once again, if you do display an action that you wish to conceal, cover it up by showing another signal that’s more appropriate for your purposes. As stated, you can cover the display of a momentary frown with a smile. If you enact that display of the smile quickly, the thought behind your frown may go unrecognized.
Gestures
Gestures are another form of body language that exposes clues to your thoughts. To conceal unwanted displays of your thoughts, be mindful of the motions you make. Also, be aware that synchronized body language gestures lend insights to the believability that others have of what you’re saying. Thus, in some situations, a missing motion may indicate a lack of truthfulness.
Posture
Most people are aware that their posture gives clues to the way they feel. Slouching at points in a conversation, as an example, may indicate that the person displaying that action is experiencing the mental weight of the discussion he’s in, one that he’d rather avoid. Such displays may also occur in the form of moving backward at specific points of a conversation. That signal might also indicate that person wishes to distance himself from the discussion due to it creating angst in him.
To conceal such signals, be mindful of sitting erect when you may otherwise feel deflated. Become more animated when feeling subdued. The implication is, project the opposite body language of the emotions you’re experiencing. That means you’ll have to control your emotions to control such signals.
Breathing
Your breathing becomes influenced by your thoughts and activities in which you’re engaged. As such, your breathing signals when you’re experiencing anxiety, confusion, or indecision. If someone senses those signals in you, it may cause them to wonder why such displays are occurring.
To control a conversation better, control your breathing by controlling the thoughts you have about the conversation. If you experience apprehension before engaging in an exchange of information, mentally address the source of that angst. By managing and controlling your thoughts per your breathing before you enter into a potentially stressful situation, you’ll have greater control over yourself and the environment.
Reflection
Since your body language gives numerous insights about your inner thoughts, you must always be mindful of the signals it sends. Even when you’re in nonthreatening environments, the signals your body emits can become used later as a marker from which to compare your movements in the future. Then, your body language signals would be exposed.
Therefore, the more you’re aware of concealing signals that aren’t serving you in the present, and those whose displays won’t help you in the future, the better you’ll become at exhibiting the signs that assist you better. That will give you a substantial advantage when interacting with other people. And everything will be right with the world.
Remember, you’re always negotiating!
Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://c-suitenetwork.com/radio/shows/greg-williams-the-master-negotiator-and-body-language-expert-podcast/
After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com
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