It does good to remember that humans communicated with each other through gestures, eyes, touch, facial expressions, postures and personal looks even before speech was invented. Body language is so well ingrained into our genes that most of us are unable to recognize what research suggests - more than half of the meaning attached to messages in interpersonal communications is through body language. It means that whether you are pleading before the court, or trying to convince a client, unknown to you, 50% of the messages you are trying to communicate is controlled by your body language. If your body language does not support your words, you fail to communicate.
Certain time-tested practices of using body language by successful communicators include:
Keep up eye contact: Look straight at the other person. Maintain polite eye contact, and never, never, look this way and that. People have an instinctive distrust of shifty eyes. Good lawyers look directly into the eyes of the other person when either speaking or listening. They also do this without seeming to be dominating or leering. Natural and polite eye contact keeps communication channels open and enhance perceptions of reliability.
Pointing at people is a mistake: You will find top lawyers pointing at things but never at people unless the intention is to demean, condemn, or control.
Mirror body positions: Good lawyers mirror body positions of those with whom they are speaking trying to stand or sit at the same level and reflecting their poses without projecting any mockery.
Mirror body postures: Lawyers adept at the art of communication try to mirror the positive aspects of body postures of those they speak with. They will be relaxed if the other person has a relaxed posture. They will sit upright and seem attentive if the other person is sitting upright. But, they will never assume a hunched posture just because the other person is. Good lawyers continually cue the other person to relax through relaxed poses and postures.
Disagreement can be emphasized by changes in posture: Good communicators use change in posture to express disagreement, even though their words do not carry disagreement, but continue to be persuasive. Changing seat positions with emphasis or standing up at the correct point can project disagreement without saying it through words.
Mirror only the positive: Whether it is facial expressions, or postures, or hand gestures, mirror only the positive things in body language of the person you are dealing with. Never mirror nervous habits, or bad body posture, or negative facial expression.
Be careful of personal appearance: The importance of impeccable choices when it comes to their shoes and clothes is a part of a lawyer's life. Smart lawyers are also careful to take care of any body odors or foul breath before personal interaction.
For career-conscious attorneys, it is important to control the body and keep it from unconsciously giving away thoughts. It is as much important to read the body-language clues of others, and, lastly, it is necessary to learn how to influence others through body language. Acquiring these skills can move your career forward at a faster pace than you could have dreamt of.
Works Cited:
Beattie, Geoffrey. Visible Thoughts: The New Psychology of Body Language. New York: Routledge, 2003. 47.
Deep, Sam and Lyle Sussman. Close the Deal: Smart Moves for Selling. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 1999.
Goldman, Ellen. As Others See Us: Body Movement and the Art of Successful Communication. New York: Routledge, 2003.
