ADI Part 3 - Body Language

Body Language

Body language and voice mannerisms are very similar in nature. Your words may say one thing, but if your body language isn't congruent, your learner (SE) may become confused or 'smell a rat'.

Remember the golden rule, more than 80% of what you say does not come out of your mouth. More than 80% of what you say to someone else is in your expression, your tone, your gestures . . . your body language.

In the page on confidence I'll explain how important your body language is, and what you can do to improve the level of confidence and professionalism you display to your learners and the SE.

This is another area of personal style that can be quite hurtful when shortcomings are pointed out. But once you've become aware of the problem, and accepted it as a problem, they are usually very quick and easy to rectify.

The more common problems include fidgeting with your hands, covering up your mouth whilst speaking and sitting very far forward in the passenger seat whilst the vehicle is moving. This last one can sometimes give the impression that you're about to bail out with a parachute.

Often, when trainees become tense as the vehicle moves, they rub their hands together or rub them on their thighs, as if looking for inspiration. Remember, you can say what you like in the words you use, but your hands will tell the real story. Read the page on congruence.

I have had trainees who have had to quite literally sit on their hands to avoid this. They were made aware of the problem, and worked hard to overcome it. This is far more common than many realise.

Another common symptom of stress is trainees crossing and uncrossing their legs (yes, even in a car), and becoming completely unaware of what the learner is doing. In many, many cases, the trainees have no idea that they are doing this. Recognising the problem is the first step to solving it.

If these areas aren't covered with your trainer, it will probably be that you have no problems to sort out. You can get a very good indication of any areas to improve on by asking your friends and family. It can be embarrassing, but if you feel that you might have some issues to resolve, the pain is worth it in the end.

To conclude, try to actively look for any mannerisms or body language that you could improve on in your everyday life. No need to be on training sessions. If you have habits, they will show up quite a lot of the time.

The next step is to recognise the problem as a problem, and then do something about it. Becoming aware of it is a massive step towards the solution.

ADIT Team.