1. Know that all body language is contextual.
   What do I mean by, "all body language is contextual"? I mean body language does not happen in isolation, that interpreting it depends on the situation in which it occurs. It is influenced by the cultures, places, people and situations involved. This means that trying to interpret or use a single body movement or gesture without taking the context into account can result in misunderstanding.
    

2. Take up space.
   Confident people take up space. Don't twine your legs around the chair or sit in the smallest place at a meeting.
    

3. Confident people are visible.
   Don't hide behind a table or lectern when presenting, don't get lost in a huge chair in an interview, be visible.
    

4. Have soft, direct eye contact.
   Confident people look at people, in Anglo Saxon culture anyway. (This differs in other cultures.) Not a hard staring gaze, but a soft gentle focus in the eyes.
    

5. Keep your chest up.
   Confident people keep their chests broad rather than collapsed and dropped. This doesn't mean they stick their chests out, rather, that they keep the width across them. It also doesn't mean they fix them – they still have supple flexible movement.
    

6. Confident people look comfortable in their bodies
   Rather than tightening them in an aggressive way they keep them supple and relaxed.
    

7. Breathe easily.
   Confident people breathe easily and deeply (unless of course they have a health problem that prevents this). Rather than forced breathing or shallow fast breathing or irregular breathing they can breathe easily.
    

8. Confident people hold their heads up.
   Holding your head up can be a physical thing and a psychological factor. Keep your head up. It doesn't have to jut forward or be tilted to the side. Keep your head high.
    

9. Stand on both legs.
   Confident people look as if they can support themselves by standing on both legs. It's fine to be able to move from one to the other but also be able to have weight equally on both legs. This is in contrast to people who bend one knee and drop their hip and stand on only one straight leg.
    

10. Have your facial expression match your emotion.
    If you are angry have your face look serious. I've seen people smile when angry, it doesn't fit. It can undermine the emotion. It can send the wrong message. Have your body and words saying the same thing,

Rachel Green
PO Box 344, Kelmscott, Western Australia 6991.
Phone: +61 8 9390 1188. Fax +61 8 9390 1199
E-mail: rachel@rachelgreen.com