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Table of Contents

Make Eye Contact

Keep Your Chin Up

Lean Forward

Avoid Your Pockets

Stand Up Straight

Don’t Fidget

Take Larger Steps

Watch Your Hands

Give a Firm Handshake

Mirror the Body Language of Others

Speak Slowly and Clearly

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Even if you don’t feel confident, practicing confidentbody languagecan increase your self-esteem and help you feel better about yourself. Examples of confident body language include maintaining eye contact, standing up straight, not fidgeting, and mirroring other people’s movements.

Practice these gestures and movements to project an air of confidence. As you practice, you will find that practicing confident body language can help you feel more confident in social situations.

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Do you look at the ground when you are walking? Is your head always down when you are talking? Instead, walk with your head up and your eyes looking forward. Keeping your head up and facing your conversation partner conveys interest, confidence, and other prosocial emotions.

It might feel unnatural initially, but you will eventually become used to this more confident pose. Then you can use it when standing and speaking (it will make eye contact easier, too).

When you are in a conversation, leaning forward indicates interest and attention. While it can be tempting to maintain distance if you are socially anxious, doing so conveys that you are disinterested or aloof.

Research suggests that nonverbal signals such as leaning forward and facing straight ahead help convey feelings of interest.

Though it can be tempting to shove your hands in your pockets, particularly if you are worried about them shaking, doing so makes you look more anxious and less confident. Keep your hands out of your pockets to look more self-assured.

Don’t slouch! If you struggle with anxiety or a lack of confidence, you might try to take up as little space as possible, which can mean sitting slumped over in a protective pose.

To convey confident body language, straighten your back, pull your shoulders away from your ears, and uncross your arms and legs.

Taking up space helps you present yourself as more confident.

9 Types of Nonverbal Communication

Fidgeting is an obvious sign ofanxiety and nervousness. Others often interpret fidgeting as a sign of stress and anxiety, which can cause you to seem less confident and authoritative.

Fast movements make you appear more anxious. Everything from hand gestures to your walking stride can make a difference; slow down and notice how you feel more confident when you take your time.

The key, however, is to maintain other signals like eye gaze and posture while moving more slowly. Slow movements combined with poor eye contact and slouched posture can indicate sadness,which may cause people to see you as less confident than you are.

As you slow down, try to take longer strides when you walk. Confident people take larger steps and walk with authority. Doing so will make you feel less anxious.

A wide stride also indicates that you aren’t afraid to take up space, suggesting greater confidence.

Be careful about touching your face or neck; both indicate that you feel anxious, nervous, or afraid. In general, confident people don’t tend to make these types of movements. However, making a steeple with your hands or holding your palms out can imply confidence.

Aweak or limp handshakeis a sign of a lack of confidence, so work on making sure that you offer a firm hand when meeting others. After practice, it will come naturally.

The duration of your handshake can also influence how people perceive you. Research has found that the length of a normal handshake is around three seconds or less.

Prolonged handshakes lasting longer than three seconds are associated with less enjoyment of the interaction, more anxiety, and behavioral freezing.

Mirroring, also known as thechameleon effect, is a tendency to mimic other people’s movements, either subconsciously or consciously. It can have a positive effect on social interactions. It causes other people to notice you and feel more positively about you.

We often mirror other people’s movements subconsciously. For example, we might sit up straighter when our companions are doing so or gesture more frequently around people who talk with their hands.

Mirroring another person’s body language shows you are paying attention to them, which can build understanding and strengthen a relationship. When you feel that bond, you may feel more comfortable and confident.

Slow down and allow your audience to hear what you’re saying. This is a way to command respect.

Still not sure you can muster up the confidence to change your body language? Remember that you don’t have to actually be confident to change your behavior. Although it might feel strange at first,actingconfidently will eventually feel more natural and boost yourself-esteem.

At the same time, working to reduce your anxiety through other means will also help reduce nervous behaviors. If you have not already been diagnosed with SAD, visit a healthcare professional to learn about your options.

You don’t have to live with anxiety that impairs your ability to engage with others. Bothcognitive-behavioral therapy(CBT) and medication have been proven effective in the treatment of SAD and other anxiety conditions.

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Understanding Body Language and Facial Expressions

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Newman R, Furnham A, Weis L, et al.Non-verbal presence: How changing your behaviour can increase your ratings for persuasion, leadership and confidence.Psych. 2016;07(04):488-499. doi:10.4236/psych.2016.74050

Cañigueral R, Hamilton AFC.The role of eye gaze during natural social interactions in typical and autistic people.Front Psychol. 2019;10:560. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00560

Sauter DA.The nonverbal communication of positive emotions: An emotion family approach.Emot Rev. 2017;9(3):222-234. doi:10.1177/1754073916667236

Burgoon JK, Wang X, Chen X, Pentland SJ, Dunbar NE.Nonverbal behaviors “speak” relational messages of dominance, trust, and composure.Front Psychol. 2021;12:624177. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624177

Nagy E, Farkas T, Guy F, Stafylarakis A.Effects of handshake duration on other nonverbal behavior.Percept Mot Skills. 2020;127(1):52-74. doi:10.1177/0031512519876743

Chartrand TL, Bargh JA.The chameleon effect: the perception-behavior link and social interaction.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1999;76(6):893-910. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.76.6.893

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