Welcome to Change Your Mindset (formerly known as Improv Is No Joke) where it is all about believing that strong communication skills are the best way in delivering your technical accounting knowledge and growing your business. The way of building stronger communication skills is by embracing the principles of applied improvisation. Your host is Peter Margaritis, CPA a.k.a. The Accidental Accountant, will interview financial professionals and business leaders to find their secret in building stronger relationships with their clients, customers, associates, and peers, all the while, growing their businesses.
Ep. 77 – Colin Blalock | It’s Not What You Say That is Heard: Why Reading Body Language is Fun & Profitable
Colin Blalock, a shareholder with Jones and Kolb, is a CPA with a very unique set of skills: Colin has developed a talent for understanding the nonverbal messages that people are saying. That’s right – He has developed the ability to read body language, and he has delivered a number of conference presentations on this topic.
The importance of reading body language is underscored when you understand how people are interpreting your message: 7 percent is what you say, 38 percent is how you say it (the tone of your voice), and 55 percent is silent body language.
But a lot of us don’t take the time to think about our own body language, and that limits how effectively we can communicate with others – or understand what they’re really communicating to us.
Colin’s Challenge & Body Language Cheat Sheet
For the next 30 days, when you get up in the morning, read this cheat sheet – the 13 keys of body language – and try to identify these things during your day. What you see, and learn, will absolutely blow you away.
Key #1 – Initial Meeting
- Plan
- Flash/return flash
- Eye contact
- Smile
Key #2 – Spacing
- Personal space
- Correct distance
Key #3 – Conflicts
- Unknown male/female (standing and sitting)
- Standing vs. sitting
- Avoid deep armchairs
Key #4 – The Handshake
- Pressure/length
- Limp wrist
- Dominate (counter)
- Get together
- Submissive
- Glove
- Double touch
- Shoulder grip
Key #5 – Appearance
- Glasses
- Best face forward
Key #6 – Cooperation/Acceptance
- Head tilt
- Eye contact
- Smile
- Speaking to a group – contact
Key #7 – Power Plays
- Control time/space
- The stare – counter
- Where you sit
Key #8 – Reading Others
- Watch for leakage
- Read my lips
- Furrowed forehead
- Buy signs
- Watch the feet
- True smile
- Copying stance/gestures
Key #9 – Common Lying Gestures
- No single sign
- The nose knows
- Gravity defying gestures and happy feet
Key #10 – Watch the Hands
- Touching objects
- Palms up/down
Key #11 – What about the Eyes?
- Audio (side to side)
- Calculating (down and left)
- Emotional (down and right)
- Deception (up and right)
- Recalling (up and left)
Key #12 – Common Barriers
- Arm fold
- One arm fold
- How to break the barrier
Key #13 – Practice!
Colin’s Favorite Body Language Books:
- Telling Lies, Paul Ekman
- Extremely hard to read, but many books use his research.
- Unless you really like Calculus I would pass.
- The Secret Language of Success, David Lewis
- First book I read, 31 rules provides a good foundation;
- The book cost $0.01 and shipping is $4.24. Accountants love rules and there are 31 Rules to follow. Note: three books below cover many of the same points.
- The Definitive Book of Body Language, Allan and Barbara Pease
- Excellent book and discusses issues up through former President Clinton;
- Entertaining and useful.
- What Every BODY is Saying, Joe Navarro
- Real life experiences working with soldiers captured in the Gulf Wars and how the same techniques are applied to interactions today;
- Works with Fortune 500 companies now;
- Addresses benchmarking.
- Let Me See Your Body Talk, Jan Hargrave
- Very good book for singles;
- Explains social interactions.
- The Silent Language of Leaders, Carol Kinsey Goman
- Excellent book if preside over meetings or need to get a consensus from a group on issues;
- Explains why some people “lead” and no one follows.
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