Interview Tip - Body language
Many body language experts advise maintaining eye contact, sitting up straight, smiling and generating optimism, avoiding showing any signs of anxiety and stress during the interview.
Objectively, this is good advice but there is a fundamental difficulty in following it during an interview. If you are preoccupied with the advice given - how to smile sympathetically, how to maintain eye contact, how to avoid fidgeting and so on - your thoughts are not focused on the questions being asked, but rather on your body language.
When the bulk of your attention is focused on your body language, your ability to answer the interviewer's questions concisely and in a proper manner is being inhibited.
Body language is the reflection of one's emotions at a given point in time. When the job applicant is preoccupied with the interviewer's powerful image and thoughts he/she are likely to answer the questions in a soft tone and will have trouble projecting optimism. When the job applicant is concerned about the interviewer's power they will have a problem maintaining eye contact. When the interviewee undervalues their own abilities the body language signs will reflect this.
We recommend that you avoid being preoccupied with your body language and any 'external' signs but rather focus on the interviewer's questions, on the position at hand and on your high self esteem – appreciate yourself. If you value yourself the external body signs will reflect this. Your innate feelings influence your external behaviour.
When you address the interview situation as an opportunity rather than an obstacle, your body language will reflect this and so will your attitude towards the interviewer. If you adopt a positive stance towards the interviewer, your body language will be relaxed and calm. If you remain focused on the questions asked (rather than on your body language, the quality of your answers, the impression you make or any other distracter) and are confident in your abilities – your body language will show it.
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