Claudia Raab's Blog

Following Friday's blog entry "Use non-verbal communication to SOFTEN the hard-line position of others" this week each day we'll have a closer look at Body Language and the acronym (an abbreviation of several words that forms a word itself) SOFTEN respectively its meaning. This will help you discover some new clues of how to use your body language to overcome your fear of public speaking while building rapport and feel comfortable with your audience.

Just a little refresher: SOFTEN stands for S = Smile, O = Open Posture F = Forward Lean T = Touch E = Eye Contact N = Nod. Let's start with S for smile. "A smile is the shortest distance between two people" is a well known saying and as is the case with most well known sayings very true and helpful. In particular when it comes to public speaking, positive body language and making a great first impression on your audience or anyone you meet and greet.

People who smile are perceived as welcoming, open, approachable, self confident, competent and successful winners. They can connect with and get the attention of their audience by far easier than someone who doesn't smile. Also, since your body language influences your state of mind and your state of mind influences your body language, if you put a smile on your face you will automatically feel more positive, calmer and confident.

However, be aware: Your smile has to be genuine. Many people will intuitively notice a faked smile. The effect is devastating for the speaker. All of his or her credibility is gone immediately, no one will trust them anymore, rapport is destroyed and whatever the speaker is going to say is received critically.

By the way, if you're not sure whether you can detect a faked smile and see if the person you listen to is honest with you simply take a test. The BBC has a great online experiment for you on offer. Simply click on the following link:

BBC - Spot the Fake Smile
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/smiles/