Interviewing and body language

Lionel WIJESIRI

The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said. - Peter F. Drucker

Have you ever made up your mind about a visitor based on the body language he exhibited in your lobby? How about that clammy, wet, limp handshake? Or, how do you react to somebody with dirt under his fingernails when he folds his hands on your desk?

As a person involved in Human Resources Management, I have also given too little credence to these nonverbal communication clues in the past. As an example, sometime back I recruited a middle-aged lady as an office secretary with dirty fingernails. She told me she had a baby six-months old and I forgave what was an obvious, usual heads up for me.

The end of the story! No it is not. After two months, she was asked to leave for her inability to give attention to details that were critically important to the customer. She also could not keep numbers straight in a business development job.

Despite her marvellous references, I should have paid more attention to the details of her nonverbal communication. I noticed the fingernails and the somewhat unprofessional dress, but her presence, her references, and the fact that she had a six-month old child, clouded my judgment. No more.

Today, when I take over the responsibility of recruiting people, I concentrate heavily on the details exhibited through a candidate’s nonverbal communication.

I often make up my mind about a job candidate based on the way he sits in our lobby. I often confirm that opinion when he walks across the room and shake my hand. My experience has taught me that aside from protected characteristics such as gender, race and weight, you can learn a lot about your prospective employee from their nonverbal communication.

I have realized that the nonverbal communication is a powerful tool providing credible information - when you are listening with your eyes.

Study

You’ll want to watch for nonverbal signals that tell you about the person’s attitude, outlook, interests, and approach.

They speak louder than the verbal communication during the interview process.

The nonverbal communication helps you confidently assess each candidate’s credentials with regard to the skills necessary to do the job, behavioural characteristics you have identified as necessary for success in the job, and culture and environment of your organization.

A study by a research team from University of California showed that any communication is 7 percent about what you say. 38 percent comes from your voice quality. 55 percent is taken from your non-verbal communication.

This means that when you are interviewing an applicant you should pay a lot of attention to how he communicates non-verbally.

There are a number of ways you can make this work for you.

The first few minutes in any interview setting are so important. You take a look at the candidate and note all of the nonverbal messages he is communicating. You form impressions from his posture, hand shake, outfit and accessories, space usage, attentiveness, eye contact, and facial expressions. And, then only you listen to what she has to say in response to your questions.

Posture

Body posture is the bearing or the position of the speaker’s body. It is a more or less stable state and thus not to be confused with body gestures which are movements.

However, when your candidate is sitting comfortably yet upright, but not stiffly, in his chair, such postures convey a degree of formality or relaxation. Slouchy posture speaks loudly about sloppy work and low self-esteem. Does he walk with a self-assured ease? If so, he’s likely to be confident and comfortable with himself.

Hand shake

Notice whether your candidate has a firm, dry, solid hand shake. Again, a confident, comfortable person uses the hand shake as a positive nonverbal interaction. The hand shake should assure you of the candidate’s desire for a positive first interaction and impression. An excessively strong hand shake may tell you the person is overly aggressive or trying to steamroll you.

Body gesture

A body gesture is a movement made with a limb, especially the hands, to express, confirm, emphasize or back up the speaker’s attitude or intention.

This non-verbal activity is regularly used in oral discourse. If a body act requires no verbal accompaniment, it is called an ‘emblem’.

Examples are: hand signals such as waving good-bye, the ‘V’ for victory sign or the ‘high five’ signalling victory. While some emblems, for example a clenched fist, have universal meaning, there are others that are idiosyncratic or culturally conditioned.

The use of the zero shape made by the fingers, for instance, does not mean the same thing in different cultures.

Standing for ‘OK’ in the UK, it may be a vulgar expression in South American cultures, sometimes embarrassingly so.... Body gestures are always perceived and interpreted together with facial expressions.

Facial expressions

Facial expressions are dynamic features which communicate the speaker’s attitude, emotions, intentions, and so on. The face is the primary source of emotions. During oral communication, facial expressions change continually and are constantly monitored and interpreted by the receiver. Examples are: a smile, frown, raised eyebrow, yawn or sneer.

Eye movements

Eye movement is a key part of facial behaviour because the eyes are invariably involved in facial displays. The different forms are observed to be cross-cultural. The frequency of eye contact may suggest either interest or boredom or may even betray dishonesty.

The direct stare of the speaker can show candour or openness. Downward glances are generally associated with modesty; eyes rolled upwards are conveyed as a sign of fatigue.

Researchers have discovered that certain facial areas reveal our emotional state better than others. For example the eyes tend to show happiness, sadness or even surprise. The lower face can also express happiness or surprise, a smile, for instance, can communicate friendliness or cooperation.

As for the lower face, brows and forehead are known to reveal mostly anger.

Pause

A pause can have two different meanings. It can be a brief suspension of the voice to indicate the limits and relations of sentences and their parts. That is normal.

Or, it can consist of a temporary vocal inaction revealing the speaker’s uncertainty, hesitation, tension or uneasiness. In this context, a pause can also be judgmental by indicating favour or disfavour, agreement or disagreement. It can have a positive or negative influence on the process of communication.

Dress

No matter how informal your work environment, a professional job candidate needs to wear smartly to his first meeting. The selected outfit tells you how well the candidate will interact with and be perceived by customers. The chosen accessories either telegraph professionalism - or they don’t. A brief case, a leather portfolio, a nice pen, leather purse and shined shoes present a solid, professional appearance. They tell you the candidate cared enough to want to make a good first impression.

Nonverbal communication is the single most powerful form of communication. More than voice or even words, nonverbal communication cues you in to what is on another person’s mind. Today, most management experts are sensitive to the power of the emotions and thoughts communicated nonverbally.

(The writer is a company director experienced in Human Resource Management and Development)