Executive Coaching to Improve Nonverbal Skills
Leadership Needs Training in Management Communications
Jul 18, 2009
The importance of nonverbal communications should be a constant consideration by leaders during daily interactions with staff, shareholders, the community, media, fellow executives and other constituents.
Staff meetings, leadership development sessions, presentations, media encounters or even water-cooler chats are all times when executives and leaders are judged based not only on words but more on body language.
Leadership Coaching to Focus on Nonverbal Skills
Far more than formal speeches and the words used, these key audiences form understanding and beliefs about leaders based on the use of facial expressions, distance when talking with people and hand gestures.
In a recent article in The Washington Post, Carol Kinsey Gorman, an executive coaching expert and author of The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work, notes that people interpret what is said only partially from the words used.
Instead, most messages received are from nonverbal signals.
Coaching executives and leaders to pay attention to nonverbal communications improves management communications by increasing opportunities to communicate vision and engage audiences.
Leadership Development, Executive Training Includes Body Language Coaching
The strength of body language reinforces communications research that face-to-face communications reigns as the most preferred, strong method of communications.
Interpersonal communications with employees is particularly important, leading to improved morale, trust in leaders and organizational direction and an improved bottom line.
Facial expressions tell a story. For example, showing a lack of emotion about human issues can send a clear message of indifference or lack of caring. Negative facial expressions are generally not well-received as a leadership trait and include grimaces, eye-rolling and forced smiles.
Hand gestures should be natural and enhance a leader’s words. Open hand and arm gestures away from a speaker’s body send a message of openness, honesty and trust. On the other hand, clenched fists, crossed arms or hands in the pockets send a nonverbal clue of being guarded and dishonest.
Presentation Skills Reflect Training, Coaching and Development on Body Language Use
At the same time, the use of hands and body gestures should match the leader’s message. For example, when a leader is communicating a difficult message to employees such as layoffs or a reduction in operations, facial expressions should not include grins or smiles and body language should be subdued.
Executive leadership improves when coaching about presentation skills includes time spent on nonverbal communications. Management communications will be more trusted and leaders perceived as more trustworthy among audiences when body language and facial expressions happen thoughtfully and with purpose.
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