7 Body Language Tricks to Become Likeable in The First Meeting

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I’m Harsh Agrawal

Blog Scientist & a passionate blogger. Love minimalist life & talk about things that matter. Adventure from heart & doer by action.

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Meeting new people could be awkward for some of us. While some of us bask in the glory of meeting new people, it is difficult for many people to get out there and make a first impression that has a positive impact with whom they’ve met.

Some people might be of the opinion that a person’s true motives and intentions couldn’t be figured out in the first meeting itself, but it does help to communicate your credibility non-verbally, through your body language. The way you present yourself in your first meet could make or break your long-term relationship with that person.

Body language tricks

Once you’ve taken care of your personal hygiene and dressed for the part, next up is how you communicate non-verbally. Your body language communicates your confidence and credibility and this is something that could be easily developed through practice.

7 Body Language tricks to become Instantly likeable

Everyone wants people to genuinely like them since the moment they meet someone new. There are certain tricks of this trade to help you establish your credibility and a good first impression. Here are 7 of the best Body Language tricks to become more likeable.

Greet with your best Smile

Greet with your best Smile

A smile does work wonders during your initial meet. A genuine smile delivered properly signifies that you truly care for the person. As author Leil Lowndes writes in her book ‘How to talk to anyone‘, a slow and big, warm flood of smile adds more richness and depth to the way a person perceives you.

Also, do not flash your smile when the person is approaching you, but still a bit far away. Hold it till he is in your line of vision and then unleash your smile. This is one way to acknowledge that the greeting was sincere and especially for them, giving them a feeling of being important. A smile also between your conversation signifies your intent of paying attention to what they have to say and that you are agreeing with them.

Embrace the power of touch

Power of touch

Image credits: Wikihow

Gentle touches on the forearm or on the shoulder of the other person while greeting them is another way to impart your genuineness and a cordial approach. If you look at The meet of Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela,

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You will understand how importance a bit of touch plays in meeting and greeting a new person. Notice how in the video, Bill Clinton shakes hands with Nelson Mandela, while later placing his left hand over his forearm. A tap on the shoulder will also give away a feeling of warmth and friendliness.

This shows that your care is genuine and it breaks down the barriers of communication, letting you up and close with the person. The other person would also like you for your show of affection and genuine care for them, making you instantly likeable.

Keep your posture upright, not rigid

Keep posture upright

The secret to maintaining confidence while speaking is to have your spinal cord completely straight. A straight and firm back lets you articulate your thoughts properly and gives you further confidence while speaking to someone new. Just one thing to be taken care of while doing so is that you must not get too rigid or fixated. Try to keep your body loose and your back straight.

A Harvard study concluded that people who hold expansive poses and take up larger area exhibit better levels of confidence as compared to those who don’t. Never shrink yourself in or you would imparting a lack of confidence. Chest out, straight back and relaxed body is the sign of a confident person.

Pivot completely towards them

Pivot towards your target

This is something that should be taken care of the most. In environments where multiple people meet and greet, your attention should be towards the one you want to make an impact upon. Once this person approaches you, try to completely pivot yourself towards that person and not just your face. Doing otherwise would convey a negative message that you don’t care much about the person and will only be conversing with him as a formality.

Give the person your undivided attention and completely turn towards them. To further improve it, try leaning just slightly towards that person giving an impression that you are eager to listen their thoughts. We only like people who respect us and show them that you truly care for them by being completely attentive.

Try and maintain eye contact throughout

Maintain eye contact

This is another most important act of your initial conversation to impart confidence and credibility to your speech. Try to maintain eye contact with your target person throughout the time.

If you ever need to break eye contact for some reason, do it slowly and not in a jerk, abruptly breaking contact with the person. You would seem more uninterested if you break away eye contact whenever permits.

Beware of rapid eye blinking and staring completely blank at a person throughout the conversation, you might come out as creepy.

Take little breaks of eye contact while coming up with your answers and blink normally while maintaining eye contact with the other person.

Gesticulate when you speak

Gesticulate

Image credits: Lifehacker

Not using an articulated movement of arms and fingers while speaking is a bad way to communicate with someone. You will feel more rigid like a structure and come off completely insincere due to a lack of movement of your arms while talking. Gesticulation is completely normal and illustrates your enthusiasm and interest regarding the said topic. You must also try to show your thumbs in the front while talking, forming a teepee-like structure and not fold your hands while talking to someone.

Gesturing while talking also helps you in your thought process and establishes your credibility and interest in the topic. But care must be taken that you do not end up gesturing a lot, which will make them perceive you as an exaggerating lunatic.

Totally avoid fidgeting

Fidgeting

Image credits: Lifehacker

Another important factor which sub-consciously everyone ends up doing during their first meet – Fidgeting. It just doesn’t get any worse than fidgeting when you meet someone for the first time.

Fidgeting is a sign of nervousness and is often called into play to control nervousness by diverting it into another physical activity. For some it may be frequently bending of their knees, tapping of feet, fidgeting with fingers and anything as such.

All the above changes should be a part of your habit.

It should be same as brushing your teeth like you never consciously pay attention while brushing your teeth.

All the mentioned steps are part of effective communication, and you should practice them with your friends, family & anywhere else. Do try it for a few days, and you would notice how significantly people start liking you.

Now since you know the trick, you should ensure not to use it to judge others. Rather, if somebody is Fidgeting or have his arms crossed (Which is a sign of closeness), you should take command & encourage other people to engage with you in the conversation.

All the leaders use these body language tricks in their day to day activity, and this is one of many reasons we all like them. So why not use these tricks to improve ourselves?

So, what did you make of these Body language tricks for meeting someone for the first time and being likeable?

Shout out your thoughts and comments below.

20 comments on “7 Body Language Tricks to Become Likeable in The First Meeting

  1. this is the one i’m searching of..
    the body language always become the most important thing whenever we meet new face.
    for my own opinion, “Embrace the power of touch” this is the most effective ways to convince people cause it shows other people that we are like a spiritful man/woman..
    thanks for your great sharing Sri kanth

    1. Hello Rumahdewi,

      Yes, the power of touch is one of the most undermined body language these days. It showcases your cordial nature, winning you more respect for your friendly attire. Very glad that you find the tips in this article useful.

  2. Very interesting article. I find out many important things and the excellent hints. Your body language tips are truly helping to become sympathetic. Thanks for sharing such great advices.

  3. Wow..That a great article for the job seekers as most of us do not follow the tips that could lead to a rejection. thanks for the nice work

  4. Hi Srikanth,
    Nice article. Your all articles are always awesome.
    In second paragraph, the attached link is not linked properly, it is not pointing to any webpage. Please consider to FIX this.

    Thanks

    1. Hey Imran,

      Thanks for your comment. Yes, we’ll get the link fixed, thanks for notifying us about the same.

  5. The body language always become the most important thing whenever you meet a new face.
    Even though everyone is entitled to their own personality and self-expression, there are basic steps that everyone can take to improve relationships with those around you. Making a better impression on those around you and developing a stronger reputation can go a long way in networking, career development and socialization.

    1. Hello Paul,

      Thanks for your lovely comment. Yes, just like you mention, developing a better impression among those around you definitely helps in advancing your networking skills and your career.

  6. Good to read all these points.. thanks for sharing.

    As far as eye contact is concerned, if i will be taken interview by two to three persons and in the beginning, they ask me to introduce myself then to whom i should make eye contact more, a person in the middle, right or the one who is sitting at left, what should be the strategy in this case ? Please advise. thanks

  7. interesting article SRIKANT,generally speaking, your tips on behaving are right but from my experience, not all the people are behaving equally, Traditions ,customs, and others factors make people perceive in a different way the above tips, In Thailand I won’t touch the arm or,, even less , pad the shoulder of anyone,as Thay people don’t like to be touch , same with Chinese Italian people ,generally are more open to this body contact ,beeing an important way of showing care and attention, Some Muslim in Pakistan use to embrace themselves ., Indonesian people generally greet like most of the Hindu people from India , without touching but using the Namasté posture ( I’m sure you all understand what I mean LOL…)Just my 2 cents about this very important aspect of our way of meeting and the first impression factor, I lot more could be said about but I don’t want to take too much space, Great Blog by the way,

  8. Really good article, i myself being a manager look at these traits when selecting a candidate for my team. A lack of these would be straight reject for me, most important being eye contact. A strong eye contact is an assurance of confidence.
    Would also like that to add one should shake hands firmly as a gesture of assurance and confidence in the end of meeting. I really hate loose handshakes.

  9. Hmm, i dont know shoutmeloud posts updates about body language. Funny enough, i got in from search engine once again. Your SEO is pro – i envy it.

    I like knowing more about body language. But blogging keeps me away from social life. Thanks for this information.

    1. @Joseph
      We post about many such tips which help anyone including you & me to be a better person in life. ShoutMeloud is all about empowering an individual to be their boss & one can’t be empowered without having proper social skills. It’s not necessary but important skills to have.

  10. Nice srikanth,

    This is very helpful for the candidates who were planning to attent interviews.

    Thanks
    for sharing.
    Shajeer

  11. Body language plays an important role in life. I do not know body language so much, but in my opinion, it is great and it is the best communication tool for persons who can not speak or can not speak well.

  12. Well put article. Great piece. Many people do not take body language seriously and end up bring out something they didn’t mean or get a result they didn’t expect.

  13. Hi Krishna,

    This tricks about body language helped me a lot to communicate confidently. By practicing proper communication skill, you can standout from thousand people and can create a better impression.

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