In January I’ll be flying to Doha, Qatar to perform for some of the top tennis players in the world at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Tennis Tournament. I’ll be in front of an international audience, in a country whose culture is very different from my own. Since my shows rely so much on language, I’m […]
Archive | Impression Management
Parsing the Percentage
It seems like you can hardly open a book about nonverbal communication without eventually coming across the claim that it account for up to 95 percent of our meaning. The claim usually states that 55 percent of our communication is body language, 33 percent is tone of voice, and the remaining 7 percent are words. If you’ve […]
The Picture Ages But You Stay Forever Young.
By Christopher Carter on May 30, 2013 in Facial Expressions, Impression Management, Personal Reflections, popular culture
It’s amazing what we’re willing to trade for a little bit of lost youth. This article discusses the psychological cost of using Botox. In a nutshell, because Botox freezes the facial muscles, it makes it impossible for others to perceive your micro expressions. As a result, people have a difficult time forming emotional connections with […]
Five Tips For Looking Confident (Even When You Aren’t)
By Christopher Carter on May 3, 2013 in Body Language, Featured Posts, Impression Management, Influence, Positive Thinking
Confidence is the most powerful tool for persuasion you possess. People tend to be more attracted to those who are confident and more likely to agree with them or want to do what they ask. But there’s a problem. From time to time everybody gets butterflies. Your palms start to sweat, your breathing becomes […]
Body Language Over The Telephone?
By Christopher Carter on February 28, 2013 in Body Language, Featured Posts, Impression Management, Interviewing Skills, Positive Thinking
My favorite part of any speaking event is when I take questions from the audience. This is where I find out what people really want to know about communication. At one of my recent Student Body Language presentations a woman asked, “Can body language help me when I’m doing a job interview over the phone?” […]
What You Mean and What You Say
One of the bigger challenges I have when I give lectures is making people see that there is a difference between what body language means and what it “says” to others. This was borne out again recently after a program I gave at a Community College in Indiana. During the talk I had explained that […]
Does It Mean Anything?
One interesting exchange I had while on my recent tour went like this: Man: “I love watching people, and I’ve noticed some interesting things.” Me: “Such as?” Man: “I’ve noticed that people who talk without moving their upper lips are usually dishonest.” Me: “Uh…..Ok. I recommend you never visit England.” If you read me even occasionally, […]
The Art of the Handshake
Within 30 seconds of meeting a person for the first time, the person you meet will decide two very important things about you. He will decide whether he likes you, and he will decide whether he trusts you. The scary part is that he will not make these decisions consciously. These decisions will be based on […]
The Power of a Handshake
20 years ago, in my starving artist phase, I would moonlight as a roadie for a stage illusionist. One of my jobs was setting up his pyrotechnic display. It always made me nervous, and not just because I constantly risked blowing myself up. You see, when you use pyrotechnics, you have to notify the local fire […]
Sure, You’re Making Eye Contact, But Is It The Right Kind?
Everyone knows how important it is to make eye contact with the people you’re talking to, but not all eye contact is the same. If you’re doing it right, you’re communicating to your conversation partner that you’re likeable, trustworthy, attentive. If you do it wrong, you could be communicating that you’re intense, aloof, domineering, or disinterested. Here […]
