Winner's Way Tip: Limit The Fidget

Leil's book, Talking The Winner's Way: 92 little tricks for big success has helped me so much with my communication. I'd be remiss to not pass on the knowledge. Here's tip #7

HOW TO COME ACROSS AS 100 PERCENT CREDIBLE

I have a friend, a highly respected headhunter named Helen. Helen makes terrific hires for her clients. I once asked her the secret of her success. She said, "Probably because I can almost always tell when an applicant is lying."

"How can you tell?"

She said, "Well, just last week, I was interviewing a young woman for a position as marketing director for a small firm. Throughout the interview, the applicant had been sitting with her left leg crossed over her right. Her hands were comfortably resting in her lap and she was looking directly at me.

"I asked her salary. Without swerving her eyes from mine, she told me. I asked if she enjoyed her work. Still looking directly at me, she said, 'yes.' Then I asked her why she left her previous job."

Helen said, "At that point, her eyes fleetingly darted away before regaing eye contact with me. Then, while answering my question, she shifted in her seat and crossed her right leg over her left. At one point, she put her hands up to her mouth."

Helen said, "That's all I needed. With her words she was telling me she felt her 'growth oppurtunities were limited at her previous firm.' But her body told me she was not being entirely forthright."

Lesson?

Whenever your conversation really counts, let your nose itch, your ear tingle, or your foot prickle. Do not fidget, twitch, wiggle, squirm, or scratch. And above all, keep your paws away from your puss. Hand motions near your face and all fidgeting can give your listener the gut feeling you're fibbing.