Laneri writes: "An image is worth 1,000 words: No matter how illustrious our resumes, how brilliant our ideas, how Calvinist our work ethic, we are judged by how we present ourselves. Research shows that it takes four minutes to make a first impression, and, according to a widely cited study by UCLA professor Albert Mehrabian, body language accounts for 55% of that impression (38% comes from tone of voice; the remaining 7% from our actual words)."
She then goes on to discuss a few gestures women commonly do that are easily misinterpreted:
Crossing your legs may cause people to think that you're resistant to their opinions and ideas.
Fiddling with your clothes, hair, or jewelry can give off the impression that you're anxious or flirting.
Folding your arms in front of your body may make you seem defensive or insecure.
Hiding your hands under a table or keeping them folded in your lap signals untrustworthiness.
Smiling too much can lead others to believe that you're not serious about the situation at hand.
Tilting your head won't make you seem like a good listener - rather, it may give off the impression that you're flirty or submissive.
The insight that I found most interesting came from a quote that Laneri provided from Jeannine Fallon, Exec Director of Corporate Communications for Edmunds.com: "I distinctly remember one insight [from a training session I attended while working at Volvo]. At a boardroom table, women tend to pile all their materials neatly and sit tucked into the table, while men tend to sprawl out, push away from the table, cross his ankle over a knee and lock arms behind his head. It was impressed up on us that the concept of taking up space correlates to the concept of dominance. I've never sat tucked into a table since."
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