Know What Your Body's Saying to an Interviewer

Nonverbal cues can tell a listener a lot about your inner thoughts and emotions, especially those listeners that are trained to read them – like say, a recruiter or human resources professional. In an interview, you may think that what you say will be taken at face value, but if you project the wrong nonverbal cues, what you say can be a whole lot different than what the listener actually hears. Here are some important nonverbal cues to practice and avoid, most of which were taken from the Center of Nonverbal Studies' Nonverbal Dictionary.

What Not to Do

Stand with hands on your hips
Standing with your hands on your hips can signify defiance, arrogance and/or agression.

Bounce your foot
When sitting in an interview, avoid fidgeting or bouncing your foot as it may convey boredom or nervousness.

Cross your arms
Crossing your arms across your chest signifies defiance and guardedness.

Touch your face
Touching your nose, eyes or lips is a "tell" that says you are lying or are concealing a thought.

Tap your fingers
Tapping or drumming your fingers on the table signifies boredom.

Look left
If a person shifts their eyes to their left while speaking, it is a tell that he or she is lying.

Turn away from the listener
Angling your body away from whomever you are speaking to can make you look afraid or uninterested.

Gaze down
Lowering your eyes away from the listener reflects feelings of guilt, shame or deceitfulness.

Clear your throat
Excessively clearing your throat can reveal fear and/or deception.

What You Should Do

Stand tall
Walking and standing erectly, with shoulders back and eyes level, signifies confidence.

Palm-down guestures
Palm-down guestures in which the hands and forearms assume the position of a floor pushup, show confidence and assertiveness.

Palm-up guestures
Uplifted palms can be taken as a nonagressive sign to the listener that you are his or her ally. Reaching out to someone with palms rotated upwards builds rapport.

Tilt and nod your head
Tilting and nodding your head tells the speaker that you are interested and fully aware of what they are saying.

Make eye contact
Look a listener in the eye when you are talking to convey honesty and confidence.

Lean forward
Sitting with a slight forward lean across a conference table shows attentiveness and interest.