It’s perfectly possible to read about body language for interviews, and end up feeling like your arms are too long, and you have too many feet. Body language rules often leave us tied up in knots. One person’s relaxed posture, makes someone else look half cut.
The best thing to do is be yourself.
If you’re not sure what being yourself looks like at the moment, ask a friend (of the helpful and perceptive variety) to give you a mini mock interview (“tell me why you want to read this subject?”). Ask them to pay attention to what you’re doing with your body.
Stay away from interpretations of what the angle between your feet says about your commitment to your subject (or similar claims). What you do want to pay attention to is how natural you feel, and how you might play around with your posture. For example, people often fiddle with their cuffs as they don’t know what to do with their hands. They might learn from some helpful feedback that having their hands clasped on their lap looks good for them.
Yes, there are a few general guidelines, like face the interviewer, and avoid crossing your arms. But the thing is, you’ll be most compelling and interesting to listen to when you’re not even thinking about where your arms are.
So keep it simple. The most important thing is, you be you.
If being you seems way more complicated than it should, consider joining us at an Impetus Preparing for University Interview Success workshop.
