BodyCon: I recently came across this term when searching for dresses (online) to wear for a family wedding. After a few missteps on the keyboard and into my mail, I realized BodyCon was not the type of dress I should be ordering! You live, you learn.

Yet it got me thinking, about our own self-consciousness, self-awareness. Are we always aware of how we present ourselves in a not-so-casual scenario?

Beyond verbal communication skills, which we will continue to discuss – what about body language – and how is that working for you? Here are a few (yes 5) points to ponder and while it may be okay in a casual setting may not ‘work for us’ in a professional or job seeking encounter?

1. Using your chin as a headrest when talking with someone and your hand covers your mouth.
2. When your eyes speak louder than your words. I’ve been accused of that!
3. Hand gesturing that distracts from your verbal intentions. Yep, that too!
4. Fidgeting so that your audience (of one or more) thinks you are eager to run away.
5. Act as if you know it all — or know for sure, all the time.

So as you may feel the chill of others’ body positioning, tone of voice, eye contact – do monitor your own. And since my eyes have said a few choice words in the past, and my Italian gesturing hands are inherited, I just might return to studying sign language – as that extra profession. If the experts (and there are many) are right, in the future of work, we’ll all need one.