Dear ladies and gentlemen, I am sure many of you have been wondering: how to gain the healthy and professional posture when having a meeting? How to place my arms in order tolook decisive? What should I never do with my hands? I propose you to review together the proper postures you can adopt every day.
Proper sitting postures
When sitting at the table we should use your hand’s width to determine how close we should approach to the table. Let’s review now our sitting positions from top to toes.
1. Chin parallel to the floor is the proper head’s position.
2. Your shoulders should always be down and backward.
3. Your back should be straight with your tailbone touching the back of the chair (leaning against the chair).
4. Space between the legs should be the same as our shoulder width. For ladies, crossing legs is also acceptable. During long meetings, you can alternate leg placement.
Arms
Very often we don’t know what to you with arms during a meeting. I propose you several postures according to the aim you want to achieve.
The demonstrating power pose
Place your arms with both elbows on the table, hands up and hand in hand, fingers relaxed. During a meeting, if you want to look decisive and confident when it comes to a certain topic I propose you to have this pose.
The closed pose
For instance, if you want to be left outside of some discussions you can show that by crossing your arms.Be aware that this pose normally signalize as an attempt to put a barrier between you and other persons, so use it wisely.
The open pose
Our forearms are on the table, hands are one in each other, fingers relaxed. With this pose you are present in the discussion but not aggressive.
The relaxed pose
Our arms are under the table,either placed in our lap or next to our body. This pose is also suitable for people who tend to play with pen or can’t remain their hands steady. With placing your hands under the table those problems are not visible.
To avoid
1. Our hands shouldn’t be playing with something on the table (pen, glass, etc…)
2. We shouldn’t, of course, rest our head in our hands.
I propose you to try these poses and find the proper one that will allow you to stand out in your business meetings! Let me know if you have any doubt regarding proper postures in the comments below!
Follow us for more etiquette articles and class information.
