Have you ever seen anyone walk with their eyes cast downward, their shoulders slumped - as though they’re carrying all the burdens of the world? If you walked like that, how do you think people would look at you?

The way you walk sends a message to the people walking around you. If you walk like a sad, defeated person, that’s precisely how people are going to perceive you. If you walk like a winner, then people are going to perceive you as someone who knows where they’re going - a confident, dynamic person. (And if you walk like John Cleese in that picture, you’re more than likely going to be seen as a silly person. Except if you’re John Cleese, of course!)

Here are some tips for walking like a winner:

• Imagine there’s a wire connecting your chest to the sky, pulling you up like a puppet: In other words, walk erect with your back straight, and your chest out.
• Lead slightly with your hips, not with your shoulders: If you lean too much forward (your shoulders leading more forward than your hips), you’re going to look like you’re slouching. Instead, imagine your hips moving you forward. Don’t do it so much that you look like you’re hip-thrusting your way to your destination, though!
• Be slightly relaxed as you walk.: Note how tense or relaxed you are when you walk. If you’re too tense, people will detect it. Don’t flop around like a jellyfish either.
• Walk purposefully, instead of hurriedly: Note that I didn’t say “walk quickly” - you can walk purposefully even if you’re walking at a normal pace. Walk like you have a sense of purpose and that you’re going somewhere, instead of wandering around aimlessly - but don’t fix your gaze ahead like a search beam. Look around, catch the eyes of people around you, smile or nod slightly. Of course, if you walk quickly, you can still look confident, but walking too fast with a frown on your face just makes you look stressed.

• Swing your arms naturally:This one’s hard to explain in words, but basically, you want your arms to swing as though you’re not really thinking about them. Don’t lock your elbows and keep your arms by your side like a nutcracker. Don’t also swing wildly like you want to knock someone out. Chances are, you’re already doing this correctly, so just be mindful of extremes.
• Don’t look at the floor!: Looking down while walking may create the impression of dejectedness and also cause you to walk into walls. Look up, and around - there’s a wonderful world around you!

• Emulate somebody else’s confident walk: Find someone who you think walks confidently and learn from him or her.

Try walking confidently until it feels natural to you. Have fun!

Tags: Body Language

This entry was posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 1:33 am and is filed under Body Language, Tips And Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.