How to Downshift your Career and Resume

How to Downshift your Career and ResumeHow to Downshift your Career and ResumeHow to Downshift your Career and ResumeAfter a stellar career as CEO of a Fortune-caliber company, Ted no longer wanted the immense responsibility. He and his wife decided to relocate to a small community and simplify their lives and, in Teds case, take a step back and downshift his career. As he especially enjoyed sales, he took a position as sales manager with a local company in his new community.Diane, an IT executive, was feeling frustrated and ready for a change. She never really enjoyed managing people and missed having direct involvement with technology projects. So, she reverted from senior manager to hands-on technologist.Surviving a heart attack made Steve rethink his career as a division CFO. During his recovery, he took stock of his career. He wanted to reduce his stress and responsibilities, and ultimately chose a lower-level position with a large accounting firm.These examples illustrate a few of the reasons why executives opt to shift gears and downshift their careers. Doing so presents some unique challenges. Writing a resume suited for a downshiftd career involves careful self-assessment of your interests, values, skill sets, personality, and work environment, as well as other factors. This must be combined with the planning and execution of a systematic search process.For those who want to take a step back and downshift their careers, the key is to downplay your executive-level experiences and job titles while emphasizing your core skills and competencies related to your new objective. Once you determine your career direction, these 7 pointers will help you create an effective marketing tool.Target your resume by clarifying your focus. This will serve as a central theme around which youll shape the content of your resume. This will allow prospective employers to see you in your desired new role.Review ads and review the responsibilities for your new target position. Identify the skills that you possess that match those requirements.Based on your research, compile a list of your related functional and transferable skills. This will be the foundation for your new resume. In your resume, demonstrate how youve applied those skills by identifying related accomplishments and success stories from your experiences, both paid and unpaid.Craft a Career Profile on your resume that paints a picture of who you want to be to support your new objective. Write a profile headline that defines the position or function youre seeking. For example If transitioning from COO to sales/territory management, your headline could be Sales Manager. If youre Vice President of Human Resources but are interested in a training position, your headline could be Training Director. Within the profile section of your resume, summarize your core skills related only to your focus, rather than your entire set of qualifications.Consider a combination chronological or hybrid resume that will allow you to bring past relevant experience to the forefront. The voreingestellt reverse chronological resume is not likely to be the best format when stepping back.In the Professional or Relevant Experience section of your resume, highlight only the specific skill sets, qualifications and accomplishments that most closely match your current objective. For example If youre a technology director seeking a position marketing new technology products, highlight the depth of your technical expertise, your success in supporting customers, your project management results and your communications strengths. For another example, if youre a COO switching gears to sales manager, emphasize your results in providing team leadership, revenue generation, new business development and customer relationship management.When downsizing your career, a cover letter is a critical companion to your resume. This is a chance to address your reason for making a change and stress how you meet the qualific ations of your target position. Heres an example After an exceptional career with Company A, I have come to realize that my real passion is (your target field). As such, I have decided to now concentrate my career in this area. Thus, my interest in your company and this position.Once you have a solid resume, cover letter and marketing plan in place, youre ready to begin your search. Although you can use various avenues in your search (personal and business referrals, responding to advertised positions in print and online, posting your resume online, and contacting target employers), referrals and networking should be a key component. Search firms are not as likely to be viable sources for those who are downsizing their careers.Making any career transition requires commitment, solid focus and persistence. It cant be a sporadic effort. If you embrace the challenge and arm yourself with the right tools and strategies, you should be able to transition to a new, more satisfying position.

McKesson Work-At-Home Company Profile

McKesson Work-At-Home Company ProfileMcKesson Work-At-Home Company ProfileIndustry Health Care Company Description Headquartered in San Francisco, healthcare giant McKesson is a Fortune 500 company employing more than 76,000 people. In 2014, McKesson acquiredCelesioto become one of the worlds largest healthcare companies, with over $208 billion in annual revenue (fiscal year 2017). McKesson specializes in retail pharmaceutical distribution, wholesale medical supplies, pharmacy services and technology, and solutions for specialty practices and biopharma companies. In addition to its U.S.-based operations, McKessons large Canadian and European divisions all make use of home-based workforces. The company directly recruits many telecommuting positions and allows office-based employees to telecommute part-time. This is the reason McKesson is on this list ofTop Telecommuting Companies. Types of Work-at-Home Positions This company, known for its flexible work schedules and benefit s, hires medical personnel like RNs and physicians in work-at-home positions as well as professionals in marketing, IT, sales, insurance claims, and medical coding. Many of its work-at-home positions require frequent travel. Many of the nursing positions in the United States and Canada are in telehealth, in which RNs practice telephone triage and disease-management to patients from their own home offices. Calls are both inbound from patients with questions and outbound for disease management. Nurses in these positions must have at least three years experience in a clinical setting, preferably in an acute care setting. Good computer skills and phone manner is also needed.Additionallynurse auditors are hired togather andanalyze medical records for chart audits. Learn more about the kinds of work-at-home jobs nurses can do. More Healthcare Work-at-Home Jobs Nursing Jobs From HomeMedical Transcription From HomeWork-at-Home Jobs for PhysiciansRemote Medical Call Center JobsHome-Based Me dical Coding JobsInsurance Jobs From Home Using McKessons Employment Page To find a work-at-home position, search the companys job database. Jobs with no city and state are telecommute, but also use keywords remote or work at home to search as some work at home jobs are associated with locations.Most of its remote positions are tied to a specific geographic location. Other Companies With Home-Based Medical Jobs McKesson is bedrngnis the only game in town when it comes to home-based jobs in healthcare. For more profiles of companies that hire nurses (and others with medical backgrounds) to work from home, click on the links below. CarenetAetnaHumanaUnitedHealth GroupFonemedCigna NoteCompanies listed in this or other work-at-home company profiles may or may not be hiring at this time. Please research job openings reading their job posting and employment policies carefully with an eye toward how your skills match their needs before initiating contact.

4 secrets to reading body language like an expert

4 secrets to reading body language like an expert4 secrets to reading body language like an expertHow important is body language?About55% of what you convey when you speak comes from body language. In fact, when youre speaking about something emotional only about 7% of what the otzu sichbei part hears has to do with the words you use.mora often than not you can tell what a politician thinks about an issue just by watching their greifgreifhands. Psychopaths can tell who would be a good victim just by watching them walk.In five minutes you can often evaluate people with approximately 70% accuracy. . .but obviously were wrong often, and that 30% can be very costly.What can the research teach us about better reading peoples body language?What youre doing wrongIn The Silent Language of Leaders How Body Language Can Helpor HurtHow You Lead the author points out a number of common errors people make.Heres how I interpreted the findingsIgnoring context Crossed arms dont mean as much if the r oom is cold or the chair theyre sitting in doesnt have armrests. Everything has to pass the common sense test given the environment.Not looking for bereichs One of the biggest errors people make is looking for one single tell. Thats great in movies about poker players but in real life its a consistent grouping of actions (sweating, touching the face, and stuttering together) that is really going to tell you something.Not getting a baseline If someone is always jumpy, jumpiness doesnt tell you anything. If someone is always jumpy and they suddenly stop moving - HELLO.Not being conscious of biases If you already like or dislike the person its going to affect your judgment. And if people compliment you, are similar to you, are attractive these can all sway you, unconsciously. I know, you dont fall for those tricks. Well, the biggest bias of all is thinking youre unbiased.What to focus onWhat signals can and should you trust when trying to get a read on someone? They need to be unconsc ious behaviors that are not easily controlled and convey a clear message.In Honest Signals How They Shape ur World, the authors point out three to keep your eye onSpeech mimicry and behavioral mimicry Are they using the same words you use? Speaking at a similar speed and tone? Are they sitting the way you sit? Is a subtle, unconscious game of follow-the-leader going on? This is a sign the other person feels emotionally in sync with you. It can be faked but thats rare and difficult to pull off consistently across a conversation.Activity level As a general rule, activity levels indicate interest and excitement. (Often when a woman is bouncing her foot during a date it means shes interested in the man shes with.)Consistency of emphasis and zeiteinteilung This is a sign of focus and control. Someone who is less consistent is less koranvers of themselves and mora open to influence.Specifics to look forContextually vetted, baseline adjusted rubriks are your best bet but research has shown some specifics are often decent indicators.Crossed legs are a very bad sign during negotiations.Via The Silent Language of Leaders How Body Language Can Helpor HurtHow You LeadCrossed legs can have a devastating effect on a negotiation. In How to Read a partie Like a Book, authors Gerard I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero reported that the number of times settlements were reached increased greatly when both negotiators had uncrossed their legs. In fact, they found that out of two thousand videotaped transactions, not one resulted in a settlement when even one of the negotiators had his or her legs crossed.Theres a consistent cluster that has been seen among people who are trying to cheat you.Via Wray Herbert, author of On Second Thought Outsmarting Your Minds Hard-Wired HabitsAgain and again, it was a cluster of four cues hand touching, face touching, crossing arms, and leaning away. None of these cues foretold deceit by itself, but together they transformed into a highly accurate s ignal. And the mora often the participants used this particular cluster of gestures, the less trustworthy they were in the subsequent financial exchange.Who should you trust? Look for people who are consistently emotionally expressive in their body languageThese results suggest that cooperators may be more emotionally expressive than non-cooperators. We speculate that emotional expressivity can be a more reliable signal of cooperativeness than the display of positive emotion alone.And look at peoples hands. Palm down gestures indicate power. Palm up shows submission.The New York Times cites Adam Kendon, author of Gesture Visible Action as Utterance, on the deeper meaning of hand positionsGestures of the Open Hand Prone or palm down family are used in contexts where something is being denied, negated, interrupted or stopped, whether explicitly or by implication. Open hand Supine (or palm up) family gestures, on the other hand, are used in contexts where the speaker is offering, givin g or showing something or requesting the reception of something . . .Keep in mind that men and women differ in body language. For instance, they flirt differentlyViaFascinate Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and CaptivationA female begins fascinating a male by smiling at him, raising her brows to make her eyes appear wider and more childlike, quickly lowering her lids while tucking her chin slightly down, in an effort to bring him closer. After averting her gaze to the side, she will, within moments and almost without exception, put her hands on or near her mouth and giggle, lick her lips, or thrust out her chest while gazing at the object of her intended affection.And its consistent, regardless of language, socioeconomic status, or religious upbringing. For men, says Rodgers, the fascination ritus is less submissive but no less standardized. Hell puff out his chest, jut his chin, arch his back, gesture with his hands and arms, and swagger in dominant motions to draw attention to his p owerHow to get better at reading body languageFirst, pay attention. Sounds obvious but youre probably not doing it consistently throughout the conversation.Dynamics change, especially when youre dealing with someone who is actively trying to deceive you. Unless theyre very good, inconsistencies will arise (leakage) and you can get insight into how they really feel.Youll improve dramatically by addressing the four weaknesses pointed out in The Silent Language of LeadersConsider context Should someone in this situation be acting like this?Look for clusters of actions, not isolated ones All three of those behaviors are associated with?Get a baseline How do they normally act?Be aware of your biases Are you tempted to cut them slack and they havent abfluged speaking yet?Your abilities will make a quantum leap if you realize that body language is part of a bigger context and a bigger cluster and you start monitoring the other facets of behavioral interaction voice, appearance, clothing, e tc.These can help you evaluate the whole packageWhat does clothing tell you? How about shoes?What does someones voice tell you?What does a face tell you? How about a quick glance?What are 10 instances when you should trust your gut?Join over 285,000 readers and get a free weekly update via emailhere.Related postsHow To Be Resilient 8 Steps To Success When Life Gets HardWhat 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple EmailsThis article originally appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.4 secrets to reading body language like an expertHow important is body language?About55% of what you convey when you speak comes from body language. In fact, when youre speaking about something emotional only about 7% of what the other person hears has to do with the words you use.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreMore often than not you can tell what a politician thinks about an issue just by watching their hands. Psychopaths can tell who would be a good victim just by watching them walk.In five minutes you can often evaluate people with approximately 70% accuracy. . .but obviously were wrong often, and that 30% can be very costly.What can the research teach us about better reading peoples body language?What youre doing wrongIn The Silent Language of Leaders How Body Language Can Helpor HurtHow You Lead the author points out a number of common errors people make.Heres how I interpreted the findingsIgnoring context Crossed arms dont mean as much if the room is cold or the chair theyre sitting in doesnt have armrests. Everything has to pass the common sense test given the environment.Not looking for clusters One of the biggest errors people make is looking for one single tell. Thats great in movies about poker players but in real life its a consistent grouping of actions (sweating, touching the face, and stuttering t ogether) that is really going to tell you something.Not getting a baseline If someone is always jumpy, jumpiness doesnt tell you anything. If someone is always jumpy and they suddenly stop moving - HELLO.Not being conscious of biases If you already like or dislike the person its going to affect your judgment. And if people compliment you, are similar to you, are attractive these can all sway you, unconsciously. I know, you dont fall for those tricks. Well, the biggest bias of all is thinking youre unbiased.What to focus onWhat signals can and should you trust when trying to get a read on someone? They need to be unconscious behaviors that are not easily controlled and convey a clear message.In Honest Signals How They Shape Our World, the authors point out three to keep your eye onSpeech mimicry and behavioral mimicry Are they using the same words you use? Speaking at a similar speed and tone? Are they sitting the way you sit? Is a subtle, unconscious game of follow-the-leader going on? This is a sign the other person feels emotionally in sync with you. It can be faked but thats rare and difficult to pull off consistently across a conversation.Activity level As a general rule, activity levels indicate interest and excitement. (Often when a woman is bouncing her foot during a date it means shes interested in the man shes with.)Consistency of emphasis and timing This is a sign of focus and control. Someone who is less consistent is less sure of themselves and more open to influence.Specifics to look forContextually vetted, baseline adjusted clusters are your best bet but research has shown some specifics are often decent indicators.Crossed legs are a very bad sign during negotiations.Via The Silent Language of Leaders How Body Language Can Helpor HurtHow You LeadCrossed legs can have a devastating effect on a negotiation. In How to Read a Person Like a Book, authors Gerard I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero reported that the number of times settlements were reach ed increased greatly when both negotiators had uncrossed their legs. In fact, they found that out of two thousand videotaped transactions, not one resulted in a settlement when even one of the negotiators had his or her legs crossed.Theres a consistent cluster that has been seen among people who are trying to cheat you.Via Wray Herbert, author of On Second Thought Outsmarting Your Minds Hard-Wired HabitsAgain and again, it was a cluster of four cues hand touching, face touching, crossing arms, and leaning away. None of these cues foretold deceit by itself, but together they transformed into a highly accurate signal. And the more often the participants used this particular cluster of gestures, the less trustworthy they were in the subsequent financial exchange.Who should you trust? Look for people who are consistently emotionally expressive in their body languageThese results suggest that cooperators may be more emotionally expressive than non-cooperators. We speculate that emotional expressivity can be a more reliable signal of cooperativeness than the display of positive emotion alone.And look at peoples hands. Palm down gestures indicate power. Palm up shows submission.The New York Times cites Adam Kendon, author of Gesture Visible Action as Utterance, on the deeper meaning of hand positionsGestures of the Open Hand Prone or palm down family are used in contexts where something is being denied, negated, interrupted or stopped, whether explicitly or by implication. Open hand Supine (or palm up) family gestures, on the other hand, are used in contexts where the speaker is offering, giving or showing something or requesting the reception of something . . .Keep in mind that men and women differ in body language. For instance, they flirt differentlyViaFascinate Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and CaptivationA female begins fascinating a male by smiling at him, raising her brows to make her eyes appear wider and more childlike, quickly lowering her lids while tuckin g her chin slightly down, in an effort to bring him closer. After averting her gaze to the side, she will, within moments and almost without exception, put her hands on or near her mouth and giggle, lick her lips, or thrust out her chest while gazing at the object of her intended affection.And its consistent, regardless of language, socioeconomic status, or religious upbringing. For men, says Rodgers, the fascination ritual is less submissive but no less standardized. Hell puff out his chest, jut his chin, arch his back, gesture with his hands and arms, and swagger in dominant motions to draw attention to his powerHow to get better at reading body languageFirst, pay attention. Sounds obvious but youre probably not doing it consistently throughout the conversation.Dynamics change, especially when youre dealing with someone who is actively trying to deceive you. Unless theyre very good, inconsistencies will arise (leakage) and you can get insight into how they really feel.Youll improv e dramatically by addressing the four weaknesses pointed out in The Silent Language of LeadersConsider context Should someone in this situation be acting like this?Look for clusters of actions, not isolated ones All three of those behaviors are associated with?Get a baseline How do they normally act?Be aware of your biases Are you tempted to cut them slack and they havent started speaking yet?Your abilities will make a quantum leap if you realize that body language is part of a bigger context and a bigger cluster and you start monitoring the other facets of behavioral interaction voice, appearance, clothing, etc.These can help you evaluate the whole packageWhat does clothing tell you? How about shoes?What does someones voice tell you?What does a face tell you? How about a quick glance?What are 10 instances when you should trust your gut?Join over 285,000 readers and get a free weekly update via emailhere.This article originally appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.You might also en joyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people4 secrets to reading body language like an expertHow important is body language?About55% of what you convey when you speak comes from body language. In fact, when youre speaking about something emotional only about 7% of what the other person hears has to do with the words you use.More often than not you can tell what a politician thinks about an issue just by watching their hands. Psychopaths can tell who would be a good victim just by watching them walk.In five minutes you can often evaluate people with approximately 70% accuracy. . .but obviously were wrong often, and that 30% can be very costly.What can the research teach us about better reading peoples bod y language?What youre doing wrongIn The Silent Language of Leaders How Body Language Can Helpor HurtHow You Lead the author points out a number of common errors people make.Heres how I interpreted the findingsIgnoring context Crossed arms dont mean as much if the room is cold or the chair theyre sitting in doesnt have armrests. Everything has to pass the common sense test given the environment.Not looking for clusters One of the biggest errors people make is looking for one single tell. Thats great in movies about poker players but in real life its a consistent grouping of actions (sweating, touching the face, and stuttering together) that is really going to tell you something.Not getting a baseline If someone is always jumpy, jumpiness doesnt tell you anything. If someone is always jumpy and they suddenly stop moving - HELLO.Not being conscious of biases If you already like or dislike the person its going to affect your judgment. And if people compliment you, are similar to you, a re attractive these can all sway you, unconsciously. I know, you dont fall for those tricks. Well, the biggest bias of all is thinking youre unbiased.What to focus onWhat signals can and should you trust when trying to get a read on someone? They need to be unconscious behaviors that are not easily controlled and convey a clear message.In Honest Signals How They Shape Our World, the authors point out three to keep your eye onSpeech mimicry and behavioral mimicry Are they using the same words you use? Speaking at a similar speed and tone? Are they sitting the way you sit? Is a subtle, unconscious game of follow-the-leader going on? This is a sign the other person feels emotionally in sync with you. It can be faked but thats rare and difficult to pull off consistently across a conversation.Activity level As a general rule, activity levels indicate interest and excitement. (Often when a woman is bouncing her foot during a date it means shes interested in the man shes with.)Consistency of emphasis and timing This is a sign of focus and control. Someone who is less consistent is less sure of themselves and more open to influence.Specifics to look forContextually vetted, baseline adjusted clusters are your best bet but research has shown some specifics are often decent indicators.Crossed legs are a very bad sign during negotiations.Via The Silent Language of Leaders How Body Language Can Helpor HurtHow You LeadCrossed legs can have a devastating effect on a negotiation. In How to Read a Person Like a Book, authors Gerard I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero reported that the number of times settlements were reached increased greatly when both negotiators had uncrossed their legs. In fact, they found that out of two thousand videotaped transactions, not one resulted in a settlement when even one of the negotiators had his or her legs crossed.Theres a consistent cluster that has been seen among people who are trying to cheat you.Via Wray Herbert, author of On Second Thou ght Outsmarting Your Minds Hard-Wired HabitsAgain and again, it was a cluster of four cues hand touching, face touching, crossing arms, and leaning away. None of these cues foretold deceit by itself, but together they transformed into a highly accurate signal. And the more often the participants used this particular cluster of gestures, the less trustworthy they were in the subsequent financial exchange.Who should you trust? Look for people who are consistently emotionally expressive in their body languageThese results suggest that cooperators may be more emotionally expressive than non-cooperators. We speculate that emotional expressivity can be a more reliable signal of cooperativeness than the display of positive emotion alone.And look at peoples hands. Palm down gestures indicate power. Palm up shows submission.The New York Times cites Adam Kendon, author of Gesture Visible Action as Utterance, on the deeper meaning of hand positionsGestures of the Open Hand Prone or palm down f amily are used in contexts where something is being denied, negated, interrupted or stopped, whether explicitly or by implication. Open hand Supine (or palm up) family gestures, on the other hand, are used in contexts where the speaker is offering, giving or showing something or requesting the reception of something . . .Keep in mind that men and women differ in body language. For instance, they flirt differentlyViaFascinate Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and CaptivationA female begins fascinating a male by smiling at him, raising her brows to make her eyes appear wider and more childlike, quickly lowering her lids while tucking her chin slightly down, in an effort to bring him closer. After averting her gaze to the side, she will, within moments and almost without exception, put her hands on or near her mouth and giggle, lick her lips, or thrust out her chest while gazing at the object of her intended affection.And its consistent, regardless of language, socioeconomic status, or rel igious upbringing. For men, says Rodgers, the fascination ritual is less submissive but no less standardized. Hell puff out his chest, jut his chin, arch his back, gesture with his hands and arms, and swagger in dominant motions to draw attention to his powerHow to get better at reading body languageFirst, pay attention. Sounds obvious but youre probably not doing it consistently throughout the conversation.Dynamics change, especially when youre dealing with someone who is actively trying to deceive you. Unless theyre very good, inconsistencies will arise (leakage) and you can get insight into how they really feel.Youll improve dramatically by addressing the four weaknesses pointed out in The Silent Language of LeadersConsider context Should someone in this situation be acting like this?Look for clusters of actions, not isolated ones All three of those behaviors are associated with?Get a baseline How do they normally act?Be aware of your biases Are you tempted to cut them slack and they havent started speaking yet?Your abilities will make a quantum leap if you realize that body language is part of a bigger context and a bigger cluster and you start monitoring the other facets of behavioral interaction voice, appearance, clothing, etc.These can help you evaluate the whole packageWhat does clothing tell you? How about shoes?What does someones voice tell you?What does a face tell you? How about a quick glance?What are 10 instances when you should trust your gut?Join over 285,000 readers and get a free weekly update via emailhere.Related postsHow To Be Resilient 8 Steps To Success When Life Gets HardWhat 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple EmailsThis article originally appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.4 secrets to reading body language like an expertHow important is body language?About55% of what you convey when you speak comes from body language. In fact, when youre speaking about somethi ng emotional only about 7% of what the other person hears has to do with the words you use.More often than not you can tell what a politician thinks about an issue just by watching their hands. Psychopaths can tell who would be a good victim just by watching them walk.In five minutes you can often evaluate people with approximately 70% accuracy. . .but obviously were wrong often, and that 30% can be very costly.What can the research teach us about better reading peoples body language?What youre doing wrongIn The Silent Language of Leaders How Body Language Can Helpor HurtHow You Lead the author points out a number of common errors people make.Heres how I interpreted the findingsIgnoring context Crossed arms dont mean as much if the room is cold or the chair theyre sitting in doesnt have armrests. Everything has to pass the common sense test given the environment.Not looking for clusters One of the biggest errors people make is looking for one single tell. Thats great in movies about poker players but in real life its a consistent grouping of actions (sweating, touching the face, and stuttering together) that is really going to tell you something.Not getting a baseline If someone is always jumpy, jumpiness doesnt tell you anything. If someone is always jumpy and they suddenly stop moving - HELLO.Not being conscious of biases If you already like or dislike the person its going to affect your judgment. And if people compliment you, are similar to you, are attractive these can all sway you, unconsciously. I know, you dont fall for those tricks. Well, the biggest bias of all is thinking youre unbiased.What to focus onWhat signals can and should you trust when trying to get a read on someone? They need to be unconscious behaviors that are not easily controlled and convey a clear message.In Honest Signals How They Shape Our World, the authors point out three to keep your eye onSpeech mimicry and behavioral mimicry Are they using the same words you use? Speaking at a similar speed and tone? Are they sitting the way you sit? Is a subtle, unconscious game of follow-the-leader going on? This is a sign the other person feels emotionally in sync with you. It can be faked but thats rare and difficult to pull off consistently across a conversation.Activity level As a general rule, activity levels indicate interest and excitement. (Often when a woman is bouncing her foot during a date it means shes interested in the man shes with.)Consistency of emphasis and timing This is a sign of focus and control. Someone who is less consistent is less sure of themselves and more open to influence.Specifics to look forContextually vetted, baseline adjusted clusters are your best bet but research has shown some specifics are often decent indicators.Crossed legs are a very bad sign during negotiations.Via The Silent Language of Leaders How Body Language Can Helpor HurtHow You LeadCrossed legs can have a devastating effect on a negotiation. In How to Read a Person Lik e a Book, authors Gerard I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero reported that the number of times settlements were reached increased greatly when both negotiators had uncrossed their legs. In fact, they found that out of two thousand videotaped transactions, not one resulted in a settlement when even one of the negotiators had his or her legs crossed.Theres a consistent cluster that has been seen among people who are trying to cheat you.Via Wray Herbert, author of On Second Thought Outsmarting Your Minds Hard-Wired HabitsAgain and again, it was a cluster of four cues hand touching, face touching, crossing arms, and leaning away. None of these cues foretold deceit by itself, but together they transformed into a highly accurate signal. And the more often the participants used this particular cluster of gestures, the less trustworthy they were in the subsequent financial exchange.Who should you trust? Look for people who are consistently emotionally expressive in their body languageThese re sults suggest that cooperators may be more emotionally expressive than non-cooperators. We speculate that emotional expressivity can be a more reliable signal of cooperativeness than the display of positive emotion alone.And look at peoples hands. Palm down gestures indicate power. Palm up shows submission.The New York Times cites Adam Kendon, author of Gesture Visible Action as Utterance, on the deeper meaning of hand positionsGestures of the Open Hand Prone or palm down family are used in contexts where something is being denied, negated, interrupted or stopped, whether explicitly or by implication. Open hand Supine (or palm up) family gestures, on the other hand, are used in contexts where the speaker is offering, giving or showing something or requesting the reception of something . . .Keep in mind that men and women differ in body language. For instance, they flirt differentlyViaFascinate Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and CaptivationA female begins fascinating a male by smiling at him, raising her brows to make her eyes appear wider and more childlike, quickly lowering her lids while tucking her chin slightly down, in an effort to bring him closer. After averting her gaze to the side, she will, within moments and almost without exception, put her hands on or near her mouth and giggle, lick her lips, or thrust out her chest while gazing at the object of her intended affection.And its consistent, regardless of language, socioeconomic status, or religious upbringing. For men, says Rodgers, the fascination ritual is less submissive but no less standardized. Hell puff out his chest, jut his chin, arch his back, gesture with his hands and arms, and swagger in dominant motions to draw attention to his powerHow to get better at reading body languageFirst, pay attention. Sounds obvious but youre probably not doing it consistently throughout the conversation.Dynamics change, especially when youre dealing with someone who is actively trying to deceive you. Unless th eyre very good, inconsistencies will arise (leakage) and you can get insight into how they really feel.Youll improve dramatically by addressing the four weaknesses pointed out in The Silent Language of LeadersConsider context Should someone in this situation be acting like this?Look for clusters of actions, not isolated ones All three of those behaviors are associated with?Get a baseline How do they normally act?Be aware of your biases Are you tempted to cut them slack and they havent started speaking yet?Your abilities will make a quantum leap if you realize that body language is part of a bigger context and a bigger cluster and you start monitoring the other facets of behavioral interaction voice, appearance, clothing, etc.These can help you evaluate the whole packageWhat does clothing tell you? How about shoes?What does someones voice tell you?What does a face tell you? How about a quick glance?What are 10 instances when you should trust your gut?Join over 285,000 readers and get a free weekly update via emailhere.Related postsHow To Be Resilient 8 Steps To Success When Life Gets HardWhat 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple EmailsThis article originally appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.