Tag Archive for Orientation

Some Ways To Set Up An Office

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

Low ranking employees are forced to face the wall so the boss can watch them work without being noticed himself.

Low ranking employees are forced to face the wall so the boss can watch them work without being noticed himself.

Another method to protect and reserve space is to pull a desk away from a wall as it cuts other people off from using that space. Outward facing desks leave plenty of space in a room where someone might sneak up from behind or from the side. Higher status workers will turn their desks so they facing doorways or entryways to avoid surprise intrusions. This simplest ways to perform a status check is to verify the way in which people face. If they face a wall there is a good chance they are lower status, but if they face the door and can easily see people enter their office, then they are likely higher status. The orientation of the window and door also has an effect on how things are set up and depending on the uneasiness of a particular person will depend on which orientation they prefer. Usually there is a balance between looking out the window to enjoy the view it provides and monitoring the door. The highest ranking workers will have private offices with controlled entry, or in other words a secretary.

A busy office provides multiple meeting and collaborative areas.

A busy office provides multiple meeting and collaborative areas.

It is important to put some thought into how desks are used since they can dictate how a meeting might unfold. A desk between two forward facing people forms a barrier which then leads into a formal meeting even when it’s not intended. If the goal is to create less confrontation and foster team building, than meetings should take place without a desk, or with circular or even square tables. Space permitting, circular tables should be included in the office environment to permit informal meetings if desired. Having room for more than one meeting area sends a powerful nonverbal message to those visiting since it shows that your occupation warrants it, even if they are only rarely used.

Placing chairs kitty-corner at a rectangular desk or positioning two chairs at forty-five degrees to the table on the same side can be effective if the goal is to hold cooperative meetings. Every office should be set-up in a manner that suits its main purpose, however, contingencies should be made for rare occasions when alternative strategies need to be implemented. If the idea is to quickly build friendships rather than demonstrate authority, it would be wise to have a more informal setting, perhaps even a comfortable sofa and coffee table with casual furnishings. It is no accident when a high powered lawyer organizes rows upon rows of legal books to his back. His message is clear; I have the knowledge to back me. What non verbal message does your office convey?

How To Set Up Your Office

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

The desk is the most important piece of furniture and it’s found in all offices. The area behind the desk always forms the private area where only the desk owner is permitted. This is his sanctuary which he protects. Those with desks facing in toward an open space with their backs to a wall have the most amount of status. Having your back against the wall protects you from a theoretical sneak attack or from having others watch you as you work. Low ranking workers will usually work in areas that afford them little privacy and hence be found in wide open areas [click images to enlarge – not all data is visible].

The area behind the desk is considered private. Facing the door with the back to the wall is the most powerful position as it permits seeing people enter.

The area behind the desk is considered private. Facing the door with the back to the wall is the most powerful position as it permits seeing people enter.

Low ranking employees are forced to face the wall so the boss can watch them work without being noticed himself.

Low ranking employees are forced to face the wall so the boss can watch them work without being noticed himself.

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Some Ways To Set Up An Office #3

A low rank desk arrangement because it leaves the employees back exposed to whomever is entering through the door.

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Some Ways To Set Up An Office #4

An extremely low status desk arrangement because it would be impossible to guard against someone entering through the door.

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This arrangement is meant to maximize the amount of private space claimed by the owner. Any area from the edge of the door across the front of the desk to the bookcase and behind are claimed as reserved for the owner’s needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooperative Side-By-Side Position

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

Chairs on the same side of the table is the "cooperative" seating arrangement as no barrier is present between the participants. It is the most open way of interacting.

Chairs on the same side of the table is the “cooperative” seating arrangement as no barrier is present between the participants. It is the most open way of interacting.

The cooperative position contrasts the casual corner position with a side-by-side orientation on the same side of the table rather than kitty-corner or cross-corner. There are two possible arrangements for the side-by-side and the variants determine the level of connectivity and interaction between two people. When the chairs are facing forward, or toward the table, it slightly inhibits eye contact decreasing the level of sharing. This orientation shows that there is some cooperation but that it’s not complete. When chairs are facing forward in this manner, it is usually because it is assumed that people are already a part of your team and the two of you are facing off against another party.

A second orientation happens when collaborating on a project. Here, the chairs will (and should) be turned at forty-five degrees toward each other. This arrangement represents intimacy since there is no barrier to interfere with the sharing of information. Working on a common goal, a project or presentation are a few examples of when it’s best to use this arrangement. Intimate couples will also choose this position at restaurants except where moving the chairs about is not permitted. Other couples fail to see this and instead choose competitive arrangements as if they are on job interviews, or are facing off against each other in twenty questions!

There are times when sitting on the same side of the table can appear too intimate, as if invading someone else’s space. One can begin by taking up positions across the table and then finding an excuse to pass documents across it. After some time, moving to the other side of the table and sitting down to clarify the information provides enough of a reason to bridge the gap between people and being fostering intimacy.

How We Prefer To Orient Ourselves When Standing

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

Most people would state that standing square, face-to-face was the most honest and trustworthy position people orient themselves in while speaking with someone, but they would only be half right. In fact, most Americans stand at forty-five degrees or at oblique angles to one another. Facing someone dead on, is how boxers square off to one another in the pre-show weigh-in or when two men near physical contact at a bar. The head on orientation is reserved for confrontation with just one exception. That is when two people are really comfortable with each other.

In confrontation people get really close to one another and stare into each others eyes as a signal of dominance. This stance has a basis in escape since it is much easier to exit left or right from a tilted position rather than one that squares you off to someone else. When we want to exit from a confrontational stance we need to pivot or shift first which requires more movement and puts is in peril. However, orienting at oblique angles mutually tells us that we aren’t trying to corner each other, but when confrontation is not a remote possibility, facing straight-on is a demonstration of extreme comfort and trust.

Other cultures don’t feel this way. Arabic cultures for example will speak with one another with their faces nearly touching, which isn’t rare, in fact it happens during normal conversation. Women in American cultures tolerate such closeness only from another woman. Men who do this to women will be perceived as sexually interested and be seen to be making a sexual come-on. If not welcomed closeness will be a threat and turn-off, and in an office situation, should definitely be avoided.

The Legs and Feet Tell About Where The Mind Thinks

by  • March 5, 2013 • 0 Comments

Or toes point to where our mind thinks. Extending our foot in the direction of another person shows we're thinking that way.

Our toes point to where our mind thinks. Extending our foot in the direction of another person shows we’re thinking that way.

The legs and feet are excellent predictors about what our minds and bodies wish to do, but haven’t yet had the motivation to implement. Just like fingers can and do point when directing the attention of others, so too, can the feet. As it applies to the feet, however, the signal is leaked by accident, rather than on purpose. Our feet lead us everywhere we go, but even while seated they tell others the direction we plan to head once the right circumstances or opportunity presents itself. If you want to know if someone really likes you and is interested in fully inviting you in for discussion, just watch their feet. While seated, if they just swivel their hips in your direction, but keep their feet planted facing away from you, then you know that they aren’t totally immersed. This is likely so because we’ve been programmed by our culture to be polite, so we do our best to engage other people, even if we do it in jest. How rude would it be to point our bodies away from someone who wishes to speak with us? No doubt, this too happens, but is much more obvious and so requires less skill in reading.

This sort of orientation is universal across interactions, the hips up will orient to face whoever is speaking with us, but what happens below, is subject of true interest. Studies covering courtroom behaviour has shown that when juries don’t like a particular witness they will orient their feet toward the door or nearest exit, while the rest of their bodies politely face the witness. As the strength of conversations wax and wane, feet will engage and disengage. This is why we say that interested people put their “whole body into the conversation.” If you can engage them in interesting dialogue then you’ll be able to have them reorient their feet toward you and perhaps even extend a foot in your direction. If you notice feet being moved toward an exit or away from you, try to decipher the cause, as this will tell you why they’ve become disinterested. Disinterest can be for any number of factors, including hearing something offensive, disinterest in the topic or conversation as a whole, or even being late for an engagement. The feet won’t tell you why someone is disinterested, only that someone is disinterested.

His ventral display says that he's ready to leave.

His ventral display says that he’s ready to leave.

As we saw in the previous section, leg crossing predicts relationships since we tend to cross towards our spouses, and our dates, but legs and feet can also cross toward someone we feel is attractive. While we might not physically take steps in the direction of our interest due to shyness, or perhaps because we are already committed, our feet are permitted to do so because it is less obvious to others. Besides, feet pointing does not always guarantee that anything proactive will ever take place. In other words, the feet just point to where we wish to be, but won’t necessarily ever get to.

Feet are honest - these feet want to take action.

Feet are honest – these feet want to take action.

In stressful situations that people wish to avoid like waiting to see the dentist or doctor, we’ll see toes pointing to the exit. Other times we see prominent toe pointing is when someone wants to end a conversation. It can be annoying to have to do multiple good-bye sequences with someone who seems to have nothing better to do than to ramble on. So instead of reorienting your body toward them, instead aim your feet and shoulders toward the exit. If that doesn’t speed things up or send a clear message, make it more obvious by widening the gap by stepping away.

Legs and feet can also become jittery and fidget when a person is bored and wants to leave. Jittery though can also be due to nervous energy or even the result of happiness such as “happy feet.” It is the context that will help decide what feet and legs are telling in this type of body language.