Tag Archive for Team Building

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.

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Some Ways To Set Up An Office #5

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hand Steepling

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

She knows something you don't.

She knows something you don’t.

The hand steeple happens by propping up the fingers of on hand, with the finger of the other hand, to form a bridge. In this posture fingers are not interlocked and the palms do not touch. The word steepling comes from their similarity to the pointed roof of a church steeple. Rocking, might accompany the steeple where the hands move back and forth by adding and reducing pressure between them. The steeple can be placed low on a lap, or seen hovering slightly above the lap. Other times the steeple is in full view of others with the elbows propped up on the table. The steepler can hold the posture so high that they have to look through the steeple to see others. Hand steeples frequently occur by themselves as standalone cues, and don’t require additional body language in a cluster to have predictable meaning.

The steepler is someone that is confident, sometime overconfident, genuine, authoritative, and particularly evaluative of others around him. Confidence, in this case, is held in the power and control they possess and also in knowing things that other people do not, so steepling says “I have access to hidden information (and life experience) and this is the source of my power and control over you.” Steeplers are found carrying the gesture when around subordinates, or whenever they seem to have the upper hand. Donald Trump performed the steeple frequently on his television show The Apprentice, in preparation, of all things, to fire his next apprentice! His steepling was an obvious cue to the power he had over his subordinates. This gesture is effective if you already possess power or want others to think you do, but it is ineffective in team building, since it comes off as arrogant. It does have subconscious manipulative properties though, such as bluffing in poker but in most cases, this gesture is only as effective as that which can be backed up with real confidence and true access to valuable hidden information.

Superiors will also be seen using this gesture in meetings and when giving orders and the higher the steeple is held, the greater the arrogance it depicts. In extreme forms, the person carrying the gesture can be seen “looking right through their hands” between the triangle formed by the pent up fingers and the thumbs. A more subtle version is the hidden steeple of which the sender could be trying to hide or shelter their opinion from view by keeping the steepled fingers below the table. The lower steeple is more often used by women and when someone is listening rather than speaking. Hidden steepling refers to hidden confidence or a desire to limit arrogance in attempt to appear more open and accepting. The underlying meaning of the steeple is still present however, yet women should show more overt confidence by actively mirroring or initiating steepling on their own to gain an advantage in office situation, rather than letting their confidence fall to the way side. In all confident steepling the hands remain stand-alone, or the elbows serve to prop the hands up from a table. When the hands are steepled, but holding support to the head, it does not signal confidence, but rather boredom, self consciousness, or awkwardness.

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Hand Steepling 3The steeple can occur in body language clusters as well, but what is important is not what happens after the steepling, as in the chin stroke and eye glass language, but rather what happens preceding the steepling. Therefore, by watching for positive open postures such as palms up and arms un-crossed or closed postures such as arms crossed, touching the nose or face and avoiding eye contact, we can tell if the person is trying to be honest or manipulative with his or her apparent power. In other words, steepling is a finish posture serving to punctuate a body language clue cluster rather than the other way around. Steepling can also ebb and flow along with confidence to what is being said which can be useful in negotiations or in arguments. If something is said to drop confidence the steepling might be broken in favour of interlocked hands as if praying but then quickly return when a person feels that their position has improved. Interlocked fingers is a signal of low confidence and the fingers might even be seen wringing themselves. Lawyers quickly learn to control this nonverbal cue in favour of constant steepling rather than any other gesture.