3 ways body language can improve your work day
Image: John Anthony Rizzo | Brand X Pictures
1. Posture Matching
The adoption (or imitation) of common bodily postures (identified as posture matching) by people in pairs or groups tends to enhance rapport between/ among the people, because it signals that they are open to and with one another. The adoption of noncongruent postures tends to indicate attitudinal and perceptual differences or relationship distance.
2. Leaning forward
When people lean forward toward each other, it’s a sign of high comfort and agreement. If a nurse initiates this, it’s likely that the family members or coworkers will feel a little more at ease, and will respond in a more positive and cooperative manner.
3. Head Nodding
Head nodding while listening to patients and family members affords positive reinforcement. When a listening nurse nods when a patient or family speaks it shows they are following along and ‘with you.’
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Typically one can’t fake body language as well as one can fake written or spoken language. Reading nonverbal signals and paying attention to your own nonverbal cues can often be critical for a nurse’s success and effectiveness.
This article is mentioned in the Spring 2010 print edition of Scrubs Magazine, which can be found at uniform retail stores nationwide or purchased online. Go to http://scrubsmag.com/magazine for a peek inside and to find out where you can get your copy!
I think this is a very interesting article with good cues to tune in to when dealing with people. The nature of our job focuses on interpersonal relationships, and oftentimes these relationships have to be formed in times of extreme stress and anxiety for the receiving end, the patient. Taking nonverbal cues is extremely important and I think the author details many of these in an effective manner. Would love more details about patient interaction. Eye contact is another big factor and sign of a person’s comfort level along with pacing in the room. I like the section about body angles which can be very important when doing family education- a family member that leans in and is engaged is more likely to be absorbing the information as opposed to the person that sits far away from you and avoids eye contact. I thought the co-worker and manager section was interesting because I would not have thought to analyze a person with hands behind the head or on the hips but I will after reading this. Something else that is extremely important for healthcare professionals to remember is taking into account various cultural practices and differences. Some cultures may exhibit a body language or nonverbal cue that could be taken as rude to what you view as norm, but in their culture it is customary such as avoiding eye contact or sitting in a certain position. Be open to nonverbal cues but also be aware that some people may interpret cues differently than you.
How thrilled I was to find more and more males going into the nursing profession. But there is no doubt that the male nurse has a totaly different relationship w/ the doctors. Even the patients assume because the sex of the nurse is male that he must be a doctor and very few of the nurses correct that assumption. I have been nurse for 40 years and do not believe that all male nurses are superior to me because of their sex.The whole story has to be RESPECT and this is something that has to be earned not a given because of birth rights.
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5. Eye Contact
Doesn’t apply to all patients. I suffer from severe headaches, eye contact is disturbing, impossible to hold a gaze and talk or listen at the same time. I get distracted. If Doc talks to me and i look at him i can’t understand everything being and i also forget what i was going to say. Suddenly my memory blocks and words i just had in mind vanishes but turning my eye or looking at an other direction everything gets better and words come to mind again. Also usually my head and eyes look downwards for the most part. However as i try hard not to look down to avoid miss understanding of my body language, it also makes the headache worse, there is being times i have vomited by struggling not to look downwards and try to hold a gaze at physicians offices. And a drop of a needle on the floor is distracting, sound sensitive and takes my attention away when Doc clicks the computer mouse while there for treatment, the sound of the clicks worsens not only the headache but feel pain through the ear going straight right to middle of the head and feels like it is something physical touching the pain inside of the head. In short it really depends on the disease.