I’ve spent the last three weeks mostly on TikTok… Hmm, this is LinkedIn; are we allowed to bring up that social media channel for kids? Prior to three weeks ago, I had been posting on TikTok about my expertise; I’d done over 80 videos in the previous year and had 1500 followers with an average video view of 400.
Everything changed three weeks ago. I now have 125K followers and up to 2.8M video views. “What caused this massive growth so quickly?” I’m sure you’re wondering. As is often the case, I simply changed the language I was using slightly and gave the people what they wanted… rather than what I had decided they would have.
People are unwilling to learn about ‘facial expressions’ because they don’t understand their significance. They are interested in body language, however. I’ve trained extensively in body language, but I’ve never really emphasised it because I thought facial expressions gave me an advantage and a niche. Body language tips include facial expressions. So I’m still talking about my expertise, but I’ve reframed it into the language people understand and are familiar with. It’s been a very big lesson for me to learn!
Body Language for Brands
This is the hero image on the Selfridges website’s homepage. Sorry, Selfridges, but this body language is a fail when it comes to engaging your customers.
- The posture looks like she’s cowering.
- The facial expression is part of the fear family of emotions.
- It’s a submissive pose.
The following image is from the Selfridges website too. I’m sure you’re thinking that the next image is a fail, but you’d be wrong.
Why does this image work?
- If the facial expression is not showing an emotion that is going to inspire the consumer, then it’s best to not show it.
- The posture is upright and confident.
- The hand on the hip is a sign of confidence too.
- The hand holding the bag is a proud display of the product.
Body Language for Business
On numerous occasions, I’ve attended client meetings to assist them in decoding and interpreting what’s really going on in that meeting.
It’s one of my favourite things to do! Imagine you’re in a category review meeting and have presented to one of the big four grocery retailers, but you’re not making any progress and don’t know why. Your plans show opportunities for growth, one of which is ready to go and will generate millions of pounds in profit for both you and the retailer.
At this point, the meeting usually ends with both parties frustrated and the relationship slightly harmed… not good for either party.
But imagine you have me in the meeting as part of your ‘growth strategy’ team. During the meeting, I observe your client’s key body language movements and can see what is important to him and what is putting him off your growth opportunity. During the coffee break, I tell you exactly what his sticking point is and suggest rephrasing your language. We give it a shot during the next section of the meeting, and an agreement is easily reached, and the growth opportunity becomes a part of the category plans and is moving forward at full speed, worth £millions to both the brand and the retailer.
This is not a made-up story; rather, it is a true account of the benefits of bringing in a growth strategist…
In Other News…
It’s all happened in the last few weeks! I prefer to think of it as evolution rather than a revolution, but it feels more like a revolution to me, in a good way.
You may recall that I have been promoting the Lie To Me Membership for the past few months. It’s going well, and we’ve got a great group of founding members. But we felt there was something off, and after hearing some feedback from our members, we decided a name change was in order.
We have changed our name to The Intuition and Body Language Membership. The membership has not changed, but we have renamed and rebranded.
Unless you watched the TV show, the Lie to Me link was too obscure, and ‘lying’ is not at all what we’re about.
How to get a “communicative edge” over your competitors… Think about this… Do you struggle to break the ice with your customers? You can’t close the deal because you misread their intentions. You’re concerned about what they’re thinking about you…
You hope they’ll buy your product, but at this point, it’s a lottery. Once you come back home, you can’t fall asleep, because you worry whether what you said made sense. However, there is a secret skill you can learn and start implementing straight away. With minimal effort, it gives you the confidence of a lion.
We are about teaching you the secret skills of the mind and body in order to improve all of your communications and relationships. Click to have a look.