Body Language For Interview

Interview Tips

Interview Body Language.

Hi friends, In this post i would like to share about Body language techniques for an Interview. Your body language says 93% about you to the interviewer rather than what you are saying from your mouth. The Body Language technique is a subject in the SSB, Defense, Criminal Investigations, Master of Business and Administration (M.B.A) and in various recruiting private agencies. Ok let we come to the interview part of body language.

In an interview, I divide the sessions as seven, they are
  1. Waiting for the Interview.
  2. Walking inside the interview room. (Entering)
  3. Hand Shake.
  4. Choosing and Sitting in the chair.
  5. Body gestures during conversation with the interviewer.
  6. Eye movements
  7. Leaving the interview.
First let we see one by one in detail,

1) Waiting for the Interview:-

     In most of the interviews, they company or organization persons makes the candidates to wait for a while before the interview.  Since they watch the candidates for some of the qualities.  They watch whether we get boredom in few minutes or talking with others or feeling sleepy in few minutes etc.
     Like this while waiting for the interview,
  • Dont put your arms in your cheeks or rest your face in your palms.  As this shows that you are disinterested.
  • Never look out when two people are debating.  This shows that you are a follower of the two.  If you can converse with them else take a magazine and start to read.
  • Dont shake your legs or toes, this shows that you are passing your time.
How to be perfect while waiting for the interview:-
  • Sit relaxed and start to read any novels, as this relaxes your mind and keep you ease.
  • If the situation is good, then converse with the near ones and talk a good constructive topic.  This shows that you are friendly to your environment.
  • Never talk anything technically before going to an technical interview, this creates a high heart beat situation.


2) Walking inside the interview room. (Entering)

     This is the first thing we do in the interview.  The things which includes in this steps are 
  • Seeking permission to enter the interview room and Walking inside it, 
  • Standing and Seeking permission to sit in the chair
 Seeking permission to enter into the interview room:-  While asking permission, Ask with a good tone, rather not too higher or too lower.  Ask confidently, May I come in Sir/Madam or Shall i come in Sir/madam.  My piece of advise is better to ask permission starting with "May", as this shows permission.  After getting permission walk into the room.

Walking:-  While walking into the interview room, walk with head held high and upraised chest and shoulders.  This shows your confidence level.  Since if you walk with your head focussing on the ground means, it shows that you are thinking, nervous, panic about the interview.  So the interviewer expects to walk with confidence.  Also have a note that while walking dont look in an arrogancy manner.
Dont enter your hands into your pant pocket, leave it free and walk, this shows that you want to be secured.
Dont alter your shirt buttons, wrist watches or anything.  This shows that you are nervous.
Dont see the time before entering the into interview, if you know that your interviewer is watching you.

3) Hand Shake:-

     Do not offer your handshake firstly.  Be confidence in your look and wait for the interviewer to offer you handshake.  If it is offered then give a firm hand shake.  This again proves that you are confident enough.  If you give the handshake first, it may be interpreted as that you are forcing the interviewer to give you a hand shake.  Its not necessary for the interviewer to give handshakes for all the candidates who are coming for the interview.  So dont force the interviewer for hand shakes.  
While giving hand shake, have a smile in your face and watch the eye of the interviewer.  Dont look at your hands.
Also dont withdraw your hand first while handshaking, this shows that you are disinterested with that personality.


4) Choosing and Sitting in the Chair:-  Most of the persons dont care about this while going for the interview.  But this plays a major role in non verbal communication of the interview.  I want to tell you this in two parts.
  • Standing near the chair for the interview.
  • Choosing the right chair for group discussion and meetings.
Standing near the chair for the Interview:-   After entering the interview room and walking near the interview table, there will be chair offered to you to sit for the interview.  In this scenario, we have to ask permission to sit in the chair.  Before this, there is an important thing that we should not stand in front of the chair.  Since if we stand in front of the chair then it shows that we think ourself that we will be granted seat to sit.  So its not a good attitude.  The best thing is stand behind the chair and wait for the interviewer to give permission.
In worst case, if the permission is not granted then ask permission with a warm smile to sit.

Choosing the right chair for group discussion and meetings:-  While choosing the chair for group discussion and meetings, try to sit in the middle of the "U" shaped table or normal straight table.  This shows your leadership.  If you sit in the center of the table, then you will be the center of attraction.  If you talk something relevantly when speaking, then your points will be noticed first. 


5) Body Gestures during conversation with the interviewer:-

     This part is the very very important part of the interview.  As this shows many of your qualities to your interviewer.  I say some of the do's and dont's.
  • Never use fingers to scratch eyes, nose or mouth while coversing with the interviewer.  It shows that you are lier.
  • Try to look at the eyes of the interviewer and not their body.  This may irritate them.
  • Dont shake legs, hands during conversation.
  • Dont look the exit door of the interview hall, as this shows that you are eagerly waiting to close the interview session.
  • Never insert your legs inside the chair, this also shows your disinterest in the interview.
  • Place your hands over your knee area and dont do any designs or scratching with that.
6) Eye Movements:-

      In any interview, you may experience that, i did well but why i didnt get selected.  The answer for this is here.  Because the interviewer checks us whether we are truthful with our replies or not.  This case is more in defence interviews and now a days more in corporate interviews also.
Since, we cant able to fake our eyes while telling lies and the trained interviewers could easily able to identify this.
There are six things in eye movements of a man :-


  1. Visual Remembrance.
  2. Auditory Remembrance.
  3. Self thinking.
  4. Visual Imagination.
  5. Audio Imagination.
  6. Recalling a feeling.
Visual Remembrance (Eye ball in top left corner):-  Visual remembrance is nothing but, pre recorded or past things that is happened in your life in terms of situations or scenes.  i.e. If the interviewer asks you a situation for your leadership.  You would answer this question.  He checks whether your eye ball goes to top left corner of the eyes, then he conclude that you are telling the truth.

Auditory Remembrance (Eye ball in extreme left corner):-  Auditory remembrance is nothing but, pre recorded or past things that what you heard from others or any songs etc.  Old audio records in brain.  i.e. If the interviewer asks you. Tel your favourite song?.  He checks whether your eye ball goes to the extreme left corner of the eye, then he conclude that you are telling the truth.

Self Thinking (Eye ball in left extreme down):-  Self thinking is nothing but, the eye ball looks down to the extreme left side of the body.  This shows to the interviewer that you are thinking on your own.  This is taken as true, when you are in a situation to tel judgement or solution for an issue.  That is Talking to the self.

Visual Imagination (Eye ball looking top right):-  Visual imagination is nothing but, telling things or imagining situations that is not happened in your life .  i.e. If the interviewer asks you a situation for your leadership.  You would answer this question.  He checks whether your eye ball goes to top left corner of the eyes, then he conclude that you are telling the truth.
Eg:- If "A" asks to "B" as what he said?
In this if B says that C told you as good boy.
In this scenario, we can check "B" whether he is saying truth of not by noting his eye ball.  Its true try this.

Audio Imagination (Eye ball looking extreme right):-  Audio Imagination is nothing but telling things which you didnt heard or lies.  This is the usual response of the liers.

Recalling a feeling (Eye ball looking Right extreme down):-  This is recalling of the one's feeling.
These are about eye movements of the person in interview and also in normal life.  Guys learn these techniques it will be more useful for you to read others.

Guys look at the above picture, and tel which of the smileys are lying?

My opinion is 1,4.  Since these two are telling about the imaginary things.  So these two are liers.  

7) Leaving the interview:-

      This is the last process in the interview.  In this while leaving the interview,
  • Don't shake the chair while leaving the seat.
  • Never look the ground while leaving from the interview room, as it shows that you are not confident with your interview process.  Instead, walk with head held high and upraised chest.  This shows your confidence.
  • If the interviewer offers you the handshake, respond him firmly.
  • Close the door of the interview room slowly, and dont dash it after leaving the room.
Follow these things friends, then success is yours 

These are about the nonverbal communication or body language in an interview.

Related Terms

Reactions