The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help—or Hurt—How You Lead

Book description

A guide for using body language to lead more effectively

Aspiring and seasoned leaders have been trained to manage their leadership communication in many important ways. And yet, all their efforts to communicate effectively can be derailed by even the smallest nonverbal gestures such as the way they sit in a business meeting, or stand at the podium at a speaking engagement. In The Silent Language of Leaders, Goman explains that personal space, physical gestures, posture, facial expressions, and eye contact communicate louder than words and, thus, can be used strategically to help leaders manage, motivate, lead global teams, and communicate clearly in the digital age.

  • Draws on compelling psychological and neuroscience research to show leaders how to adjust their body language for maximum effect.

  • Stands out as the only book to address specifically how leaders can use body language to increase their effectiveness

  • Goman, a respected management coach, is widely considered as the expert in body language issues in the workplace

The Silent Language of Leaders will show readers how to take advantage of the most underused skills in the leadership toolkit—nonverbal skills—to improve their credibility and stay ahead of the curve.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. CONTENTS
  5. INTRODUCTION: The Leadership–Body Language Connection
    1. OH, THE THINGS I'VE SEEN!
    2. THE TIME IS RIGHT
    3. CHAPTER OUTLINE
    4. FROM GOOD TO OUTSTANDING
  6. CHAPTER 1: LEADERSHIP AT A GLANCE: HOW PEOPLE READ THE BODY LANGUAGE OF LEADERS
    1. YOUR THREE BRAINS
    2. WIRED FOR BODY LANGUAGE
    3. THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
    4. PERSONAL CURB APPEAL
    5. FIVE MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE READING YOUR BODY LANGUAGE
    6. WHEN YOUR BODY DOESN'T MATCH YOUR WORDS
    7. THE BODY LANGUAGE OF A GREAT LEADER
  7. CHAPTER 2: NEGOTIATION: READING AND USING BODY LANGUAGE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
    1. FOUR TIPS FOR READING BODY LANGUAGE
    2. ARE THEY WITH YOU OR AGAINST YOU?
    3. DEALING WITH THE DISENGAGED
    4. ARE THEY BLUFFING?
    5. BODY LANGUAGE GUIDELINES FOR NEGOTIATORS
  8. CHAPTER 3: LEADING CHANGE: THE NONVERBAL KEY TO EFFECTIVE CHANGE MANAGEMENT
    1. THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON CHANGE
    2. THE BODY-MIND CONNECTION
    3. ANNOUNCING CHANGE
    4. WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT FROM YOU?
    5. THE POWER OF EMPATHY
  9. CHAPTER 4: COLLABORATION: BODY LANGUAGE CUES FOR INCLUSION
    1. THE UNIVERSAL NEED FOR COLLABORATION
    2. WIRED TO CONNECT
    3. SIX BODY LANGUAGE TIPS FOR INCLUSION
    4. THE IMPORTANCE OF HOW YOU SAY WHAT YOU SAY
    5. USING SPACE
    6. DRESS FOR SUCCESS
    7. WHAT YOUR OFFICE SAYS ABOUT YOU
    8. FAMILIARITY BREEDS COLLABORATION
  10. CHAPTER 5: COMMUNICATING VIRTUALLY AND FACE-TO-FACE: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BUSINESS KIND
    1. TECHNOLOGY, THE GREAT ENABLER
    2. SIX TIPS FOR A CONFERENCE CALL
    3. IMPORTANT TIPS FOR VIDEOCONFERENCING
    4. TECHNOLOGY BRINGS A NEW RANGE OF COMMUNICATION OPTIONS
    5. WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT FACE-TO-FACE?
  11. CHAPTER 6: HE LEADS, SHE LEADS: GENDER AND THE BODY LANGUAGE OF LEADERS
    1. THE NEUROSCIENCE OF GENDER
    2. WHY JANE DOESN'T LEAD
    3. THIRTEEN GENDER-BASED DIFFERENCES IN NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
    4. LEADERSHIP STYLES OF MEN AND WOMEN
    5. THE BODY LANGUAGE OF MALE AND FEMALE LEADERS
    6. BODY LANGUAGE TIPS FOR MALE AND FEMALE LEADERS
    7. MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS
  12. CHAPTER 7: WORKING WITH GLOBAL TEAMS: BODY LANGUAGE IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD
    1. CULTURE
    2. CROSS-CULTURAL BODY LANGUAGE
    3. LESSONS LEARNED
  13. CHAPTER 8: INTERNATIONAL BODY LANGUAGE: INPUT FROM TWELVE EXPERTS
    1. GREETING BEHAVIORS
    2. BUSINESS CARDS
    3. TIME
    4. DISTANCE AND TOUCH
    5. EYE CONTACT
    6. SEATING
    7. EMOTIONS
    8. WOMEN
    9. CLOSING WORDS OF ADVICE
  14. CHAPTER 9: THE NONVERBAL FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP: NEW GENERATIONS AND NEW TECHNOLOGY
    1. ALL GENERATIONS BRING CHANGE
    2. THE NEW GENERATION OF WORKERS
    3. GEN Y AND THE FUTURE OF VISUAL TECHNOLOGY
    4. THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP
    5. PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF BODY LANGUAGE
  15. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  16. NOTES
  17. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  18. INDEX

Product information

  • Title: The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help—or Hurt—How You Lead
  • Author(s): Carol Kinsey Goman
  • Release date: April 2011
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470876367