Presenting yourself effectively in the Workplace

This exercise helps you nonverbally present yourself in an effective fashion in the workplace.

➊ Display a pleasant facial expression, make good eye contact, lean forward, and exhibit upright posture.

➋ Use a moderately resonant and breathy vocal tone, medium pitch and volume, and moderate speech rate.

➌ Adapt your use of proxemics to others’ needs for personal space, and respect their territory.

➍ Adjust your touching to match others’ preferences.

➎ Keep appointments or allow flexibility regarding punctuality.

➏ Ensure that your physical appearance and artifacts are appropriate, asking your coworkers’ and manager’s opinions if you’re uncertain.

VII. Extra Credit: Quiz

Take one of these quizzes and write a one-page reflection on your results referring to at least THREE concepts in the chapter (10 points).

Quiz 1: M-Time or P-Time?

Read the questions below and choose the answer that reflects your view of time. If you don’t agree with either of the answers, choose the one that most closely approximates your view. When you’re done, review your answers and see what they suggest about your personal time orientation; are you an M-time person or a P-time person?

1. Do you have a personal planner or BlackBerry in which you carefully keep track of your daily schedule and appointments?

(a) ______ “Of course! How could I survive without one?”

(b) ______ “What exactly do I need to plan? What’s a BlackBerry?”

2. Do you often check the time during the day to see if you’re “on schedule”?

(a) ______ “All the time. I also make sure that my watch is synchronized with my cell phone, and I program my cell to issue alarm reminders for key appointments.”

(b) ______ “Never. I don’t even own a watch.”

3. Do you get stressed out about not having enough time to do the things you’re supposed to?

(a) ______ “Not having enough time to do what I’m supposed to do is the number-one source of stress in my life.”

(b) ______ “What exactly are ‘the things we’re supposed to do,’ other than share life with those we love and be happy?”

4. Your best friend calls you at work, says that she has been dumped by her romantic partner, and badly needs to talk with you. You:

(a) ______ “Check my BlackBerry/planner, to see if there’s an opening in my schedule at some point later in the day.”

(b) ______ “Arrange to leave work to go comfort my friend.”

5. You have to renew your driver’s license because it expires tomorrow. You use your lunch hour to do so, but there are only two people working the counter at the registry of motor vehicles, and the line is long. You:

(a) ______ “Check my watch and feel my stress increase as the hour passes and I’m still not at the head of the line. Finally, I cut to the front, and ask ‘Is there any way I can go next? I’ve been waiting for an hour!’”

(b) ______ “Take the opportunity to chat with other people who are waiting, making new acquaintances.”

Quiz 2: Nonverbal Dominance Notes

Knowing which behaviors people perceive as dominant is an important part of being a skilled nonverbal communicator (Carney et al., 2005). Review the following list of behaviors, identify and rank the top five nonverbal cues that you think communicate dominance, and check your answers.

______ (a) Using a loud voice while you talk

______ (b) Exhibiting confident and self-assured facial expressions

______ (c) Initiating the shaking of an interaction partner’s hand

______ (d) Having your arms crossed or folded on your chest during an encounter

______ (e) Displaying unresponsive facial expressions toward your conversational partner

______ (f) Using broad, large, and expansive hand gestures while you talk

______ (g) Showing facial disgust

______ (h) Paying attention to your conversational partner

______ (i) Manipulating objects during the conversation (such as playing with your pencil or fiddling with a piece of paper)

______ (j) Engaging in “invasive” behaviors with your conversational partner, such as standing too close, touching, and pointing.

Scoring: The most to least dominating nonverbal cues are: b, c, f, j, and g.

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