‘Oh My, I’m Doing It Exactly that Way’: Non-Verbal Communication Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

On November 24, a unique event for HSE international students—a practice-oriented training session on ‘How to Make a Good Impression in an Interview: Non-Verbal Communication’—took place at HSE University. Natalia Trubnikova, author of the training, covered the basics of nonverbal communication and body language; non-verbal mistakes that lead to difficulties, misunderstandings and communication failures; cross-cultural features of sign language, speed and manner of gesticulation, speech features; nonverbal tips and tricks to convey your point of view, and much more. Together with the expert, HSE students worked on self-confidence and solved real communication cases.

Non-verbal communication involves multiple communication behaviours, including body postures, facial expressions, eye contact, gestures and intonation. For a successful job interview, one should master the skills of self-presentation, know how to make a good first impression, and create a comfortable, positive environment.

Natalia Trubnikova, author of the training, independent business consultant, expert in non-verbal communication and customer service

The presentation was dedicated to non-verbal communication and how to use it in a successful interview, how we react to body language, voice intonation, facial expressions, our gestures and other aspects of non-verbal communication. I’m happy to share my experience and some advice with the students on how to make a strong impression on employers. We discussed five elements of a successful interview: body position, adaptive gestures, hustle movements, voice intonation, and eye contact. Practice was the main part of our training. We practiced interview and self-presentation, recorded it, and then tried to analyse students’ performance and how they can improve their first impression. We discussed gestures of adaptation, such as touching one’s face, scratching, fixing hair, etc. We also talked about the Russian cultural code, for example our habit of smiling, and shaking hands. It was useful for students who find it difficult to understand our habits. They learnt what they need to do to make themselves more understandable in our country and culture. It was a real pleasure for me to run this training for HSE international students.

The HSE News Service has summarised the highlights of Natalia’s training on important elements of non-verbal communication for presentations and interviews.

Data provided by Natalia Trubnikova

Body Position

Natalia Trubnikova paid special attention to candidates’ body position. Your appearance, body energy, and posture can say a lot about you as an employee and affect your prospects of getting a job. Natalia says that to look confident, one should enter the room with a straight posture and an open, trusting smile. When shaking hands (if it’s appropriate in your culture), make sure that you do not tilt your body and head forward, but also don’t lean back and don’t squeeze the employer’s hand to much. Remember that your palms should be dry and warm.

Speed

Natalia says that if you want to make a good impression, you should learn to control the speed of your movements. The faster you move, speak, interact with objects or express emotions, the more information you provide to others, which can cause them to feel fatigue and irritation. Moreover, hurried movements and speech demonstrate that applicants feel nervous and worried about the effect of their presentation. To prove your confidence, you should slow down, adjust the tempo of your speech and movements, and not to be afraid to take pauses, which can make your speech more meaningful and informative.

Adaptation Gestures

Generally, stressful situations induce excessive energy that a person expresses through adaptation gestures, which may include straightening clothes, fixing hair, playing with jewellery, scratching and touching their face, biting their lips, tapping a pen on the table, shaking their leg, rocking from side to side, shifting, and much more. It's important to notice these manifestations of adaptation, slow down, and focus on the position of your body, the sound of your voice, and perceiving the situation as safe.

Facial Expressions and Eye Contact

As Will Rogers said, ‘you never get a second chance to make a good first impression’, so successful communication hinges on your interactions with the people you are talking to. You need to maintain eye contact, expressing your sincere interest in your interviewers and the things they are talking about—but don’t forget to look away. Both constant gazing and avoiding eye contact with an interviewer may be interpreted as an inability to handle the situation. The position of your body and facial expressions should be directed towards the interviewer, supporting eye contact and your interest in the subject.

All elements of non-verbal communication mentioned above can help applicants develop the self-presentation skills necessary to make a good impression at any interview.

After the theoretical part of the training, the participants put their new knowledge into practice in improvised interviews followed by a discussion of the weak and strong points of students’ self-presentation. The students shared their impressions of the event and their studies at HSE University.

Leen Sabbagh, Syria, Prep Year

© Mikhail Dmitriev / HSE University

This is my first year at HSE University. I’m studying Russian language in the Preparatory year programme. I decided to take part in this training because non-verbal communication is really useful in the modern world now. I was curious what the lecturer was going to tell us about it. She spoke about many interesting rules that can be applied to practice. She showed us how they work. I instantly paid attention to my posture and thought ‘Oh my, I’m doing it exactly that way’. Next year I’m going to study psychology at HSE University—that’s another reason I decided to take part in the training, as our body language is the topic of my interest.

Speaking about my studies at HSE University, I find it really cool! There are so many events happening here every day. For example, right after the training I’m going to the Russian-speaking club! I’m also planning to apply for the Arabian club when I have time for it. I do find Russian language difficult—studying takes a lot of effort, as it’s not similar to other languages.

I like being involved in university life, and the university offers a lot! You never feel alone or left out. If you want to try something, you’ll definitely find it at HSE.

Sheripher Dinala, Malawi, Political Analysis and Public Policy

© Mikhail Dmitriev / HSE University

The reason why I decided to study at HSE University was its reputation. In a world where you want to pursue a successful career, you need to choose a university that gives you many opportunities to build your career path. HSE University offers quality education, great teachers, internships, and mobility programmes. I came here last year, and I already learnt to speak some Russian.

I decided to attend this training because, like any student, I’ll have to go to different interviews, including job interviews, and the skills I got today can be used in practice during these interviews. I can upgrade the skills that will support me in becoming who I want to be in my future career. We’ve learnt a lot today, such as how to present ourselves, speak in a business environment (especially at job interviews), how to persuade people, build our confidence. I consider myself an international citizen, and the knowledge I gain on my programme enables me to work in any international organisation. I might work in Russia or in any other country.

HSE is an international university, and I have met a lot of people from different countries. I am immersed in this culture and I’m enjoying my stay in Russia. If I have an opportunity, I’ll stay here longer. I do like winter and I love snow! I can go ice skating—it’s so amazing! In summer, there are also so many options to have good time. You can have a party or picnic, walk, dance salsa or bachata by the river. There are so many things to do!

Issmail Ezzahraouy, Morocco, Prep Year

© Mikhail Dmitriev / HSE University

I’m a prep year student now, then I’ll study on the Master’s programme in Media Management at the HSE Faculty of Creative Industries. The reason I chose this programme is that my degree in linguistics falls into this category. I haven’t thought about my career path yet, however, I believe that there are a lot of opportunities for me here. I may stay in Russia if I see many job opportunities after I get my master’s degree.

The lecturer’s presentation was perfect. We learnt a lot of useful and applicable things, and practiced skills we can use in real life. I lacked an opportunity to make comments on some slides, just to clear some things up, but in general, it was flawless. The gestures we learnt today can be applied in practice; knowing and using them can give us an advantage over others, because we know how to behave in certain contexts, how to move, smile, etc. A lot of people are unaware of this information and just don’t know how important it may be. The training was really interesting, I liked it a lot.

I just can’t find words to describe how good student life at HSE University is. It’s full of events—you can find anything you’re looking for. There are a lot of events dedicated to economics, culture, business, and entrepreneurship. For example, today I could attend four interesting events besides my classes! I wish I could attend all of them, but unfortunately, I don’t have the time.