My name is Bond…James Bond. Just love that opening from Sean Connery who is the James Bond I remember from my youth. And wasn’t he just a real smooth debonair character. Here are 5 body language tips used by James Bond and others to create a great impression and to really influence people.
1. James Bond always stood well. An assertive stance that was enough to fend off his enemies and charm the women. He did this simply by standing with a balanced centre of gravity. He didn’t sway from one side to the other or lean on one leg, he stood still, assertively and balanced. Try it next time, its hard to change a habit of a lifetime but if you want to stand like James Bond, well…
2. James Bond would have a variety of facial expressions to create a mood or cause a stir but his most powerful was his smile. If you looked close enough you could see his secret. He broke into a smile but he did it slowly. I mean sloooowly. You see, a face breaking into a smile can be encouraging, but if done too quickly we see through this as a fraud and distrust the person. But if done slowly, it comes over as genuine and a smile we warm to.
3. Breathing was another strategy used by James Bond. Of course it was I hear you say, otherwise he’d die. Bond’s breathing was deep and diaphragmatic from the stomach and this gave a confident and assertive impression. Breathing high and quick can mean nervousness, unsteady and unconfident. Not an impression James Bond wanted to make as 007 secret agent.
4. James was an expert at positive strokes, in other words making people feel good with his complements. But the way he did this was very clever. He’d plan his sentence such as “You’re looking particularly attractive today Miss Moneypenny” and he’d physically deliver the complement with his hands. As he began the sentence, his arms would be outstretched pointing to the person and at the moment he uttered the key word, which in our example is attractive, he’d unravel his fingers to point directly at the person just as though he was giving them the key complement. Very suave. So stretch out your arms, leaving your elbows at your waist as you deliver the complement and at the key word unravel your fingers so you point at the person. Real cool.
5. Finally and I’m leaving the best to last. If you want to sound as confident as James Bond, imitate the way he said his name and watch his head. He’d say “My name is Bond, James Bond” but not in a monotone way. Instead he would drop his head so his voice fell dramatically at the second Bond. This caused a sensation of confidence and assuredness that no one could match and both men and women melted…as he intended.
ohh James bond… Women want to be with him, and men want to be him. Style and class, I WANT IT!