Drop These 5 Nonverbal Habits to Increase Credibility

Bad habits can inhibit your ability to communicate confidence and presence. Here are five things to stop doing.

What are your nonverbal habits? Do you know?

Often with habits, you don’t even realize you’re doing them. They’re automatic and almost involuntary. You do them unconsciously because they make you feel better. Sometimes that’s good, like brushing your teeth to make your mouth feel clean. But sometimes the things you do to “feel better” aren’t actually good for you: picking your nails, lighting another cigarette, mindlessly scrolling social media. They satisfy a need but detract from your overall physical or mental health.

The same is true for communication habits. We all have them. Are you aware of yours? Perhaps you say “um” or “you know” or “like” too much. Maybe you look at your phone when others are talking to you. Or you might complete other people’s sentences for them (guilty!).

Whether it’s stress, boredom, nervousness, frustration, or anything else that creates tension, you develop little communication habits to relieve that tension in social interactions. Ellen Hendriksen, in her book on social anxiety, refers to them as “safety behaviors.” But while you do them to make yourself feel better, they actually make you look worse — unsure of yourself, nervous, or…