BEYOND BAD BODY LANGUAGE: DC COP BRINGS A GUN TO A SNOWBALL FIGHT

*** Special Report That Could Save Your Professional Life***

The last time Washington, DC was hit with such a heavy snowstorm was in the winter of 2002. My husband and I had just started dating. He lived on Capital Hill, so the two of us bundled up and walked to a local restaurant called Tunnicliffs at Eastern Market. The biggest drama we encountered that day was that they were out of rolls and bread, so hamburgers were served straight up. Yesterday, in DC, lack of carbohydrates at local taverns was the least of people’s worries.

In the mid-afternoon, at 14th and U Streets NW, where thanks to hundreds of tweets on twitter, the young and old gathered together for some winter playtime - a massive snowball fight. However, at least one person went too far and hurled a few snowballs at the maroon Hummer slowly driving by. Within seconds, it was as if the Nation’s Capital’s winter wonderland fell through a portal and landed directly in Tim Burton’s off-beat holiday hit “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Yes, the man in the hummer was a senior DC detective, who quickly lost his cool. At first, the detective got out of his car and began waving his walkie talkie around. But within minutes, he grabbed for his gun and flashed it to the crowd. Since the detective did not identify himself as a police officer, someone called 911 and reported a man with a gun at the snowball fight. The detective calmed down once his fellow cops arrived. Can you say, “Merry Christmas?”

Whether you bring a knife to a gunfight or a gun to a snowball fight, the point is you brought the wrong weapon to get the results you are looking for. Has this ever happened to you when it comes to body language? Have you ever used the steeple gesture (finger tips to finger tips, i.e. the move Mr. Burns does on the Simpons, when he says, “S-M-I-T-H-E-R-S!”) while establishing rapport during a sales pitch or during a job interview? Or are you guilty of crossing your ankles while trying to influence the person in front of you? You might be surprised to learn that every day thousands of people bring the wrong non-verbal weapon to the office or boardroom fight. But it’s not their fault - and it’s not your fault either. We have all been misled by so-called “body language experts.”

Being an investigator for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for 16-years, it was vital to use appropriate body language to let the gun dealers and explosives permittees know that I was in charge. Within a couple seconds, I needed to know what others were saying to me and what my hand gestures, micro-facial expressions, posture, and stance said to others. Never once did I need to wave a gun around to earn respect, and neither do you. Quite frankly, the right non-verbal move can literally save your life, just like it did for me time-and-time again.

That’s why I wrote the book, YOU SAY MORE THAN YOU THINK: A 7-Day Plan on Using the New Body Language to Get What You Want (CROWN, Feb. 16, 2009). In the first chapter, I break common body language myths that other experts swear are fact, next I hit home the importance of baselining yourself and others non-verbal signals (so you don’t end up bringing a gun to a snowball fight), and as an added bonus there are over 25 appropriate and effective 7-second fixes for almost any situation.

As a sneak peek to what it inside the pages of YOU SAY MORE THAN YOU THINK, below is one of my many 7-Second Quick Fixes (feel free to forward it to as many people as you know – enjoy!).

HOW TO APPEAR BRILLANT TO YOUR SUPERVISOR

What NOT to Do!

What TO DO!

* SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFER: The first 10 people to buy a copy of YOU SAY MORE THAN YOU THINK and call 1-888-216-9915 or e-mail tallen@traciallen.com and mention this blog will receive a FREE on-line $250 Body Language Swag Bag AND a coupon for 50% off admission to the Body Language Institute (www.bodylanguageinstitute.com).

Call 1-888-216-9915 to get your FREE Body Language Swag Bag today!