The Definitive Book of Body Language

Mirroring - How We Build Rapport

Even if the employee's talk was on a subordinate level, the

manager could feel affronted by the employee's body lan-

guage and his job could be in jeopardy. Mirroring is also

effective for intimidating or disarming 'superior' types who

try to take control. Accountants, lawyers and managers are

notorious for using superiority body language clusters around

people they consider inferior. By mirroring, you can disconcert

them and force a change of position. But never do it to

the boss.

They have the same posture and body language and

the close distance between them shows they are friends

going about business in the same way with similar goals.

Who Mirrors Whom?

Research shows that when the leader of a group assumes certain

gestures and positions, subordinates will copy, usually in

pecking order. Leaders also tend to be the first of a group to

walk through a doorway and they like to sit on the end of a sofa,

table or bench seat rather than in the centre. When a group of

executives walks into a room, the person with the highest status

usually goes first. When executives are seated in the boardroom,