The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Definitive Book of Body Language

John worked for a large finance company. He had been pro-
moted to a manager's position and given an office. After a few
months in the role, John found that the other employees dis-
liked dealing with him and his relationship with them was
often tense, particularly when they were in his office. He found
it difficult to get them to follow his instructions and had heard
they were talking about him behind his back. Our observa-
tions of John's dilemma revealed that the communication
breakdowns were at their worst when the employees were in
his office.
For the purposes of this exercise, we'll ignore any of John's
management skills and concentrate on the non-verbal aspects
of the problem. Here's a summary of our observations and
conclusions about John's office set-up:

1. The visitor's chair was placed in the competitive position
   in relation to John.


2. The walls of the office were solid panels except for an
   outside window and a clear glass partition where John
   could look into the general office area and be seen by the
   rest of the staff. His visibility reduced John's status and
   could increase the power of any subordinate who was
   sitting in the visitor's chair because the other employees
   were located directly behind the visitor and were, in
   effect, on the subordinate's side of the table


3. John's desk had a solid front that hid his lower body and
   prevented the subordinates observing his lower gestures
   to evaluate how he felt.


4. The visitor's chair was placed so that the visitor's back
   was to the open door.


5. John often sat using the Catapult or Leg-Over-Arm-of-
   Chair gestures or both whenever a subordinate was in his
   office.


6. John had a swivel chair with a high back, armrests and
   wheels. The visitor's chair was a plain low-backed chair
   with fixed legs and no armrests.