General Motivation Blog

The Body Language Handbook – Book Review

Whether we know it or not, we’re constantly sending and receiving signals from one another through the language of our bodies. Sometimes the signals are clear and other times they’re grossly misinterpreted. And although many of these signals may vary from culture to culture, much of what our bodies have to say is internationally understood. Helping us sort it all out is “The Body Language Handbook: How to Read Everyone’s Hidden Thoughts and Intentions” by Gregory Hartley and Maryann Karinch. This fascinating book gives readers the 101 of Body Language, describing the various signals received and sent, sometimes in the most unintentional ways.

Hartley and Karinch are clear about one thing: You can’t make a snap judgment about anyone by simply making note of their crossed arms or the way they rub their nose when they talk. Body language reading goes much deeper than that, requiring one to get a “baseline” on the person being observed. In other words, one needs to know how the person normally behaves. Are they standing with their legs apart because they’re trying to take up more space and look more dominant, or do they just have a bad back, for instance? Oftentimes a cultural difference means a person was raised with slightly different signals, such as in the Middle East where it’s improper to gesture towards someone with your left hand. Many things come into play when reading body language, and the whole picture – indeed the whole person – must be taken into consideration.

Perhaps that seems overwhelming and difficult to discern, but we already read body language every day. The Body Language Handbook is filled with photos of people’s facial expressions, posture, and other signals that no doubt you’d recognize. However, I found that when I first started read the photos for myself, I was trying too hardt. I second guessed myself, and time and again I found that my first reaction was the right one indeed. But there were still times when reading someone’s body language from just a photograph was impossible. I didn’t know until it was explained to me what had happened just moments before certain photographs were taken. This helped drive the point home that indeed there is much to take into account.

Most surprising to me was what I learned about myself. I immediately began picking up on signals I use even when no one’s around; for instance digging in my fridge and doubting I’d find what I really wanted to find, I caught myself making a face of disapproval, almost sarcasm, as if to tell the fridge “See, I knew you wouldn’t have what I was looking for!” I immediately recognized my expression as one from the handbook. Of course one can do much more than catch themselves making faces at inanimate objects as I did. Understanding body language can become a useful tool when interacting with others. Relationships both in and out of work would benefit from putting such knowledge to practice. Improved communication will no doubt begin to grow as you learn how to better understand others and project yourself.

The Body Language Handbook is meant to be read straight through first to lay a foundation, but after one has done that, it can be used as a helpful reference. The book is well written and easy to understand, and both authors bring a lot of knowledge and experience to the table. Gregory Hartley taught both interrogation and resistance to interrogation for the U.S. Army and has also provided body language and behavioral analysis for print, TV, and radio. Maryann Karinch has authored five other books with Gregory Hartley, all dealing with human behavior, deception, and body language, which includes How to Spot a Liar. She’s held senior communications positions with a variety of companies in the technology industry.

The Body Language Handbook: How to Read Everyone’s Hidden Thoughts and Intentions ($15.99 retail) is published by Career Press.

Getting a Jump on Spring Promotional Items

This Polka Dot Tote Adds a Touch of Spring to Your Brand

Sure, it’s still cold out. You’re wearing bulky sweaters to the office, and yesterday it took you 15 minutes to scrape the ice off your windshield after work. But regardless of its blustery appearance, winter will come to an end, bringing with it the beauty and warmer temperatures of spring. That means time to start thinking of new and imaginative ways to promote your business – and celebrate the vernal equinox!

Tote bags make seriously good and usable handout items. Not only will customers, clients, and employees enjoy using them again and again, but the totes become walking billboards for your brand! Springy polka dots make this tote a real eye-catcher.

The Chameleon Umbrella Offers the Perfect Backdrop to Your Logo

Stormy weather in springtime is much more pleasant than a winter whiteout! Still, a little rain gear is always appreciated. Umbrellas with the company logo are yet another perfectly useful item that gets your brand out on the street in front of countless potential customers.

The Highlander Comes with All the Necessities

Picnics are the perfect way to celebrate warmer weather. So when someone receives gifts such as this picnic basket with your logo, they’ll be sure to use it season after season, and they’ll always remember where they got it.

By preparing now to promote your company this spring, you’ll have plenty of time to set up some new and different approaches to assure 2010 is a fantastic year. You’ll be ready to give your business name some creative and stylish exposure; because there’s no better time for fresh ideas than spring.

If you like these spring promotional ideas, or if you have your own and aren’t sure where to go to make it happen, give us a call at 1-888/664-6449. We at General Motivation would be happy to help you jump your business into spring!

Sticking Your Neck Out: Discover the Top 7 Ways to Reach Your Peak Performance

Today’s article is by Olympic Gold Medalist Nikki Stone. She is a motivational speaker and the author of the new book “When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How to Stick their Necks Out”. We appreciate her sharing some of the secrets of what makes a person overcome great obstacles to achieve the unimaginable. After overcoming a debilitating injury and going on to be the first to win an Olympic gold medal in aerial skiing, her advice is definitely worth more than gold.

Sticking Your Neck Out: Discover the Top 7 Ways to Reach Your Peak Performance

As a motivational speaker for Fortune 500 companies and an Olympic gold medalist, I have seen what makes an individual most successful in the boardroom and on the slopes. Over the last five years, I have researched the similarities of forty different highly-successful individuals — including the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Prince Albert of Monaco, Dr. Stephen Covey, Shaun White and many more. And no matter the field or endeavor, I have found The Turtle Effect philosophy at the core of everyone’s success.

This philosophy was taught to me by my mother, who told me that I could achieve anything I wanted. I always held it close and adapted it to every situation I encountered. I’d like to help people breathe in this confidence and share the secrets that are common to those at the top of their given field.

1. Have a Soft Inside – let your heart drive your actions

Find Your Passion: Do the things you hate first so you can truly get pleasure from the parts of your job and day that you are most passionate about. First thing in the morning write down five things you don’t like to do. Do each before 11:00 a.m., and check off that you’ve done them. Doing the thing you hate most will allow you to spend the rest of the day or week focusing on the things you enjoy the most.

2. Develop Your Hard Shell – stay strong against life’s challenges

Enhance Your Focus: Try to complete a task or project today as well as you can — without looking at others for approval. Can you bring something to fruition without worrying about the outcome? If you do feel you have to see your “results”, compare them to your own past efforts rather than to what someone else has achieved.

Be Committed: Either give yourself a challenge or challenge a colleague, teammate or friend to decide on a certain goal with you. Write the challenge down on an index card and tape it to the wall to remind yourself of your goal. This commitment will make you accountable to your goals and responsible for your actions.

Overcoming Adversities: Ask yourself, “If I knew I couldn’t fail, what would I try?” After you answer this question, ask yourself why it would be so awful to fail at the task or activity. We learn much more from our failures than we learn from our accomplishments.

3. Be Willing to Stick Your Neck Out – put yourself out there and find the support to make sure you follow through

Build Your Confidence: We all have our strong points and we need to remind ourselves of these attributes. Create a list today of all the personal traits that give you confidence. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and knowing your strengths will help you compensate for your shortcomings.

Start Taking Risks: We can’t be afraid of failure. If you don’t try, you have already failed. Why not give yourself the chance to succeed? Pick something that scares you a bit, and decide you are going to take the risk to follow through with it today.

Find Your Teamwork: A support system is crucial in helping you develop a strong character. Go out today and ask a few close friends how they would describe you. If they define you only in terms of your accomplishments, take the time to show them who you are in terms of your relationships. Think about the things you may be doing to project a title rather than a personality, and correct that.

I find that the same factors work to put someone at the top of their game, whether you are a triumphant athlete, Fortune 500 CEO, an accomplished politician, successful educator, or even an effective parent.

I hope these tips help you find your Turtle Effect and encourage you to strive for levels once thought impossible.

Author Bio
At the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, Nikki Stone became America’s first-ever Olympic champion in the sport of aerial skiing. What made this performance so unbelievable was the fact that, less than two years earlier, a chronic spinal injury prevented her from standing, much less walking or skiing off a twelve-foot-tall snow jump that launches aerialists fifty feet into the air. She overcame the injury and went on to earn 35 World Cup medals, 11 World Cup titles, 4 national titles, 3 World Cup titles, a World Championship title, and membership in the Ski Hall of Fame. Nikki is also a magna cum laude graduate of Union College and a summa cum laude masters graduate of the University of Utah. Her aerial retirement is less than restful as she trains Olympic athletes and business professionals in speaking/media skills, coaches personal and professional development courses, hosts group skiing adventures, sits on five different charitable committees, and writes articles and columns for many magazines, newspapers, and websites. Nikki’s career focus is now on traveling around the world working as a sought-after motivational speaker, sharing her secrets to success by inspiring her business audiences to “Stick their necks out.” Every spare moment is spent with husband, Michael Spencer, and daughter, Zali, in Park City, Utah.

Nikki is the author of When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How To Stick Their Necks Out. For more information, please visit www.WhenTurtlesFly.com.

Unique Awards Ideas - Taking Trophy Awards to a New Level

Tired of the same old trophies? If you’re hoping to award your employees with style, there are some truly unique awards ideas out there that make for not only a fabulous presentation, but an original keepsake for the recipient.

Bronze Statues: Bronze artwork doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag. A decent piece, like this beautiful original called “Majestic Monarch” can be had in a reasonable 7″ size for around $50. Various themes may be selected to match the award occasion, and most come with an engraved plaque for personalization.

Art Glass: Art glass pieces provide a stunning visual and a reminder of achievement that can be easily displayed in either home or office. This piece, by Swedish company Kosta Boda, gives a perfect example of combining recognition with style. Again, various designs offer a selection of themes to choose from. Many of the pieces can even be sandblasted with a name and/or company logo to commemorate the event.

Framed Artwork: A framed print or original painting can easily be chosen to represent the award through its theme. The price points here are endless, spanning from about $35 for a small framed print to over $1,000 for an original artwork. Some pieces can even be personalized on an engraved plaque on the matting, or within the print itself.

No matter what the award – outstanding performance, going beyond the call, or years of service – the standard trophy is far from being the only choice. Getting creative with your awards and offering something with great display potential heightens the excitement of receiving an award all the more.

If one of these unique awards ideas appeals to you, or if you have one of your own you’d like to see become a reality, give us a call at 1/888-664-6449. We’d love to help!

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