How YOUR Own Body Language and Nonverbal Communication
Influences Everything from Your Decisions to Your Life
Kevin Hogan
Page 3
Authority, Body Language, and Influence
Your superior comes in and sits down opposite you. She drops five prospectuses directly onto the table
in front of you.
She has a bias toward retail while you have been strongly interested in cheap precious metals stocks.
She looks at precious metals stocks almost as if they aren't stocks. (She doesn't like them.)
What looks and feels better in a portfolio to the firm's customers, WMT or GOLD?
GOLD is "scary" and WMT is "safe."
She is in control of your salary and bonuses and asks for your opinion on the stocks she's just laid out in front of you.
Fact is because of your awareness of her biases, you tend to lean toward what she likes for your portfolio. Her agreement and your perception of her thinking you to be intelligent and "making right decisions" is more
important (fear) than picking what you think the right stock is. You pull out Macy's and suggest that stock.
"That's what I was thinking, too."
Relieved, you go back to your desk and buy the XAU or HUI for your own account.
Your superior has completely influenced your decision.
Now imagine that you don't work on the street for the brokerage house. You're just like me out here in the
real world.
You're screening stocks and come across CVX. (Chevron Oil)
Friendships and Biases
Sitting next to you is your rightfully concerned environmentalist friend.
You're explaining how to buy stocks.
"Low PE, good earnings, blah blah blah."
"What's CVX?"
"Chevron," you tell him.
"Oh, oil company."
And immediately you feel uncomfortable. Your friend is evaluating you
as a polluter of the environment and the source of global warming and
ultimately the destruction of the planet.
So you skip past CVX and move to a less "sensitive" stock.
Will you always cave based on body language cues and perceptions?
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