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Are you guilty of poor nonverbal communication? Avoid making these negative body language mistakes at work.
Communication drives success for employees, teams and entire businesses. The way you express yourself can help you land a job or client, build strong relationships, earn new business, improve customer retention and so much more.
But communication isn’t just about what you say. Your posture, facial expressions, gestures and even the amount of eye contact you make can send a message of their own. And sometimes, the signals you send aren’t the ones you intended. Understanding which body language habits to avoid can help you communicate more confidently and make a stronger impression at work.
Body language is the unspoken part of communication — the signals you send through your posture, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and other physical behaviors. These cues can reinforce what you’re saying, contradict it or communicate something all on their own.
You can use body language deliberately, such as making eye contact when you want to appear confident. But plenty of it happens without you thinking about it. You might shift in your chair when you’re uncomfortable or let your expression reveal more than you intended. All of that can affect how someone takes what you’re saying.
You may have heard the often-repeated claim that only 7 percent of communication comes from the words we say. That figure traces back to psychologist Albert Mehrabian’s research in the 1960s and what’s commonly known as the 7-38-55 rule: 7 percent for spoken words, 38 percent for tone of voice and 55 percent for facial expressions.
There’s an important catch, though. Mehrabian wasn’t saying that words account for only 7 percent of everything we communicate. His research focused on communicating feelings and attitudes, particularly when someone’s words didn’t match their tone or facial expression. In other words, if you say you’re thrilled about a project while frowning and sounding annoyed, your co-workers probably aren’t going to take your words at face value.
So the rule is worth knowing, as long as you know its limits. The exact percentages don’t apply to every conversation, but the underlying lesson holds up at work: Your words, tone and body language are most convincing when they’re sending the same message.
You may not realize what your body language is telling the people around you. Crossed arms or an awkward expression can change how your words come across, even when you don’t mean anything by it. Here are seven body language habits worth watching for at work.
People notice when your expression doesn’t match what you’re saying. If you tell an employee you’re happy with their work but look grumpy or annoyed while saying it, they may wonder what you really mean. Do that often enough and those mixed messages can start to chip away at trust.
You don’t need to monitor every facial expression or gesture. Just pay attention to whether your words, tone and body language are generally telling the same story. When they are, your message is much easier to understand.
When you’re nervous or overwhelmed, what do you do with your hands? Maybe you tug at your clothing, touch your face, twirl your hair or fidget with whatever happens to be nearby. These little habits can be distracting, especially during a presentation or an important conversation. Even the so-called “fig leaf” pose — standing with your hands clasped low in front of your body — can make you look uncomfortable or unsure of yourself.
If you’re not sure what you do when nerves kick in, record yourself giving a practice presentation or running through a mock meeting. You may spot habits you didn’t even know you had. Once you know they’re there, it’s much easier to work on them.
There’s a difference between appearing confident and coming across as intimidating. Clenched fists, prolonged eye contact or an angry expression can make people uncomfortable and less willing to speak freely. That’s not the impression you want to give a co-worker who’s sharing an idea or a potential client who’s considering doing business with you.
That matters in workplaces where tensions may already be running high. According to SHRM’s Q2 2026 Civility Index, nearly 76 percent of U.S. workers had witnessed or experienced incivility in the previous month. More than half said at least some of those encounters happened at work. Workplace conflicts are inevitable from time to time, but your body language doesn’t have to add to them.
Pay attention to how people respond when you’re talking with them. If someone backs away, for example, you may be standing a little too close. What’s comfortable varies by person and culture. And don’t underestimate a genuine smile. Research published in Evolution and Human Behavior found that people viewed more genuine smiles as signs of greater trustworthiness and cooperation.
Few things make someone feel unheard faster than watching you check your phone or glance at the clock while they’re talking. Eye rolls, crossed arms and repeatedly looking away can have a similar effect. You may not mean to seem uninterested, but that’s how these habits can come across.
Show people you’re listening instead. Put your phone away, look at the person who’s speaking and turn toward them rather than away. You don’t need to maintain constant eye contact — that can get uncomfortable fast — but looking up and staying engaged helps keep your attention where it belongs: on the conversation.
Slouching can make you look tired or disengaged, even when you don’t feel that way. Your posture may affect your own mindset too. Research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology found that participants who sat upright were more confident in the thoughts they recorded than those who sat in a slouched position.
You don’t need to sit ramrod straight all day. But when you’re meeting with a client, giving a presentation or talking with your team, it’s worth checking your posture. Sitting or standing comfortably upright can help you look more engaged in what’s happening around you.
Always agreeing with your co-workers or employees may seem like an easy way to keep the peace, but a good workplace isn’t one where everyone nods along. In a strong company culture, people need to be able to question an idea, raise a concern or simply say, “I see it differently.”
There’s good reason to make room for those conversations. SHRM found that workers in workplaces with high levels of civility and psychological safety were nearly five times more likely to describe difficult conversations as productive than workers in workplaces where both were low.
Your body language matters here, too. For example, be careful about nodding or smiling along when you don’t really agree. It’s easy to do without thinking, especially when you don’t want to interrupt or make things awkward. But you don’t have to hide every reaction. A pause, a questioning or puzzled look or even a little hesitation may be enough to show that you have something to add.
Talking with your hands isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. But there’s a point where big, sweeping gestures can become distracting or annoying, particularly in a small meeting room or when you’re standing close to someone. You don’t want people paying more attention to your arms than to what you’re saying.
There’s no need to keep your hands glued to your sides, either. Use gestures when they feel natural, and pull back a bit if you notice you’re taking up too much space.
Body language can make a difference in how people respond to what you’re saying. For example, in one Erasmus University study, investors shown pitches with frequent hand gestures were about 12 percent more interested in the business idea than those who saw the same pitches with fewer gestures. That doesn’t mean you should wave your arms around every time you want someone to agree with you. But it does show that the way you deliver a message can matter along with the words you choose.
Communication touches nearly every part of business, so positive body language is more than a useful business skill. The way you listen, react and carry yourself can affect relationships with employees, customers and colleagues.
Here are a few reasons to pay attention to your body language at work:
Video calls can make body language harder to read. According to the Owl Labs 2026 State of Hybrid Work Report, 64 percent of workers said not being able to see faces and missing visual cues were problems during hybrid meetings. That makes the cues people can see on camera all the more important.
Here are a few mistakes to watch out for during video meetings:
Video calls may be more casual than in-person meetings, but your appearance is still part of what people see. Messy hair, rumpled clothing or looking like you just rolled out of bed can be distracting, particularly when you’re meeting with a client or making an important presentation.
You don’t need to dress up for every Zoom call. Follow your company’s dress code and take a minute before you turn on the camera to see how you look on screen. A quick check of your clothes, hair and lighting may be all you need.
Eye contact works a little differently on a video call. When you look at the other person’s face on your screen, you may appear to be looking down or off to the side. Positioning your webcam at about eye level helps, and looking toward the camera occasionally while you’re speaking can give the conversation a more natural feel.
Don’t worry about staring into the lens the entire time. You still need to see how other people are reacting. If you tend to forget the camera is there, try putting a small dot or sticky note beside it as a reminder to glance up now and then.
Lighting can affect mood and productivity in the office, and it matters on video calls for a simpler reason: People need to be able to see you. If your face is hidden in shadow or you’re sitting in front of a bright window, your expressions can be difficult to read.
Before an important call, check how you look on camera and move a lamp or change seats if necessary. Natural light in front of you often works well, but a desk lamp or ring light can work too. You don’t need a studio setup. You just want enough light for the person on the other end to see your face clearly.
Where you sit in relation to the camera makes a difference. Get too close, and your face can fill most of the screen. Sit too far away, and people may have trouble seeing your expressions or noticing when you’re reacting to something they’ve said.
Before the meeting starts, take a look at your framing. Leaving enough room to show your head, shoulders and some of your upper body usually gives you space to move and gesture without disappearing from view. And once you’ve found a setup that works, you can stop thinking about the camera and concentrate on the conversation.
Fidgeting can be much more noticeable on camera than you realize. Repeatedly touching your face, playing with your hair or clicking a pen may distract the people watching you, even if you aren’t aware you’re doing it.
If sitting still through a long meeting is difficult, give your hands something to do below the camera. A stress ball or small fidget tool can keep them occupied without becoming part of the meeting. You don’t have to sit perfectly still; just watch for repetitive movements that may pull attention away from what you’re saying.
Patrick Barnett contributed to this article.
