The Silent Treatment

How to use non-verbal cues to impress managers, customers — and even potential employers.

In Louder Than Words, Joe Navarro, a retired FBI special agent who now consults with many Fortune 500 companies, explains what signals we send when we bend our necks, point our index fingers or even direct feet towards the door. But his book is more than an analysis of body ticks — he also offers insightful tips that will help everyone from job seekers to executives make a better impression. Here, he passes on some of his advice to Profit readers.

Profit Online: Why is non-verbal communication especially important at this moment in our economy?

Navarro: Interestingly enough, as the economy worsened, it became even more important for both people who were trying to keep their jobs and people who were finding jobs to increase what we call their “curbside appeal.”

Some people get very lazy. They find that their 12-year-old suit is still being used or that dress down Fridays becomes tattered Fridays. And they don’t realize that how they look and present affects things.

Profit Online: But in the book, your top advice to job seekers is to work on something besides their looks.

Navarro: Studies have proven that there’s such a thing as a beauty dividend, which means, good-looking people get hired more and receive more raises. But we’re not all going to look like Clooney. More importantly, there’s an attitude dividend. Every human resources person I’ve talked too, and I’ve now spent six years talking to them, says, “We’re looking for a positive attitude.” Attitude is something people can actually work on and should be working on. You can get somebody to notice you for one day by changing your suit but you can get people to notice you for a lifetime by your attitude.

Like the 80s were about narcissism, this decade is about being more humble, and being a team player, because this is what we have to do. We actually want people who can play in the same sandbox, not just with the people in the office, but with people from other countries and cultures. It’s changed quite a bit. It’s not so much talking about what you did, but asking, “What did you do? How was your weekend?” This is very big.

Profit Online: You currently advise companies about how to improve their image. With budgets tightening, what are some good cheap wins for organizations to improve their appeal?

Navarro: One of the big problems I see in consulting with companies is, yeah, they’ve got great prices. but when you go to check out, there are only one or two cashiers. What they’re saying is, “I value your money, but not you.” And what I say is that if you can show people that you value their money, and you value them, your business will increase exponentially.

One of the things I looked at was how many companies are perceived as very effective and very pleasing just because they rise to action. And they consider the comfort dividend: They move staff to the cash registers if there are more than three people in line, or make sure that you check out in a certain amount of time.

One of the companies I consult with brings in clients to invest in these big things. And I said to them, “You want to improve your sales? Go out and buy yourself a 40 dollar shredder and have it in the same room as those people. When you’re done with clients show them that you’re shredding all this extra material so that they’re name, date of birth, all of these personal things aren’t going to end up in a garbage can where anybody can read it.” Those clients are going to feel secure. These little attentions to the what I call this comfort dividend has exponential power.

It’s a matter of looking at everything and just tweaking it. It’s a matter of just taking a step back and saying, “What do our phone messages sound like? When was the last time the windows were cleaned? How about if we stand when customers come in?” All these things are significant.