As we approach our holiday season we gather, celebrate, and commune enjoying family and friends and work to escape the noise of everyday life and pressures. Making friends and remembering family is the key to the season. This might at first seem to be out of place for a business newsletter; however, business is a relationship business.

With the above being said finding a friend is often a mysterious process that seems to happen almost as if by magic. You meet them, see them in different situations, and somehow you end up being lifelong friends. Sometimes you can foster friendships and help to sustain it by using trust, commonality, and good body language.

When you are open to a friendship, you might indicate that by showing an open palm and not crossing any of your appendages. It is always important to maintain good eye contact with someone you are being friendly with. Just don’t stare at them, that would be a bit creepy!

In fact, you can be attentive to a person by focusing on that person with your ears, your eyes, and your body. You can also show them your feelings through your body language. You can project interest in them by tilting your head when they speak. Look at them in an alert and interested way.

Sometimes, just by spending time with a person, you are automatically giving them body language cues that you are willing to be friends. By showing signs that you are listening to them you will have a better chance at friendship.

Once you have established something of a friendship through body language and conversation, you can allow yourself to get even closer to your new friend.
Empathy is an important aspect of friendship. If your friend can’t identify with your feelings, you might not feel that they’re very valuable as a friend. To have this value, you need to show empathy in your body language.

You can do this by leaning in when the person is speaking of matters of importance to them. Show your emotions through your body language. Laugh, smile, cry, or touch when it seems right. Hug them if it seems comfortable (and acceptable) but follow their body language cues to determine if it makes them feel anxious.

If you have made a friend, there will be two people that will grow their life experience and find comfort that most humans look for. Yet, you can never neglect your friendship and assume it will always be the same. It’s up to you to send your friend the right body language signals to let them know they are still appreciated and cared for.

In studies, it has been shown that kids with learning disabilities have a hard time maintaining friendships. They can make friends easily. Yet, when the friend interacts with them on a daily basis, they have trouble understanding the friend’s body language. This leads to hurt feelings and ultimately to a loss of the friendship. If you are to avoid this pitfall, you must pay attention to your friend’s body language and read it correctly.

Body language can help you make a friend and help you to understand your friend better. By knowing about body language, you can use it to help you maintain a good relationship.

Knowing body language and using it can be the difference between having an acquaintance and truly having a friend.

“A friend is someone who helps you up when you’re down, and if they can’t, they lay down beside you and listen.” — Winnie the Pooh

Successful business build leaders not robots or puppets.