How you sit with a client is important in business because this sends a nonverbal message to the other person, your client, about how you feel about yourself and the situation.
When you sit across from someone at a square or rectangular table, you can simply be carrying on a conversation but is it working? If you are trying to sell, persuade or influence the other person, this sitting arrangement may not work for you. After all, it imitates a sitting arrangement between two people in a game of win/lose. It’s a competitive seating arrangement.
If you are sitting next to someone or catty corner to them, this is the arrangement of cooperation. When you have this sitting arrangement with a client, they have your ear and you are both looking in the same direction.
The farther someone sits away from you, the less interaction they want with you. They may have to meet/be with you but their preference is to be someplace else and have as little interaction with you as possible. Think of someone interviewing another from behind a large wooden desk.
Watch where you sit the next time you’re with a client. Determine what your goal for the meeting/interaction is and then choose a seating arrangement that works for you.
Linda Talley
Speaker and Business Coach
