According to Wikipedia “Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, consisting of body pose, gestures, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals subconsciously.”

It is often said that human communication consists of 93% body language and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words themselves. Body language may provide clues as to the attitude or state of mind of a person. For example, it may indicate aggression, attentiveness, boredom, relaxed state, pleasure, amusement, besides many other cues.

According to Prof. Ajay Singh, Chairman MDP & Corporate Interaction Committee of IIM Lucknow (Noida Campus), “During the interview your body language is important. You should not be too submissive or too aggressive.”

Dinup Mathew, Director of PT Education Delhi advises: “While speaking maintain eye contact. Maintain proper body language. You should sit in a calm and straight posture with open hands.”

The right body language in front of the interview panelists is an absolute must if you want to turn your dream of pursuing MBA course at a top B-school into reality. We present to you the ways of communicating non-verbally to the panelists that you are the perfect choice for them.

Keep in mind the following 10 key points while you are facing the panelists:

1. Sit upright but not too stiffly in your chair. This indicates that you are comfortable and feeling confident.

2. Relax and lean slightly forward towards your interviewer. This gives the message that you are both interested and involved.

3. If the interviewer is talking and you want to show that you are actively listening, you need to have direct eye contact and maintain it. Don't overdo direct eye contact; too much contact without breaks can make the other person extremely uncomfortable and can be suggestive that you are domineering.

4. Ensure that your voice tone is not apologetic or defensive.

5. Hands on knees will indicate readiness to answer.

6. Show your cool character: Let your hands lie loosely on your lap or place them on the armrests of your chair.

7. Have control on your hand movements at the start of the interview.

8. Stay calm, think before your talk. Do not interrupt the person interviewing you.

9. Establish a comfortable amount of personal space between you and the interviewer. Invading personal space (anything more than 20 inches) could make the interviewer feel uncomfortable and take the focus away from your conversation.

10. Show your enthusiasm by keeping an interested expression. Nod and make positive gestures in moderation to avoid looking like a circus joker.