WHAT IS NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION?

Non-verbal communication is using our physical behavior, expressions, and mannerisms to communicate. Also referred to as body language, it is often instinctive rather than a conscious form of expression. All of our non-verbal behaviors— our gestures, posture, tone of voice, eye contact —send out messages. They can either put people at ease, confuse them, or even offend them on occasion, becoming barriers to effective communication. Building trust and leaving lasting impressions on others have a lot to do with our body language.

Among the types of communication, non-verbal expressions make a far more impactful statement than spoken word. Imagine a usually cheerful colleague at work walks into the office with a glum face, ignores everyone, throws his bag aside, and sits quietly staring at the wall. You turn around and ask, “Is everything ok?” He gives you a curt nod and says, “I am fine!” Now, which message do you believe? His unspoken behavior or his response? His behavior makes you think that something is definitely wrong. In other words, how we look and behave is sometimes more meaningful than what we say.

At workplaces, non verbal communication determines how people around us perceive and behave with us. Body language has the power to make or break our careers. Therefore, effective non-verbal communication is critically important for career advancement. Let us look at some simple yet useful ways to practice non-verbal communication, which is instrumental to our success at work.

NONVERBAL CUES THAT CONVEY CONFIDENCE AT WORK

Eye contact –

Eye contact communicates the level of involvement, interest, and goodwill. Always maintain proper eye contact while speaking to someone. If it is a glance at someone, maintain eye contact for at least a couple of seconds, with a nod or a smile, before looking away. Try not to dart your eyes out as it conveys anxiety or evasion.

Confident handshake –

At workplaces, the handshake is often the only appropriate expression of touch. So, it is critical to have a good handshake. A sincere smile and eye contact should accompany a good handshake. Avoid limp or aggressive handshakes. It is better to initiate the greeting than be uncertain about it.

Effective gestures –

A gesture is usually a hand movement aided by facial expressions that helps to express an idea, opinion, or emotion. A gesture should appear natural and reinforce what you are saying. Hand gestures make people listen to you. But try not not to overdo it as it can create a needless distraction.

Dress the part –

What you wear speaks volumes in the workplace. Wear appropriate clothing that helps you blend in with your organizational norms and culture. It is generally advisable to avoid showy accessories, busy patterns, and inappropriate lengths that fail to convey a polished professional presence in the workplace. Remember, you are dressing up for work.

Stand tall –

An erect posture instantly identifies you as someone positive and a person of conviction. Not only will you look more confident, but you will also feel more confident. People read a lot from what you project with your postures. Slouching or bad posture is a complete no-no for professional settings.

AND FINALLY

Respond to non-verbal cues that you spot in others around you. It is a good habit to pay close attention to the other person’s body language and voice tone. Their nonverbal cues can tell you if they have a question, want to contribute to a discussion, whether they agree with a statement, or want more clarity. By responding appropriately to others’ cues, you show a high level of empathy, sensitivity, and care for them, which builds trust.

The “war for talent” is a phrase often used in the context of talent management. The origins can be traced back to the 1990s, a decade when a large chunk of Baby Boomers (those born between 1944-1964) were exiting the workforce. With the workforce losing a number of its members, talent was in short supply, and employers were at war to hire and retain talented members of the workforce.

The ‘90s have gone, but even in the present day, the phrase remains the most potent expression of what many senior HR professionals believe is possibly the biggest managerial challenge they face.

What is talent management?

Dave Ulrich, professor of business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, says that “Talent management is the systematic process of creating and sustaining individual competencies that will help the business delivery strategy.”

The work of talent management professionals is quite different from the traditional view of what HR does i.e. filling an open job position with a suitable candidate. It looks not just at skills and experience, but also evaluates a candidate on his or her fit with future roles that may be assigned at the company as well as with the corporate culture.

How useful is certification useful for a talent management career?

Choosing a talent management certification program is a great way to boost career prospects. This is applicable for someone entering the field or already working in the field and looking to grow and take on higher roles. A certification is proof of the most up-to-date skills and knowledge in talent management, and a trustworthy indicator that the candidate is serious about a career and willing to invest in continual education.

A certification in talent management, when combined with an HR degree, is a great way to advance an HR career. The following are the most impactful dimensions of talent management certifications as per a TMI study:

The top three factors with the strongest impact were:

• Professional brand improvement: 95%
• Perspective enrichment: 93%
• Higher impact potential: 92%

Which certifications are a good choice in talent management?

 For someone beginning an HR career or already working in the HR field, a certification from the Talent Management Institute (TMI) is an excellent choice. A valuable proof of excellence in HR skills and knowhow, TMI certifications are based on standards covering critical knowledge on all positions and roles in HR as well as its interplay with other business functions. And not just this – TMI has also established the TMI-Wharton programs, offering its students a chance to experience quality education from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

TMI offers the following talent management certification programs:

• Talent Management Practitioner (TMP™): a great starter qualification to begin a career as a talent management professional
• Senior Talent Management Practitioner (STMP™): well suited to mid-career, upwardly mobile HR professionals looking for challenging assignments
• Global Talent Management Leader (GTML™): an excellent choice for senior professionals looking for a global HR role; includes learning material from the Wharton School

Why are TMI certifications a great choice for a career in HR?

 The TMP™, STMP™, and GTML™ certifications from TMI are the first set of independent professional talent management certification programs in the world founded on a formal knowledge framework of talent management standards. They prove the candidate is a person with high potential to do excellently in talent management roles. Here are the seven top reasons to choose a certification from TMI:

• Puts a person ahead in the search for good roles: According to a TMI/CredForce study, an HR degree combined with a talent management certification makes candidates 30% more attractive for an HR career than their non-certified counterparts.
• Multiple job opportunities opening up in talent management (estimate: one million by 2020), making this a great time to get certified
• Higher earnings than HR professionals not exposed to talent management
• Preference in the search for professionals to handle challenging leadership positions in managing human capital: as per a TMI study, over 40% of CHROs believe a professional in HR with an international credential such as that from TMI is a great choice.
• Recognition and validity across industry verticals and sectors of the economy
• Securing a career in HR even in the face of economic uncertainties and changes in business models
• Automatic prequalification for TMI-Wharton programs
• Associate Fellow Program in Talent Management: for global leaders in HR and other functions looking for higher roles; includes a MasterClass at the Wharton School
• Global Fellow Program in Talent Management: for highly accomplished senior professionals, consultants, researchers, and others in HR looking for wider leadership experience; includes two exclusive MasterClasses at the Wharton School

Can an existing HR qualification help in getting a TMI certification?

With a TMI credential, a candidate with a qualification in HR can race to a career as a talent management professional, courtesy the QualiFLY™ program of TMI. The candidate can prequalify for a TMI credential if he or she meets at least one of the following criteria:

• Holding an international certification or other qualification in HR from a credentialing body recognized by TMI
• Holding a degree in HR management and work experience of at least one year in talent management in a large organization
• Studying in a university recognized by TMI

These days, many people are passionate about photography. This has not only remained just as a hobby but over the years people have become more aware of the fact that this is some passion which can later be turned as a valuable career option.

Also, in the past few years the job scenario has also changed a lot and there have been many opportunities created for the photographers. These days; everything stands and falls depending on marketing and advertising strategies. That is why; the demand of professional photographers has soared high in the job market and so is the competition in becoming a successful photographer too.

But whenever one thinks to taking photography as a career option, the first thing that they need to consider is to join a proper photography course. There are many photography colleges and institutions around there which offer some best photography courses and one needs to enrol in them immediately so that they can have an educational certificate.

An educational certificate matters because whenever one applies for a job for photography in most companies, what the recruiters want is either a good amount of experience in professional photography or a proper educational background in the same. So, for the fresher’s it is a must to have a certificate in their bag when they are applying for photography jobs. This can make things easier.

Now how can one know that they are opting for the best photography course? Or how will they know that the college or the institute that they are choosing are reputed enough? Well these are the following things to check before one can come to conclusion about the above mentioned things.

Online and classroom courses

If it is a good and a reputed institute, it will definitely provide both the online and classroom options when it comes to a photography course. Online courses are convenient for many people who are already engaged in some other work places or maybe they live far away from the institute and so they are unable to attend the direct classes. Classroom courses are very much necessary for students who not only want to learn photography but also want to have a proper one to one interaction with the teachers and the other students who have joined the class.

Job placements

The well established photography institutes will always have a job placement cell in it. In fact, they will also have a good previous record of settling their ex students in good professional positions. Not only the photography course, but the noteworthy alumni association will speak a lot about the institute itself. Also, there will be career cells as well in those institutions because they are the one who will help the students to make a CV and help them to create an impressive portfolio with which they can apply in the professional area.

Know the course

The photography courses offered there should not only help one to know about the lenses and cameras but also make them learn processing images, lighting effects and printing related techniques as well.

Every professional photography institute should have these basics to become a good one.