Think aloud
Body language that shows dominance isn’t that easy to master. Some people in this world are simply able to show off their dominant side without any trouble, but for some of us, it doesn’t come naturally.
There are ways for you to learn the body language of dominance. Whether it’s to impress a girl, to establish power in your friend group, or to create dominance and respect in your workplace. You know that the influence of some people simply controls the room, which is exactly what you’re hoping to achieve.
Well, it’s a good thing that some stances and movements can be learned. You know what they say, “Fake it ’til you make it.” This means that these things won’t come naturally to you, which is completely fine. But you have to try and practice.
7 examples of body language that exude dominance
1. Don’t walk into the room holding your phone
The most important thing about dominant body language is to seem confident and unbothered. So, when you’re walking into a room, make sure that you’re not scrolling on your phone.
I know that we feel much more relaxed this way. We don’t have to meet anyone’s gaze, we can simply scan the room, and then continue pretending that we’re busy with something on our phone.
However, you shouldn’t do that. When you’re walking into a room, make sure that you take a moment to pause, scan the room, and then go where you need to be. It may be uncomfortable at first, but it’ll become natural to you after a while.
2. Hold eye contact
When someone’s talking to you, make sure to hold eye contact. But this isn’t something new to you, you’ve probably heard this a million times.
What I actually want to emphasize here is that you need to hold prolonged eye contact, especially if someone’s getting on your last nerve. This means that you’ll continue holding eye contact when they’re done talking.
Don’t automatically start speaking when they’re done, but hold their gaze longer and watch them squirm. You’ll make the other person uncomfortable, and they’ll start drawing into themselves.
3. Avoid eye contact
I know what you’re thinking, “Didn’t you just tell me to hold eye contact? Why are you telling me to avoid it now?!”
Well, holding eye contact is the first step. Afterward, when you want to tell someone that they’re not worthy of your attention, you’ll want to avoid eye contact. While they’re speaking, make sure to scan the room with a very stern look on your face.
Show the other person that they’re not interesting enough for you to listen to them. You can even look at them with boredom and let out a sigh.
4. Take up more space
Body language of dominance is the art of showing everyone that you’re the alpha. You’ll be able to do this by taking up more space! Either, it’s in a way that you’ll flex your muscles, keep your legs wide when you’re sitting down, or simply tower over people with your height.
If you’re smaller than the people around you, then don’t try to take up more space because you’ll look ridiculous. However, if you’re an average size, you can try to show everyone around you your dominance by simply knowing that you deserve the space that you’re occupying.
5. Have a neutral facial expression
At first, a neutral facial expression will look like a mask. Especially if the people around you aren’t used to it.
Nonetheless, after a while, it will make sense. Because different facial expressions react to different emotions, people are used to seeing emotions reflected in the face. However, when you’re holding a neutral facial expression, they’ll be a little intimidated. That’s when you’ll be able to establish dominance.
6. Expect other people to walk out of your way
If you’re a woman, you’ve probably experienced this more than once. A man is walking towards you, and he doesn’t even try to walk out of your way, so you have to make that move. Men do this because they think that women are lesser beings, so they continue walking.
Well, it’s your turn to do this now. When you’re walking toward someone, make sure that you stay persistent in your way. Don’t move out of their way, no matter what!
Yes, at first it’ll make you bump into people, but that’s when you won’t react but rather smile in a sinister way and look them up and down. I can promise you that they’ll feel chills down their spine.
7. Set the pace
When someone comes up to talk to you while you’re walking, make sure to set the pace. If you’re in a hurry, make them catch up to you. If you’re not in a hurry, then tell them that if they want to talk to you, they’ll follow your pace.
This may seem silly at first, but you’ll establish what you came here to do. It’s the body language of dominance.
How to dominate the dominant
Now that we’ve covered a couple of examples of body language that exudes dominance, we have to talk about how to dominate the dominant. There will always be someone to challenge your dominance, so you have to be able to control the situation.
1. Return their gaze
When someone tries to dominate you, they may try to intimidate you with the tactics mentioned above. For example, they’ll hold eye contact for longer than necessary, but you can’t be the first one to look away.
It may turn into a staring contest, but that’s better than turning away and looking intimidated. You should definitely return their gaze, and show them that you’re not someone that they can mess with. Also, when you combine this trick with some of the next ones, you’ll be invincible.
2. Smile malevolently
A malevolent smile does not affect your eyes. Usually, when we’re smiling, we’re also smiling with our eyes. But when you want to establish dominance, don’t let your eyes follow your mouth.
Another recommendation would be to not blink while you’re smiling. Also, when you feel like the right moment has come, you can show your teeth.
When you combine all of this with a tilt of your head, I can promise you that the person in front of you will feel a chill running down their spine. When you’re establishing dominance, it’s never about being the loudest or the strongest, it’s about the energy that you exude.
3. Slow down
Slowing down is a great body language trick to establish dominance. Slowing down when you’re walking is a great way to make the person follow your pace. You’re showing them that you’re not in a rush and that people are going to wait for you.
You’re also putting the other person’s guard down because they’ll become extremely impatient.
Another great thing to do is to slow down while you’re talking. If you’re a fast talker, it may lead you to stumble over your words and make it very hard to understand you. However, when you’re slowing down you’re actually giving your brain enough time to come up with things, and you’ll dominate the dominant person in the room.
4. Tell jokes
Through my multiple leadership training, the most important thing that I’ve learned is that you should always tell jokes. But only if they’re funny.
If you tell a joke that’s everything but funny, you’ll actually lose the dominance that you’ve already established in the room. What you need to do is make sure that these jokes are appropriate for the circumstance.
When you make the entire room laugh, the other person who’s trying to establish dominance will feel inferior. They’ll lose the grasp that they had on the room because now everyone’s on your side.
Pro tip: you can’t use dominant body language if you have nothing to support it
The worst thing that I’ve seen is when someone is trying to establish dominance in a room with body language alone. Those people have nothing to support their behavior, and the only thing that they’re doing is making themselves look desperate.
You won’t achieve what you want if your life isn’t put together. You have to go to the gym if you want to establish dominance by taking up more space. If you’re someone who has no muscles on your body, then there’s absolutely no way that the room will take you seriously.
Also, you can’t establish dominance in a room where everyone is more educated than you are, or if they’re in higher positions. Make sure that your claims are supported by different sources, and that you have people who stand by your side.
Otherwise, you’ll make yourself look arrogant. I once heard a quote that says, “Arrogance is when you’re overestimating your work, but confidence is when you know how good you are.” I can’t remember who said that, but it’s true. So, don’t make yourself look arrogant, when you can learn and become better.
That’s when the body language that exudes dominance will come naturally.