How Your Body Language Can Boost Client Trust

Leaving the Envestnet audience with a feeling of power and victory, social psychologist Amy Cuddy ended the first full day of Advisor Summit 2018 with a speech that continued the theme of expansion started by Envestnet Chairman Jud Bergman in the morning keynote.

Cuddy’s speech discussed body language and how advisors can take back the power by expanding their body physically, and of course, adding for good measure the famous “victory pose,” which is throwing your arms up in a “V” that is “hard-wired” in human beings, she said.

Cuddy, author of “Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges,” also is one of the most popular Ted Talk presenters.

Cuddy said that understanding body language can help advisors with their clients. “You are trying to give them a sense of safety,” she said. And with as many distractions people have on a daily basis, being “present” has these qualities:

• We believe our story. (“[People] buy what they’re saying…if you don’t buy it, no one will.”)
• We convey confidence without arrogance. (“Confidence is a tool that invites people in, that’s appealing … not overconfidence, and definitely not arrogance … people act arrogantly when they don’t want to be challenged.”)
• We communicate harmoniously. (“Words and body language are aligned. We suppress story when lying, and become discombobulated.”

This can work both ways for advisors: not only to provide a better self to the client, but to gain more clients. Cuddy said that people who have presence have the best success in raising funds, can stick with a venture they champion, inspire people they work with and do better overall.

“Presence begets presence,” she said. Clients are more likely to open up to advisors who have presence.

She told the audience of RIAs that what stops us from having presence are three things:

1) We cling to outcome and neglect process.

2) We obsess over how others judge us.