New Secrets on How Colors Improve Negotiations and Body Language Skills

Have you considered how colors can improve your negotiations and the impact colors have on your body language? People make snap judgments based on the colors we wear and the colors of the negotiation environment we’re in. Colors influence your everyday activities.

Read this article to gain valuable insight per how you can improve your negotiation and body language efforts.

Color Effect on Body Language:

People that are less reserved and more outgoing tend to wear vibrant colors. It’s like they’re saying, I want to be free. I want to be seen and recognized.

Colors release the vibrancy within them. It makes them feel good. They display their good-naturedness in their attitude (i.e. let everybody be happy – I’m happy) and through the interactions they have with others. They emit the signal, I’m approachable. The brighter the colors the more siren the signal.

Contrast that type of demeanor against someone who wears darker colors. The message emitted is, I’m not so approachable, not in the mindset of engaging in less serious matters. They say through the colors they wear that they have a certain air about themselves. They’re more reserved than those who wear vibrant colors.

From an observer’s perspective, it’s important to understand the signals that colors emit because of the signals the person is sending. Colors give you insight per how to address and engage with that person. Thus, it would not benefit you to be overly gregarious with someone who wore dark clothing in an attempt to befriend them in your first encounter. Instead, you’d best be served by approaching such an individual in a measured and reserved manner. The opposite would be the case of someone wearing more vibrant colors.

Knowing the right approach to adopt, based on the colors someone wears, will add to your bonding efforts.

Color Effect on Negotiations:

Per the above insights pertaining to the colors people wear and the effect such has on the projection of body language signals, you gain instant access to the person’s possible negotiation style and demeanor. I said possible negotiation style because good negotiators know how to ‘dress for the occasion’. They project the image they want you to perceive based on the clothing and colors they’re wearing. This can be an outlier to their real persona and negotiation style. So, you can make an assessment as to the demeanor they possess, but be on the lookout to reevaluate it the moment you sense things are not going according to how you thought they’d go.

One way to detect the effect colors have on someone is to observe to what degree they give a casual glance, versus a snapping of the head to look at your attire. If you’re physically close enough, you can observe the degree their eyes actually dilate. The wider the pupils, the greater the level of excitement. If you notice such occurring, make a mental note to discover more of what the act entailed. You’ll gain clues to how you’re being perceived and thus how the other negotiator might engage you.

The colors you wear in a negotiation, the color of the environment, and the color that those you engage with wear, play a major role in how engaged or disengaged you’ll be with them and them with you. Given the insight that you’ve gained from this article, you’re now better prepared to dress per the image that best suits you. To do so means you’ll win more negotiations and improve other aspects of your life… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

Live Bait Fishing – Proper Tackle And Bait Presentation Is Critical To Triggering A Fish To Bite

Having fished the sport fishing boats based in Southern California for many years, I have learned that bait selection and presentation are probably the two most critical, yet often overlooked, steps in fishing with live bait that can ultimately lead to a successful fishing trip. Anglers who have the good fortune of fishing live bait such as anchovies, sardines, mackerel and squid, can easily better their chances of landing more fish with these simple measures that begin at the bait well or tank.

When selecting a bait from the well, spend some time choosing the hottest, or liveliest bait in the well. The bait should not be missing any scales and check to see if the nose of the bait is red. The nose should always be a natural color and not red. Baits with red noses and missing scales are normally stressed from improper handling, overcrowded tank conditions or disease and do not look or swim in a natural behavior, the key to enticing fish to feed.

After selecting the best bait, bait scoops should be used to remove it from the others. If a bait scoop is not available, the angler should carefully slide his hand under the bait and slowly grab the bait with light pressure by the head, so as to not remove the slime or any of the scales on the body. Quickly bait the hook and fluidly cast it as far from the boat as possible, landing the bait softly in the bite zone. Make sure that your tackle, rods and reels, match the appropriate bait and creates as little excess drag on the bait as possible.

Anglers should always be aware of the fishing conditions that surround them. This includes tides, moon phases, currents, patterns and more. Knowing what the fish and the fishing conditions are doing should determine how the angler should bait their hook. Baits can be hooked in the nose, collar, shoulder and butt, depending on how the angler wants the bait to react. I like to nose hook my baits because I move them around as much as possible, including when I retrieve them. Nose hooking is the only way to retrieve the bait with a natural swimming motion, head pointed towards the angler.

When you collar, shoulder or butt hook a bait, they usually get ripped off, fall off or come back in an awkward spinning motion. I only hook my bait in the collar or shoulder when the surface fishing is good and when I know the bait will be inhaled before I need to wind it in. On the other hand, butt hooking is used when the bite zone is deeper and not on the surface. Normally, butt hooking will force it to swim down and away, the ideal scenario for many fishing applications. The price you pay is that you sacrifice the ability to wind the bait back through the bite zone if it did not get bit in the first pass. When butt hooked, the bait will usually spin and come in backwards, not a very appealing appetizer for a finicky fish.

Also, make sure your tackle matches in size and weight to your bait. Sometimes, fishing conditions demand heavy tackle for small baits and on other occasions, light gear for big baits. Other than these times, your rods, reels, bait hooks, fishing line, weight and sinkers should not create any excess drag on the bait. Spinning and conventional casting combos come in a wide range of actions and line classes in both freshwater and saltwater versions and carefully selecting the proper live bait rod and reel is essential.

With these bait selection and presentation tips, I hope you will someday be able to enjoy the thrill of being picked up by a trophy size fish. There is nothing more exciting than fishing with live bait, the heart stopping sensation when you feel that familiar thump on the end of the line, followed by a thumb burning grab of your line from the now, rapidly spinning spool waiting to be engaged with a flip of a button, turn of a handle or a slide of a lever with the familiar call of “hook up”.

Presenting with Props: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

When giving a presentation props are usually a good idea. They grab the audience’s attention, give a visual representation and they add life to what could be yet another dreaded mandatory meeting. When are they not a good idea… when they are not rehearsed.

Using supportive material and visual aids during a presentation often proves awkward for speakers who lack practice in coordinating what they do at the podium with what they say. Rehearsal is the only solution for this. To arrive at a podium without ever having pressed the projector on cue is taking a foolish chance.

Rehearsal with visual aids should include thorough familiarization with the content of each individual aid, and actual practice in the use of equipment or performance of an action. If a blackboard illustration is to be drawn, it should be practiced at least once on the blackboard to be used in the actual presentation. If a movie or film strip is to be shown, preview it before presenting it.

Many presenters may also overlook what use to be the most commonly found prop, the microphone. However, you would be surprised at the amount of people that are unduly influenced by the presence of a microphone. With the modern equipment and techniques available today, it is often unnecessary to use one. Sound engineers, when present, give all of the necessary instructions and signals, and monitor and adjust the equipment to fit the individual. With public address systems, trainers will hear their own voices and be able to adjust position for optimal speaking distance. However, not all situations offer these modern conveniences. If the trainer feels uncomfortable using a microphone, it is doubly critical that the rehearsal include it, or a model if a real one is not available.