Jeannette Quirus, PE, PTOE, Director, Traffic Engineering in McCormick Taylor’s Philadelphia office, presented on how to use body language to influence others and build confidence at a Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) “Learn from a Leader” lunch event on August 16.
For this series, experts from both the public and private sectors share their experiences with small groups, providing insight into the exciting work they are doing and the lessons they’ve learned over the course of their career.
Throughout the summer, these sessions have been held at various engineering firms with offices located in the suburbs of Center City Philadelphia in order to extend WTS’ outreach to the suburbs of Philadelphia, and diversify membership. Jeannette’s presentation, held at McCormick Taylor’s Mount Laurel, New Jersey office, utilized the book, You Say More Than You Think by Janine Driver, CEO of the Body Language Institute, to speak on understanding your own body language, and the various things you might project to others.
“As engineers, we’re trying to sell what we do,” Jeannette said. “And ninety percent of our success comes from the rapport we have with a client. That means we need to know what their body is saying, as well as situate our bodies to convey our message.”
She also covered various body gestures, including how to position yourself when listening intently in order to illustrate attentiveness, and detailed Driver’s seven-day plan to interpret body language fixes and use any interpersonal situation to your advantage
