A campaign has revealed the micro‐expressions and signs to watch out for when trying to tell if someone is displaying confidence. Contributor Robert Phipps, body language expert – in assoc. with Grosvenor Casinos.

A campaign by Grosvenor Casinos titled Game Face has uncovered the tell‐tale signs to watch out for when working out if someone is displaying a lack of confidence. As part of the campaign, Grosvenor Casinos wanted to reveal what micro‐expressions people use to lie and display confidence when playing games such as poker and blackjack. These micro expressions, however, also often appear outside the casino doors and have been seen to happen in job interviews.

Recent research has suggested a staggering 27 job applications result in just 1 job interview (1), therefore it’s no surprise that confidence is increasingly important to stand out in today’s competitive job market.

The study of 1000 UK respondents (2) also revealed: 1. 73% who admitted to lying on their CVs said they got away with it; 2. 32% said they had little idea how to write a CV; 3. 33% thought they didn’t have a good enough CV.

So how can you tell if someone is truly confident? Grosvenor Casinos has teamed up with body language expert Robert Phipps to detail the top 5 signs that show whether someone’s confident or not.

Five signs that show confidence

Posture
Posture is the first thing people see, whether you’re standing, walking around, or sitting at the poker table. Slouching or upright, your posture gives everyone around you an insight as to how you’re feeling at that precise moment.

Head position
Head position gives away both negative and positive emotions. Confident people will mostly hold their head horizontally level or raise it slightly upward. Those lacking confidence will often stoop their posture and lower their head.

Eye contact
Eye contact is a crucial indicator of confidence. Confident people have no problem looking someone in the eyes when they’re speaking, and they tend to hold their gaze much more when they are listening.

Stance and walk
The stance and walk of someone filled with confidence has a slightly wider gait than that of introverted, shy people, as if those who are confident aren’t afraid to stride through life!

Breathing
Confident people tend to have smoother breathing. They take long breaths that fill the lungs with air, which makes sense, as the more oxygen you get to your brain, the better you feel.