Is Your Walk Telling Your Story Or Someone Else's?

It is amazing how sometimes you can tell a great deal about who someone is just by how they walk. You should observe yourself in the mirror to see what other people are seeing when you walk. When I was in high school my friends tell me (I don't recall this at all) that I used to practice walking. It's a good thing too, because my Mom and my sister indicated that I needed to straighten my feet up and stop walking like a duck. I greatly appreciate their intervention, now.

Many people are under the impression that their walk is reflective of who they are and that cannot be changed. I disagree with that concept. I believe if you want to change you can. Let me give you some reasons a change might be in order for you.

For example if you walk with your head down shoulders rounded, you look timid, not to comfortable in your own skin, certainly not confident. Now to improve you stride, all you have to do is walk upright, keep your back straight, chin up, eyes looking front and center, think confidence. It is possible to change how you walk, just practice. When you change how you walk, you change how you look. People will then see a confidence that may or may not be there, but they can't be sure. You can start to feel more confident, by imaging the worst thing that can happen and figure out a solution for the worst case scenario in your head. Usually the worst never happens, but if it does you have a recovery plan ready. Now you can really hold your head up in confidence and really stride ahead.

Walking should be a fluid motion; all of your parts should work together. If once you observe your walk it looks a bit like marching or speed walking, you have some adjustments to make. Also try not to carry too much with you as this can throw your balance off or cause you to list to one side unattractively.

Your arms should have smooth swing to them, no jerky movements, remember think fluid. Your stride should be a comfortable distance for you, not to long and not too short. You want to use a stride that you can maintain easily. There shouldn't be a bounce to your step. Keep you walk smooth and even, head up, shoulders back with a slight swing of the arms. Remember to look pleasant and feel confident.

Jeanine D. Rozier MBA, AICI FLC

JDR Image Consulting, LLC
http://www.JDRImageConsulting.com
703.444.8865

Impression Management - Strategic Influence

AICI Washington DC Metro Area Chapter
Vice President of Programs (2008/2009)
Treasurer (2006/2009)