SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE
Being
socially acceptable is of great importance nowadays. A person overall persona promotes other
individuals to “judge” and “accept” them based in the society. Acceptance in the society is based on many
factors such as:
1.
Appearance / Body language
2.
A good communication skill.
3.
Intellectual Level
4.
Personal Space &
Distance:
5.
Status
1.
Appearance / Body language
This is the most
important feature towards social acceptance in the society. Just picture
yourself walking into a board meeting or a party or meeting a person for the
first time. How do you look? What message do you communicate the moment you
walk into a room? What are your eyes, hands and shoulders saying? What
information can the other person gather about you before you ever say a word? The
moment anyone sees you, your overall persona is scanned right away. This is because,
your postures is a best source of information. It reflects your mood and your
confidence level. In a glance anyone can discern if you’re apprehensive or
outgoing, relaxed or aggressive.
When properly used, body language can be your biggest key to greater achievements.
It can help you develop positive business relationships, influence and motivate
the people who report to you, improve productivity, bond with members of your
team, and present your ideas with more power.
Below are some of the
pointers that can help any individual to improve his/her appearance through his/her
body language:
Ø
Keep
your hands out of your pockets: Keep your hands out of your pockets because
when you put your hands in your pockets you tend to hide your nervousness
projecting that you are uncomfortable or unsure of yourself.
Ø
Don't
fidget: Fidgeting
is a clear sign of nervousness. Your hands are your worst enemies, so keep them
still and steady. You can talk with your hands, but keep your gesticulations
calm and controlled. Avoid rapid leg-vibration while sitting.
Ø
Keep
your chin up and look forward: Keeping your eyes level is one of the best ways to reflect
the confidence in you. Look into the eyes of the person while talking. It is
natural that while walking by yourself, to lower your head slightly and watch
your steps, so keep your chin up and your eyes forward, even while walking down
the street by yourself.
Ø
Stand
up straight with your shoulders back: Standing up straight is the most important means of
communicating confidence through body language. Concentrate on pushing your
shoulders back slightly when standing and walking and this does wonders for
your posture.
Ø
Take
wide steps: If you want to show
confidence with your body language you should take large steps because wide
steps make you seem purposeful and suggest a personal tranquility, which
denotes confidence in oneself.
Ø
Firm
handshakes: Greet the person you are meeting with a firm
handshake and grip the other
person’s hand firmly and confidently. If you are shaking hands with someone
you've already met, you might even consider the two-hand grab by placing your
free hand on the other person’s elbow as this adds warmth and enthusiasm to the
handshake.
Ø
Proper
grooming: Always go out of the house neatly and properly
dressed because it is your overall appearance that makes you look smart and
attractive. You can even spay some deodorant or perfume to add on to the
freshness.
Ø
Smile: Confident people smile because they have nothing to worry
about. If you smile at someone as you pass them on the street or walking around
the office, you’ll find that they’ll smile back. This is the kind of effect you
should have on the people all the time?
Ø
Don't
cross your arms when socializing: Crossing your arms is a protective posture which we do it
when we’re cold, nervous or on guard. You should look likeable, open and
confident, so relax a little and keep your arms uncrossed.
Ø
Use
contact to show appreciation: A simple pat on the back of a friend, relative or a colleague
when he or she delivers a perfectly timed punch line or nails the big presentation
won’t do any harm. This is only a small
gesture to convey a simple message that they’re liked, appreciated by you.
Ø
Just be yourself: Sometime it is a fact
that most people, in order to fit in with the others, look and act like them
and this gives an artificial reflection to the other person. God has made every
individual special, be proud to be yourself. You never know that someone might
be trying to be like you where you are bent on ruining your own identity by
imitating someone else. It's is also the reason why most people look painfully
average.
Ø Speak
in a low pitch. The quality of your voice can be a
deciding factor in how you are perceived. Speakers with higher-pitched voices
are judged to be less emphatic, less powerful and more nervous than speakers
with lower pitched voices. One easy technique is just to put your
lips together and say “Um hum, um hum, um hum.” Doing so relaxes your voice
into its optimal pitch. This is especially helpful before you get on an
important phone call – where the sound of your voice is so critical.
Ø Reduce
nervous gestures. When we’re nervous or stressed, we all
pacify with some form of self-touching, nonverbal behavior: We rub our hands
together, bounce our feet, drum our fingers on the desk, play with our
jewellery, twirl our hair, fidget etc. — and when we do any of these things, we
immediately steal away our statements of credibility. If you catch yourself
indulging in any of these behaviors, take a deep breath and steady yourself by
placing your feet firmly on the floor and your hands palm down in your lap, on
the desk or on the conference table. Stillness sends a message that you’re calm
and confident.
2. A good communication
skill
Good communication
skills are important in all areas of life and is most essential that everyone knows how to
communicate effectively, since the success of the enterprise relies on the
shared skills, experience and knowledge of all the members. Nonverbal
communication has been said to have a greater universality than language, in
that you can often make yourself known in a rudimentary way through signs and gestures
when communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds who do not
share a common language
3.
Intellectual Level
Lifelong learning and
continued education is essential for any human being who want to stay involved
in today’s rapidly changing world. However, move around in the society, it is
of utmost importance to acquire the timeless and universal knowledge of wisdom.
Everyone should develop their intellects so that it helps you to interact and
debate on various topics as this cultivates an air around you that you're not
ignorant of the world you live in, but are aware of what is the status on the
present scenario. Exchange of views polishes your intellect level adding boost
to your thoughts. Whereas knowledge enables one to stay involved in worldly
affairs, there enhancing your intellect and upgrading your wisdom-related
knowledge enriches your brain in other parameters of knowledge.
4.
Personal Space &
Distance:
Each one
of us have an area of space around us that we consider as ours and tend to feel
uncomfortable when this space is breached. This personal space should be
respected and valued upon. The extent to which people will keep out of it depends
on a multitude of factors including culture, personality, age, sex, status and
dominance. An acquaintance or a mere introduction does not give you the right
to barge into anyone’s privacy. The distance that people put between themselves
and others can also be contributory in reflecting attitudes, creating feelings
and indicating the balance of power.
5.
Status
A
person's "social status" is a position they hold relative to other
people in society. There are two general types of social status: ascribed and
achieved. Ascribed social status is something which is "assigned" to
a person at birth: race, ethnicity, sex, etc. Such a social status is
unalterable and most often also the basis of various systems of social
oppression. Achieved social status is something which a person acquires through
the course of their life: education, occupation, marriage, parental roles, etc.
These are alterable and are also, sometimes, the basis for more subtle forms of
social oppression or control.
This is very wrong
because there should be no discrimination towards the acceptance of any
individual in the society considering his financial position or recognition
etc. A person holding good moral values is much more respectable than any
other. It is indeed pitiable that all the definitions have changed now as today
status is used as a synonym for honor or prestige but the social status also denotes
the relative position of a person on a publicly recognized scale or platform for
example if you are rich or recognized
or a public figure etc., they choose to respect you otherwise you are an
ordinary person of no eminence because according to them money, power, ruling
over others, capitalism & assertiveness etc. are the some of the symbols any
person of good status shall possess because they tend to be friends only with those of a
higher social class *Status inconsistency* so that they too get recognition and
up gradation in their present standing.
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