Field studies have been successful in showing that making eye contact with those who you wish to persuade makes your persuasion more effective. Making eye contact can raise your acceptance rate in many areas, from passing out fliers to job interviews. Direct gaze is especially important in situations in which you wish to use social dominance to sway an individual; this technique is called dominant gaze. Mutual gaze, in which you not only use a gaze but also elicit eye contact from the individual you wish to persuade, is effective when you and the individual are of equivalent social status.
Kinesics, the area of nonverbal behavior that covers bodily movements, plays an important role in persuasion---especially in attempts to change someone's opinion. Open body positions, such as the spreading of knees, feet and arms, raise your chances of convincing a person of your opinion. Increases in overall body movement also increase your chance of successfully persuading someone. In general, frequent movement and an "open" body will assist you in most persuasion attempts.
Your appearance and dress both are important factors in determining the outcome of a persuasion attempt. Generally, dressing in conventional attire will raise your chances at successfully influencing others. This is because non-conventional dress tends to give others the impression that your views are more radical or unacceptable. One type of dress, the uniform, is especially important in demonstrating authority and gaining compliance. Dressing suitably to your profession tends to make others believe you are an expert in what you do and that what you say is trustworthy.
The smile is a powerful tool in persuasion. Overall, the smile increases a person's chance at successfully persuading another, when compared to a neutral face. The main purpose of a smile in persuasion attempts is to enhance a person's mood so that he is more open to new information. A smile also raises others' impressions of you. Listeners are more likely to trust your statements when you are smiling.