How to Walk Properly: Feet & Body Language
This post on how to walk properly focuses on your walking style by breaking up the entire process of walking and running into few sections. We will focus on foot placement, foot movement, dragging feet, how to send out impressions that you are a confident person, how does your walking style affect others etc.
For teenagers, it is easier to adapt to the style of walking we present in this post. However, adults too can practice a little longer to gain the style we present here. Always practice in isolation to avoid being mocked at. This is because when you practice in public and focus on your feet and legs, you tend to walk in a weird way sometimes that may make you a subject of interest among others who may be watching you.
How to walk properly – Positioning of Feet
What is the positioning of feet? When we talk of how to walk properly, we have to check out how our feet point while walking forward (and backward, if you wish)!
You land up on your heel and then pass body weight to toe. This is about your toes. Have you seen the drunkards walking? Their toe position is at more than 90-degree angle (the center being your heel: meaning flexing outward in “/” fashion). This, positioning, is not good in the world where people interpret you by the style you walk.
If your feet both look like “\ /”, stretching outward, you sent out signals that you are short on integrity. That would, in turn, mean that people understanding body language will seldom trust you. If the toes are outwards, as explained above, you tend to seem careless!
If your feet fall below 90-degree angle (taking heel as center), you are very insecure. That is what body language experts will deduce. In this case, people may neglect you – and your opinions – just because your feet positioning is not good enough for them. The perfect positioning is 90 degree (again taking heel as center). It is difficult to get exact 90 degrees but you sure can make sure it lies +/- 5 degrees within the range. How do you achieve that? By practicing!
NOTE: Do not practice walking in public else you might end up making fun of yourself. If you know people are watching you, it may make it worse in an attempt to get perfect. Practice in isolation. One option is to draw lines or place two straight cloth pieces in parallel while trying to walk on them. Be natural outside as the practice will tend to make it natural in at most three to four days. I will say avoid pointed tips as they give away precision more than broader toed footwear.
How to walk properly – Men and Women Heels
In this section, we will focus on how to move gracefully using just your feet. Given that different people wear different footwear, the sound of footsteps may vary. Imagine you are walking in a huge hall that has almost no noise and you are wearing rugged, metal heeled footwear. I hope you can imagine all eyes turning towards you, making you uncomfortable. Gathering attention is good, but not for wrong reasons!
How do you walk properly without annoying others and with grace? We’ll accept that different people have different choice of footwear going by their choice, budget and prevalent fashion. We will not talk about footwear. The aim here is to reduce the noise as much as possible.
Land on your heel gently, instead of putting all the body weight on it at a time and pass it on gently to the toe. (do not hit the ground with force)
That means, instead of landing on the center of your heels, land on the last-most point and pass on the weight to center of feet before passing it on to the toe. That would sound more like using entire foot as a curve. But don’t make it look like dancing. Too gentle is not gentle 🙂
Abrupt landing on heel and then passing body weight straight to toes will create more noise and is not recommended at all. Sometimes it may result in two sounds per step which makes it further awkward.
The above focuses on how to walk properly for men and women – covering only the footwear noise part. This also applies to cases where you are not wearing any footwear ex like walking on grass! The process may slightly vary for women as their footwear is different, often with higher, pointed heels that tend to make more sound because of less contact area with ground.
I won’t recommend the above method for girls with extra high heels as they may trip over. But if they wear a decent low, non-pointed heel, the above would attract dignity.
How to walk properly – Foot Movement
You might have seen people who walk as if they’re carrying huge invisible burden. Such people are actually non-confident per what the body language experts say.
If you happen to notice it when you are walking depressed, your movement is slow and you are dragging the feet. Happens with most people! While it shows the person is not confident, it also destroys your image. Dragging the feet so that you literally are leaving a trail of dust is a STRICT NO!
While walking, you land on your heel. Next, pass the body weight to the center of feet and then to the toes. From the point of the toe, pick up the feet from ground completely. Neither too high either, only as much as is required to avoid contact with the ground. The foot then again goes land on the heel for taking you further one step.
In short, once your body weight is shifted to the toe of the left foot, the left foot is in the air as long as the right one goes through the heel, center and toe style. That done, the right foot goes up as soon as the left one touches the ground on your heels.
AGAIN: Remember not to pick up the feet too high in the air else it would look pretty awkward. Do not let the angle of the thigh to “below knee” be more than 50 degrees. You know the level of ground you are walking on. Just remember to keep feet only as much above as it is required to avoid contact with the ground (that avoids the additional sound of footsteps as well). That would look gentle while creating a good impression of you – irrespective of the type of footwear you are wearing.
Pace of Walking
A brisk walk is good for health. But it is not good if you make it your style. The pace of movement depends on where you are and what you are. If it is a general walk, a fast walk (much slower than a brisk walk) shows that you are a confident person. A quicker pace shows you are in urgency, probably to get somewhere. A little quicker pace in round circles would show you are disturbed about something. Anything faster would make people think you are exercising in whatever environment you are. So what pace should you adopt while walking?
Generally, keep it fast but much slower than what we called a brisk walk. A brisk walk is where you are almost running. A fast movement shows some kind of authority and reflects your confidence. It also helps in improving your mood. If you are walking with someone, do not leave them behind to maintain your pace. Adjust your pace to match theirs as leaving them behind is not good manners.
A slow walk is also desirable when you are free and wish to enjoy the surroundings. Keep in your mind that you are not raising dust by kicking the grounding while walking fast and that you are not dragging your feet while walking slowly.
Dragging will send out signals that you are depressed and down. It will tell others that you do not have much confidence left in you. Kicking the ground is not a man’s habit. Walking should be gentle as told early in this post. Always remember that when I say fast, it is not jog-walking. It is just that you move a little fast compared to how others move. Leave leaping to frogs. Just walk cool, as to improve your dignity. Your style should be good at a proper pace that stands anywhere between running and dragging feet!
TIP: When feeling down, walk fast – using the above method – in an open area and you will feel better. Such practice instills confidence and thus, you get some relief!
The above summarizes how to walk properly. If you have any doubts, please leave a comment so that we can answer.
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