Mimicry is a subtle art in both practice and observation, and it all revolves around body language and conversation. You don’t want to literally mimic them because unless they are very dim, they will see right through your rouse. The first simple thing you do is mimic their general body language. If they are sitting down, have a seat. If they are comfortable reclined in their chair, do the same. If they are talking loudly, speak up a bit. Don’t yell though, you still want to appear as if you are acting completely natural.
Once you’ve been talking for a while you will start to notice certain mannerisms and nuances in their speech and body language. You can utilize these to your advantage if if comes naturally enough to you. It has to come naturally of course. You can’t carry a conversation and be trying to figure out how a person acts. It’s a skill that comes naturally to some people, but for those like me whom it doesn’t come naturally to it can be learned. Practicing by watching people’s body languages and attempting to mimic them to relate to them. You’ll notice it work sometimes and after some time it will come naturally to you.
BoweryJE22
I researched mimicry a bit myself and it’s really a fascinating area of study. The tricky part is mirroring another person’s body language without becoming a copy cat. Great post!
I had actually always seen mimicry as an irritating thing I did – like “monkey see, monkey do.” Whenever someone else reached for their water, I would too. It bugged me, making me think I couldn’t think for myself. It’s good to know that there’s actually something behind it.