Maybe you should stop giggling at work: How 'laughter padding' is undermining your authority

A man in a suit laughs to a colleague (Credit: Hybrid Images - Getty Images)

We've all been there. An awkward moment by the water cooler, a silence at the coffee machine, or requesting a meeting with a colleague you've never met before. In a bid to seem more at ease, you emit a little laugh at the start or end of an utterance.

Sometimes it's conscious –often not– but either way 'laughter padding' does a great deal to undermine your authority.