Body language
A. It’s common knowledge that human communication consists not only of sounds or written symbols. It also takes place by the use of gestures, postures, positions and distances. Actually, in many situations, non-verbal communication can reveal more accurately what a person is feeling. Body language always speaks the truth, whereas words may often be misleading.
Nowadays much of our basic non-verbal behaviour is learned and the meaning of many movements and gestures is culturally determined. Let us now look at some aspects of body language:
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Boredom”.
When the listener begins to use his hand to support his head, it
is a signal that he is bored and his supporting hand is an
attempt to hold his head up to stop himself from falling asleep.
Steepling
hands”.
This
gesture
means confidence. But be attentive, the movements preceding the
steeple gesture will show you whether this confidence is positive
or negative.
hen
the index finger points vertically up the cheek and the thumb
supports the chin, the listener is having negative or critical
thoughts about the speaker or his subject.
The
mouth guard”. If the person who
is speaking uses this gesture, it indicates that he is telling a
lie. If, however, he covers his mouth while you’re speaking it
indicates that he feels you are lying! Sometimes this gesture may
only be several fingers over the mouth, a closed fist or even a
fake cough but its meaning remains he same.
he
person is making a decision
Palm-in-palm
position”. This is a
superiority / confidence gesture. If you take this position
when you’re in a high stress situation, such as being
interviewed or simply waiting outside a dentists’s surgery, you
will feel quite relaxed, confident and even authoritative.
Folded
arms”.
This gesture shows that people feel uncertain or insecure. When
the listener folds his arms he has not only more negative
thoughts about the speaker but he’s also less attentive to what
is being said.
The
eye rub”. This is the brain’s
attempt to block out the decit, doubt or lie that it sees or to
avoid having to look at the face of the person to whom he telling
the lie.
his
gesture show that the user is “cool”, he has a self-confident
attitude and a feeling of protection.
The
neck scratch”. The index finger
of the writing hand scratches below the earlobe, or may even
scratch the side of the neck. This gesture is a signal of doubt
or uncertainty and is characteristic of the person who says, “I’m
not sure I agree.”
Leg
cross position”.
This may be a signal that a negative attitude or nervousness may
exist. However, this is usually a supportive gesture that occurs
with other negative gestures and shouldn’t be interpreted in
isolation or out of context.
The
Collar pull”. Some people use
this gesture when they tell a lie and suspect that they have been
caught out. It’s also used when a person is feeling angry or
frustrated and needs to pull the collar away from his neck in an
attempt to let cool air circulate around it.
Picking
imaginary lint”. This is one of
the most common signals of disapproval and when the listener
continually picks imaginary pieces of lint off his clothing it is
a good indication that he doesn’t like what is being said, even
though he may be verbally agreeing with everything.
Hands
behind head posture”. This
positionis typical for people who are feeling confident, dominant
or superior about something. If we could read the person’s mind
he would be saying something like, “I have all the answers”,
or “May be one day you’ll be as smart as I am”, or even
“Everything’s under control.”
Open
palms”. Throughout history open
palms have been associated with truth, honesty and submission.
When people wish to be totally open, truthful or honest they will
hold one a both palms out to the other person. Sometimes they
expose only part of the palms. Like most body language this is a
completely unconscious gesture, one that gives you a feeling that
the other person has a positive attitude to you and is telling a
truth.
B. Situation:
At the end of the XX century the humanity was witnessing the emergence of a new kind of social scientists – the non-verbalist. Just as the birdwatcher delights in watching birds and their behaviour, so the non-verbalist delights in watching the non-verbal gestures and signals of human beings. He is a student of behaviour who wants to learn about the actions of his fellow humans so that he and then people all over the world may learn more about themselves and how they can improve their relationships with others.
Today Mr. Allan Pease and Mr. Julius Fast, behavioural scientists on non-verbal communication, are invited to a TV show to talk about body language and its importance in everyday life. They are going to be shown some video records and asked to comment on the non-verbal aspects of face-to-face encounters.
Role-Assignments:
1 You are a TV programme host. You are to lead the discussion helping the invited scientists to share their points of view.
2, 3 You are Mr. Allan Pease and Mr. Julius Fast, scientists on non-verbal communication
a) Speak about body language, tell the audience what personal benefits people have if they know how to read other’s thoughts by their gestures.
b) When you watch several video scenes comment on the non-verbal cues the people are making while talking to each other and compare them with the verbal signals (the spoken words).
4, 5, 6 … You are actors. Play small scenes which are going to be shown to the non-verbalists. They watch you interacting at the office, at the beach, at home, at presentations, shops, parks or anywhere else. While communicating use different gestures, postures, body signals which show your feelings and what you really keep in mind. Your attitude towards each other may be other positive or negative. Demonstrate it with the help of body language.