Body Language

1491 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Body language interpretation essay

Body Language

1.1 What is Body Language?

Body Language is the unspoken communication that goes on in every

Face-to-Face conversation with another person. It tells you their

true feelings towards you and how well your words are being received.

Between 50% of our message is communicated through our Body Language

40 % tone of our voices and 10% only are our words.

Your ability to read and understand another person's Body Language can

mean the difference between making a great impression or a very bad

one! Reading someone body language can help you in a job interview,

that meeting, or special date!

Every one of us has experienced the feeling of like this person and

not dislike that person but without necessarily knowing why. There was

something about them. We often refer to this as a hunch or gut

feeling, two descriptions directly relating to our own body's

physiological reaction.

Everyone has experienced the feeling that they have just been lied to,

haven't they?

We all here during a conversation have experienced the feeling that

someone is lying to us.

The words of the conversation probably weren't what we noticed as a

direct lie. It was more likely to be the body movements that showed

he is lying to us.

Darting eyes, palms not visible, shifting from one foot to another,

hand covering mouth or fingers tugging at the ear are clues.

All the clues are there. Our subconscious picks them up, and if we're

lucky enough to be perceptive, decodes them and tells us that the

words and gestures don't match!

Whenever there is a conflict between the words that someone says and

their body signals and movem...

... middle of paper ...

...

non-verbal indication that you are both thinking along the same lines.

It's not always this obvious...Body positioning

The easy way to tell whether the person you're talking to is enjoying

the conversation:

The person is standing facing you with their body and feet pointing

towards you and mirroring your positions.

The tell-tale signs that someone's feeling uncomfortable or not

enjoying the conversation:

The person's head is turned towards you and appears engaged in the

conversation - smiling, nodding etc, but their body and feet are

pointing away from you.

If someone's body is turned away from you it will be facing the place

where they'd rather be. If they're pointed towards another person or

the exit then it's time to terminate the conversation or do something

to attract their full attention.

Show More
Related

  • Ann Washburn Body Language Analysis

    209 Words  | 1 Pages

    In this video, Ann Washburn talks about how body language is a key to access our subconscious. Body language is something that demonstrates and determines who we are as a person because we send messages to others and to ourselves with our body language. For example, if a person stands with crossed arms while putting his weight on one leg, it sends out a message that the person is weak. On the other hand, if the same person stands with his hands on the side keeping the weight on both the legs, it sends a message of being confident to his subconscious and signals others that he is a strong person. Another example in the video is about our reaction to the compliments given by others to us. If a person says thank you after hearing the compliment

    Read More

  • Body Language: Revealing Subconscious Feelings and Intentions

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    Body language is non-verbal communication where your body reveals unspoken, usually subconscious, feelings and intentions physically. Body language is expressed through eye movements, facial expressions, body postures and gestures. It plays a part in how humans judge you while communicating or first meeting which is what we do when we see a characteristic we wouldn’t tolerate to possess or envy of the person which drives you to find faults within that person. Body language also indicates a persons state of mind; whether they are alert/attentive, bored, interested or nervous. Before language was developed, cavemen and other early ancestors used body gestures to communicate and judge each others body postures and voices to guess what they wanted to get across. Body language reflects who we are. One of the reasons television was so groundbreaking because radio couldn’t display facial expressions and body language. In 1960, Kennedy and Nixon had debates. Nixon was sweating, looking nervous whereas Kennedy wore makeup and looked straight at the camera to show conviction. People listening to the debates on the radio believed Nixon had won and the people watching it on television thought the opposite. After that event, non-verbal communication was taken more seriously.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Culture On The Interpretation Of Body Language

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    Culture impacts the interpretation of body language, which includes “eye contact”, “personal space”, and “bow” (Hurn 2014). The British anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor (1871) defines culture as a set of social standards containing “social values” “custom”, and “religious beliefs” (1). In order to avoid embarrassments in conversation with people who hold different social values, believe in unlike religions or are influenced by diverse custom, it is vital to evaluate how culture affects explanations of body language and how cultural differences will cause misunderstandings among speakers.

    Read More

  • Mrs. Doubtfire: Nonverbal Communication

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    The presence of nonverbal messages in our communication is very important. Following the text, researchers have estimated it is up to “65 percent of social meaning we convey in face-to-face interactions is a result of nonverbal behavior” (131). The movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” is a typical example about the interactions among characters, also with audience. Several scenes in this movie show us the effects of nonverbal messages in communication, especially through the character Daniel, who disguises himself as a middle-aged British nanny in order to be near his children.

    Read More

  • The Aspects Of Nonverbal Communication In The Movie 'Crash'

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    It could be in the form of a handshake, body language, or silence. You may not always notice these things, but they are great indicators of a person’s true feelings in any particular situation. The character in the movie “Crash” played by Sandra Bullock shows an excellent representation of how nonverbal communication is displayed in American society today. In the scene, Bullock is shown walking down the street with her husband on the way to their vehicle. The two black men previously mentioned are shown exiting the diner and walking toward Bullock and her husband. As Bullock notices the men approaching she exhibits nonverbal communication by moving closer to her husband and interlocking arms with him. In turn, giving off vibes that she is fearful or uncomfortable with the approaching men based on their appearance. These types of actions can be distasteful and offensive even though that may not have been your

    Read More

  • Body Language Essay

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    When we think about communication, we think about interactions. So what is your body language communicating to me? This are the words that Amy Cuddy a social physiologist, uses when she start up her talk about body language. Cuddy’s talk “how body language shapes who you are” explains how body language can identify how much power one is feeling just by observing someone’s body language. Amy Cuddy states that when one expands one is feeling power, and when the opposite is done which is shrinking one is feeling powerless.

    Read More

  • Nonverbal Communication Observation

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nonverbal communication is rich in meaning. Everyone communicates through nonverbal gestures and motions. I realized that you can decipher a lot from an individual or individuals by just paying close attention to what they do, and that words are not really necessary. Watching two people interacting, I figured that they are really close by their space communication, eye language, and body movements.

    Read More

  • Nonverbal Communication

    1530 Words  | 4 Pages

    Any communication interaction involves two major components in terms of how people are perceived: verbal, or what words are spoken and nonverbal, the cues such as facial expressions, posture, verbal intonations, and other body gestures. Many people believe it is their words that convey the primary messages but it is really their nonverbal cues. The hypothesis for this research paper was: facial expressions directly impact how a person is perceived. A brief literature search confirmed this hypothesis.

    Read More

  • Relationships And The Importance Of Communication

    1499 Words  | 3 Pages

    When we communicate, we can say a lot without speaking. Our body, our posture, tone of voice and the expression on our face all display a message. If our feelings don’t fit with our words, it is often the body language that gets heard and believed. Nonverbal communication is a rapidly flowing interactive process. Self-awareness and an understanding of the cues you may be sending are paired with the cues others send and pick up from you. To do this effectively, it is necessary to clear your mind of all distractions. Try planning, creating, talking to yourself, thinking about the other person or what to say, then you won't be paying attention to the moment-to-moment experience, have the presence of mind to pick up on nonverbal cues, or fully understand what's really going on in the conversation.

    Read More

  • Suprasegmentals and The Role They Play in Communications

    2652 Words  | 6 Pages

    When we talk face to face there are many different cues for us to read from body language and facial expressions, culture, maybe the area the person is from, derelicts and education, life knowledge, syntax and then of course all the verbal cues like tone, pitch and loudness and rhythm or the speed of the speech if there is a waiver in their voice like when someone is nervous. All these cues help use to decode the message we are getting even if the person is speaking in another language we can know if someone is happy or angry.

    Read More

  • Theories Of Nonverbal Communication

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    Despite how us humans are prone to communication, communication is a complex phenomena. That is why Personal and Scholarly concepts are made, to act as a guide, making communication easy. Personal theories are based on, one’s own observation about how they themself communicate. Scholarly theories and concepts are based on evidence and research. Though the fundamentals of personal and scholarly theory are different, they can often relate to each other. My two personal theories are related to non-verbal communication. While conversing, I have a tendency to avoid eye contact. I usually have to refrain myself from averting my eyes while conversing. My other non-verbal theory is about how I give different types of hugs, depending on the relationship

    Read More

  • The Reflection Of Verbal And Nonverbal Communication

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    I learned a lot about Human Communication in this class when I read the chapter about Nonverbal Communication. Nonverbal Communication is the process of using messages that are not words to generate meaning. I learned that it happens every day. I also learned that is very hard to read or understand depending on the person you are speaking to or with. Verbal and Nonverbal codes work in conjunction with each other. The words we speak or say are used in conjunction six different ways: to repeat, to emphasize, to complement, to contradict, to substitute, and to regulate. I never knew until reading this chapter that we do these things all most every time we communicate. These are things I took for granted until now. I now know that I will pay

    Read More

  • Verbal Communication

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are different types of communication (verbal, nonverbal, paralinguistic). Verbal communication is communicating with words. For instance, an individual speaks to another at a business meeting regarding profit margins. Second, nonverbal communication is communicating without the use of words but through gesture, body language, facial expression and eye contact (Baron, Branscombe, Byrne). Also these physical expressions can provide powerful and valuable information about others’ current feelings and reactions without the need of words. Lastly paralinguistic is defined as the use of emotional expression, gestures, and the location of the body in relation to the other's body, eye contact, and level of voice instead of verbally expressing these cues (Triandis). Additionally, paralinguistic is also known as paralanguage as a way to modify or nuance meaning, or convey emotion, with the use of pitch, volume, and intonation (Triandis). For instance, as described by Triandis’ article Culture and Communication, “in Bulgaria and south India a nod means "no,” and a shake of the head, means "yes".” It’s interesting how Triandis describes the amount of difficulty it was to compre...

    Read More

  • Effects Of Body Language Essay

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    Your body language may speak louder than your words. Nonverbal communication is very obvious. Body Language is the easiest way to tell how someone really feels about a certain topic. The sayings body language and nonverbal communication are the same thing. Body language is very powerful because it can communicate things without a word being spoken.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Effective Communication

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...tention to how people react to one another’s comments, guessing the relationship between the people and guessing how each feels about what is being said. This can inform individuals to better understand the use of body language when conversing with other people. It is also important to take into account individual differences. Different cultures use different non-verbal gestures. Frequently, when observing these gestures alone the observer can get the wrong impression, for instance, the listener can subconsciously cross their arms. This does not mean that they are bored or annoyed with the speaker; it can be a gesture that they are comfortable with. Viewing gestures as a whole will prevent these misunderstandings. Non-verbal gestures are not only physical, for example; the tone of voice addressing a child will be different from the way it is addressed to an adult.

    Read More

More about Body Language

Open Document