Kinnesics Body Language

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Getting into the habit of reading body language hasn't alway been an easy thing. Staring down people longer than socially acceptable may get you into to trouble but as you get more advanced, reading people will become as easy as speaking your native language.

Kinesics, or body language, refers to the subconscious gestures and body movements we make. They indicate what a person is feeling and thinking. Since these gestures are made subconsciously, it is difficult to fake your body language. However, it isn't completely impossible to do so.

The practical application of kinesics can be separated in two categories:

Interpretation of body language Manipulation of your own body language

Interpreting body language simply means reading a persons …show more content…

It's a term developed by behaviorists to refer to the way various human gestures reflect feelings and attitudes. It was developed in the 1950s by an anthropologist, Dr.Ray L.Birdwhistell. He estimated that an average person speaks for a total of ten to twelve minutes a day and the time taken to complete the sentence is only 2.5 seconds.

Today, Kinesics is one of the most talked about and the most obvious non-verbal communication forms. It's also one of the most confusing areas of non-verbal communication behavior because there are various meanings that are communicated through the same body movements across different races and cultures of the world.

This example will illustrate why the confusion prevails. The thumbs-up gesture when used may mean different things to different cultures. It means "good" in several Western cultures, "one" to Italians, "five" to Japanese and is a rather rude gesture in Greek culture. Therefore it could create a lot of confusion until one is well versed with the cultural influences and differences across the globe.

Kinesics is classified into five categories. They are emblems, illustrators, affect displays, regulators and

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