What We Don't Always Say

Body language has always been an important aspect of human communication, and usually occurs subconsciously during day to day interactions. The way we cross our legs while sitting, our posture, and our facial features all denote important attributes to the way we present ourselves to others on a day to day basis. Non verbal communication is the key to our inner selves, and often displays our true feelings, when our verbalizations do not.

But how important is our body language in daily communication? Can it really change the meaning of what we say? These are questions I will try to answer while comparing two articles chosen on the subject of body language. The first article I have chosen to discuss is "The Importance of Body Language" by Frank Van Marwijk, The second is titled " Body Language: One More Tool for Communication" by Ellen Johansen. Both articles denote the importance of body language in day to day communications, and shed new light on how we, as humans communicate. By comparing these two articles, I will make an effort to demonstrate the importance our non-verbal tendencies can have on our social interactions and daily life.

Ellen Johansen's article is written on a personal level, based on her experience with reading body language. She is not an expert in the field of non-verbal communication, but feels that she has had enough training as an instructor to write an article on the subject. Johansen believes that body language is based on behaviour. We can stop verbalizing our inner thoughts, but we cannot stop behaving. By behaviour, she means facial expressions, posture, and gestures.... We are always reacting to the world around us whether we realize it or not. Marwijk, whose article appears to be more professional, (though it does not indicate his sources) agrees with this idea in his discussion, and claims that people usually give away their true feelings by not being aware of their body language. Marwijk states that our body language is used to express our feelings and can express our meanings intentionally or unintentionally by means of signals. If a person doesn't like someone, they may not say it to his or her face but body language will usually give them away i.e.. By avoiding eye contact, acting distracted, and by getting a blank, bored look on your face, a person would be expressing what was truly on their mind.