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What do you think that person means? You are most likely to say that it depends. What does it depend on? It depends on how they say it. Try it yourself. Say the sentence aloud while implying that you are pleased. Now say it with sarcasm. Now say the same sentence with surprise. Try it again while sounding frustrated. Whats happening here? The sentence consists of only three words; nevertheless, you are able to express totally different meanings just by changing the tone, pitch and what part of the sentence you have stressed on. So far, you have only expressed it verbally, though you have managed to produce different meanings. Imagine how many more meanings you can get if you were able to include hand gestures and other non-verbal signals. The idea that we communicate not just through words but our entire body is called body language. Body language consists of non-verbal communications including gestures, body posture, facial expressions, eye movements, touch, voice and physical space.
would avoid or disguise your own yawn to avoid offending the person. With more extensive knowledge of body language you can control your appearance with precision, much like a politician. This will allow you to carefully plan how you want others to react to you and feel about you, ultimately increasing your personal impact and presence. The main use of learning body language is to understand peoples true emotions, intentions and their general attitude towards you which ultimately helps to improve your communication with them; whether you want to extend it (because they are interesting) or you want to reduce it (because they are deceptive).
negotiations as you can understand the other partys thoughts on your position without relying only on what they say. Allows you to avoid being deceived by experienced salespeople who want to manipulate you into buying their products. Knowledge of body language can help you to persuade others better. Through their gestures and non-verbal signals you can better understand what they like or dislike. This would allow you to customise your ideas or offer something to match their needs. Body language increases your confidence and self-esteem as you become more aware of how others feel, how you are seen by them and how to control your interpersonal communication more effectively It can improve your presentation skills and public speaking as you understand the power of non-verbal signals and appear confident, convincing and entertaining. By showing a different signal than the one you should be showing based on your current feelings, you could hide your emotions. This can be beneficial to you in negotiations or when persuading others, but it is also helpful in building relationships. For example, it allows you to hide signals that you would be showing as a result of culture shock. In time, when you get used to a new culture you can relax and learn to accept it. Knowing how to deceive helps you to know when you have been deceived by others. As there are many people who eagerly want to deceive us, learning about deceptive body language tactics becomes critical. Whether we want to use this skill on others is a personal and moral matter, highly depending on circumstances. Body language increases your self-awareness which can ultimately help you improve your emotional intelligence. Body language helps you to empathise with others. Empathy is about understanding how others feel. The ability to show empathy helps
in establishing rapport and is a significant factor in building and maintaining strong relationships. People would not hang around for long if they think you dont care about them.
appropriately rather than just reacting to them. For example, suppose your colleague is very angry at you. You have a choice to react, become defensive and potentially shout back. This can only exacerbate the situation and will do little for your relationship in future. You may win the battle, but you will certainly lose the war as your relationship can be affected and you may both feel that you will never want to work with each other again. Instead, by not reacting to anger and adopting the body language of a person who is sympathetic and comforting, you are more likely to defuse a difficult emotional situation. An angry person has something to be angry about and all he is seeking is the recognition that he has been mistreated. Once acknowledged, he will immediately cool down. Sometime later, when he is less emotional, you can discuss the issue more logically. The key here is to show a number of specific non-verbal signals at the right time. A sympathetic expression, a nonconfrontational posture, a non-defensive stance and a friendly demeanour that suggests the relationship is more important than the dispute can easily defuse the situation, calm the nerves and prepare the scene for a more rational and civilised encounter. Such is the power of body language, which is why it deserves time and attention and it is a skill that can benefit you throughout your entire life.
researched. There is a lot to learn and as a skill, you should practice regularly until you master the art. Learning body language requires self-analysis, attention to detail and awareness of the latest research and studies in this field. Below you will find an index to a comprehensive body language guide. The guide is divided into a number of core articles on various aspects of body language such as improving first impressions, giving better public presentations or body language across various cultures. As for gestures and their interpretations, these are provided in a series of sub-articles that focus on specific behaviours or emotions. This will introduce you to gestures and non-verbal signals associated with a particular act such as deception or dominance, helping you to interpret gestures correctly. You can use this guide for self-learning, or use the content to train others on the subject. If you are a trainer, you can also benefit from body language training materials and related products listed on the right for your training. More details on each product can be found on corresponding pages.