The National College “Iulia Hasdeu”

Body Language

By Pop Iulia Cristina

Project realized by student from 12th grade (F)

School year 2011-2012

Teachers: Elena Davitoiu and Daiana Gutu

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Contains:

I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………page 2-3

II. The definition of “Body Language”:

1. What is “Body Language”?………………………………………………………….page 4-5

III. The importance of “Body Language”:

1. Words are inadequate…………………………………………………………………...page 5

2. Subconsciously…………………………………………………………………………...page 6
3. Used to express feelings………………………………………………………………...page 6
4. The importance of knowing how we communicate…………………………………..page 7
5. Understanding body language…………………………………………………………page 7

IV. Facial Expressions Interpretation:

1. Exemple of some basic emotions………………………………………………….page 8-9

2. A microdictionary of gestures……………………………………………………..…page 10
3. Facial Expressions………………………………………………………………….…page 11
4. Physical Expression…………………………………………………………..…..page 11-12
5. Body Language Signs: Hands and Legs Movement…………………………….…page 13
6. Posture: An Eminent Body Language Tool…………………………………….page 13-14

V. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………page 14

VI. Bibliography……………………………………………………………………..page 15

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I. Introduction

Communication between individuals is divided as verbal and nonverbal communication. Body

language is a comprehension and communication tool via physical movements and changes
that show a person's feelings, thoughts, and attitudes about other persons and things. According
to the expert Ercan Kasikci, body language is a form of non-verbal communication that support
(as an amplifier, booster of) verbal communication. Baltas affirm that humans used body
language before they developed verbal language.

I choose to talk about this subject because I was very impressed by how many things can you
find out about a person if you know to reveal or to interpret the signs of body language. As far
as we can tell, human beings are the only creatures alive on this planet that truly have this
ability. This incredible skill gave humans the advantage that put-us-on-top and, if measured in
evolutionary timescale, it’s brand new. People through body language, share with other people
their feelings, thoughts, desires, and needs. Body language gives very important clues about
people's feelings, attitudes and thoughts, and it helps us to understand their behaviour according
to their appearance at the point of decision. These clues are important in understanding and
assessing both ourselves and other people.

Understanding our body language is not as difficult as some people would have you
believe. All human beings use it and so actually have a “built-in” ability to recognise and read
it.

Unfortunately, as humans have become increasingly better at “verbal” communication their

ability to consciously recognise body language has faded away.

Having a complex spoken language is one of the great evolutionary tricks. It means that vast
amounts of detailed information can be passed from one person to another.

It seems almost incredible that, over the million or more years of man’s evolution, the non-
verbal aspects of communication have been actively studied on any scale only since the 1960s
and that the public has become aware of their existence only since Julius Fast published a book
about body language in 1970. This was a summary of the work done by behavioural scientists
on nonverbal communication up until that time, and even today, most people are still ignorant
of the existence of body language, let alone its importance in their lives.

Charlie Chaplin and many other silent movie actors were the pioneers of non-verbal
communication skills; they were the only means of communication available on the screen.
Each actor was classed as good or bad by the extent to which he could use gestures and other
body signals to communicate effectively. When talking films became popular and less
emphasis was placed on the non-verbal aspects of acting, many silent movie actors faded into
obscurity and those with good verbal skills prevailed.

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As far as the technical study of body language goes, perhaps the most influential pre-twentieth-
century work was Charles Darwin’s “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals”
published in 1872. This spawned the modern studies of facial expressions and body language
and many of Darwin’s ideas and observations have since been validated by modern researchers
around the world. Since that time, researchers have noted and recorded almost one million
nonverbal cues and signals. Albert Mehrabian found that the total impact of a message is about
7 per cent verbal (words only) and 38 per cent vocal (including tone of voice, inflection and
other sounds) and 55 per cent non-verbal. Professor Birdwhistell made some similar estimates
of the amount of non-verbal communication that takes place amongst humans. He estimated
that the average person actually speaks words for a total of about ten or eleven minutes a day
and that the average sentence takes only about 2.5 seconds. Like Mehrabian, he found that the
verbal component of a face-to-face conversation is less than 35 per cent and that over 65 per
cent of communication is done non-verbally.

Most researchers generally agree that the verbal channel is used primarily for conveying
information, while the non-verbal channel is used for negotiating interpersonal attitudes, and in
some cases is used as a substitute for verbal messages. For example, a woman can give a man a
‘look to kill’; she will convey a very clear message to him without opening her mouth.

Regardless of culture, words and movements occur together with such predictability that
Birdwhistell says that a well-trained person should be able to tell what movement a man is
making by listening to his voice. In like manner, Birdwhistell learned how to tell what language
a person was speaking, simply by watching his gestures.

Like any other species, we are dominated by biological rules that control our actions, reactions,
body language and gestures. The fascinating thing is that the human animal is rarely aware of
his postures, movements and gestures that can tell one story while his voice may be telling
another.

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II. The definition of “Body Language”

1. What is “Body Language”?

Body language is a form of mental and physical ability of human non-verbal communication,
which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send
and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously.

The term 'body language' refers to all the signals given by a person either by voluntary or
involuntary body movement. It includes all gestures, postures and expressions through which
an individual displays his physical and mental state in order to communicate non verbally with
others. At times, body language is also referred to as nonverbal communication, which is
technically incorrect. Nonverbal communications include the body movement as well as the
tone of the person, whereas body language only stresses on the movement of various parts of
the body.

Body language has lately become one of the most important life skills for us. It's normal
tendency to use various parts of our body, even when we are verbally communicating with
someone. Studies reveal that body language and tone of our voice play a prominent role in our
communication. James Borg states that human communication consists of 93 per cent body
language and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words
themselves; however, Albert Mehrabian, the researcher whose 1960s work is the source of
these statistics, has stated that this is a misunderstanding of the findings. Others assert that
"Research has suggested that between 60 and 70 per cent of all meaning is derived from
nonverbal behavior."

Nonverbal communication helps us reinforce what we say and makes our message stronger and
easier to decode. One aspect of nonverbal communication is body language. Our face
expressions, hand movements, gestures, and are physical appearance reflect how we feel
emotionally. Communication is not only through words, the way our body reacts to certain
things plays a role too. When we smile, cry, have good or bad posture, frown, and yawn or
dress a certain way we send messages through body language.

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Most body language messages are sent through our face and gestures. On our face, the way the
corners of our mouth wrinkle up or down when we are happy or sad, how are forehead creases
when we’re angry, or how are eyes wrinkle when we laugh genuinely are all conveyors of
certain messages. The face and the eyes many meanings and can be recognized or decoded
easily. Facial expressions are a very important part of communication because they convey the
inner workings of emotion.

Waving hi to someone, high-fiving, dancing a certain way, leaning in too much, or leaning
back too much are all gestures and a form of communicating through body language. Any type
of message reinforces the original message that a person is trying to communicate. Gestures
give us insight into what the person is really trying to convey because these can either make the
original message stronger or contradict it. For example, when we observe two people in a
romantic Hollywood movie, an actress playing the role of an angry wife may be saying
continuously how everything is alright but her face expressions would reveal if that is in line or
contradictory to the original messages. If she is angry and decides to yell, her hand gestures
might be faster and her facial expressions more vivid.

Appearance is another important aspect body language. We use our bodies continuously to
send messages and reinforce anything communicated earlier. The way we dress is very
important in effectively communicating. For example, if we someone at a formal event wearing
jeans it can send out many mixed messages. For a punk rock star it might say ‘I don’t care’
maybe in a good way but for the marketing manager of a firm it might say ‘I don’t care’ in a
bad way. Clothes are only one aspect of how we dress. Body piercing, excessive or minimal
use of perfume, general body odor, and how we wear make-up also give out messages.

III. The importance of “Body Language”

People cannot live without each other, we are social beings. As soon as we are in contact with
others we are communicating. For this we can make use of spoken and written language. In
these ways we make the content of a message clear to each other. However we can also
communicate without words. This kind of communication tells us something about the
relationship between people. Often this is more important than getting the content of the
message across. The communication about this non spoken communication, which tells us
something about the relationship between people, is called Meta-Communication.
Communicating about communication!

1. Words are inadequate

When we connect with a person, we also have to make it clear to each other how the content of
a spoken message needs to be interpreted. How we do this says something about the
relationship we have with the other person, or think we have anyway. Often words are
inadequate for this purpose. For instance we do not tell each other that easily how we feel about
each other, or how the words of a message need to be interpreted. To make the meaning of our
words clear we use body language. Body language is a language without spoken words and is
therefore called nonverbal communication. We use body language all the time, for instance
looking someone in the eyes means something different than not looking someone in the eyes.
In contact with others it is just not possible to be not communicating something.

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 2. Subconsciously

Usually body language occurs unconsciously. Yet the body language we use decides to a large
extent the quality of our communication. It follows that therefore it would be good to become
conscious of our own and others' body language. We can learn to use our body language for a
purpose. As well as learn to understand and interpret body language of others. It is important to
note that body language has different meanings in different cultures. How we can interpret
body language depends on the situation, the culture, the relationship we have with the person as
well as the gender of the other. This means that there is not one signal that has the same
meaning all over the world. If you do not take this into account you may get yourself in some
serious trouble! Body language is also interlinked with spoken language and a whole pattern of
behaviour from a person. As well as that, various body language signs can complement each
other to make a particular meaning crystal clear or strengthen the meaning of what we
communicate. Some groups have developed a whole specific body language which can be very
explicit in its meaning and is used to communicate where the use of words may otherwise be
difficult or dangerous. Examples of this are mostly groups, such as gay people, people in
slavery, prisoners, etc. who have a history of prejudice against them from the dominant culture.

3. Used to express feelings

Body language is used especially to express feelings. For instance if we do not like someone, it
is often difficult to say that directly to the person. However we can make it clear either
intentionally or unintentionally through body language. The opposite is also true. We may say
that we ARE angry through words yet our body language may be saying loud and clear that we
are NOT. This can be very confusing for the receiver. This is usually described as giving out
double messages - one message in words and an opposite message in body language. It is also
difficult to lie or cover up our feelings through body language. People may give their true
feelings away by not being aware of their body language. Research has shown that most people
pay more attention to, and believe more readily, their impression of how a person acts through
body language than what is said through words. As a consequence we tend to doubt, or put a
question mark behind, the spoken words if they do not correspond with the language of the
body.

4. The importance of knowing how we communicate

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How we come across to someone is decided only for a small part by the words we speak. To
leave a good impression behind, say at a job interview, it is important that we know, and to a
certain extent can control, our body language. The person on the receiving end of our body
language will have a feeling or impression that is often difficult to describe - difficult to put
into words or difficult to prove what actually was communicated. Haven't we all said at times:
'I have a feeling he/she likes me', or something like: 'I doubt if what he/she is saying is really
the truth'. This type of feeling is called intuition. Body language plays a big role in intuition as
it gives us messages about the other person that we can interpret at an intuitive level. It is
therefore necessary to get to know our own body language first. We should learn about it so
that we can recognise it in others as well as in ourselves. For this purpose, all the different
aspects of body language that we can learn something from will be described next.

5. Understanding body language

Owing to the fact that body language gestures reflect a wide range of emotions knowing how to
read body language can turn out to be helpful in a job interview, in a meeting, in a business
function or special date. 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!

IV. Facial Expressions Interpretation

One of the most important aspects of body language, facial expressions speaks in volumes for
an individual. It's impossible to talk to someone in person, without displaying your emotions
through your facial expressions. Although some people have mastered it, it's difficult to fake
emotions, especially if the person with whom you are communicating can observe and interpret
your body language. If you are sharp enough you can easily catch any individual who is faking
emotions. You can't have a smiling face when you are talking with someone you don't like at
all. The smile will be a fake one and fake smiles can be easily inferred.

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 1. Exemple of some basic emotions

Joy / Happiness

Your forehead is relaxed, and may show light wrinkles as you eyebrows are
lightly raised.

The corners of the mouth are curling up, sometimes showing the teeth. If
someone's laughing out loud, the mouth is open. The cheekbones are lifted.

Your eyes show wrinkles in their outer corners (when 'the eyes don't
smile', these wrinkles are absent; it's a telltale sign that someone isn't
really happy).

Anger

Your forehead is pushed together in a frown, pushing down the eyebrows.

Oftentimes your teeth are showing, with snarling lips and depressed corners
of the mouth.

Your nostrils are standing out and the nose is wrinkled. The eyes are
bulging out, putting tension on the eyelids.

Sadness

The corners of your mouth are depressed, often with a shaking lower lip.
The eyebrows are squashed together, and the forehead is frowning.

The skin around your eyes is pulled in, and the eyes are tearing up (or even
crying).

Wrinkles are forming from the nostrils to the corners of your mouth.

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Scared

Eyes are getting big, and the eyebrows go up and then down again.

Your lips are stretched outwards, and your lower lip is pulled down.

Your skin will look pale, as blood is retracted from your head, and sweat can
form on your forehead.

Surprise

When you're surprised, your eye brows are pulled up high, making your eyes
wide open, and your forehead wrinkled.

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 2. Facial Expressions

Forehead wrinkles= anger

Eyebrows outer edges up= anger
Eyes centered= focused
gazing up= thinking
gazing down= shame
gaze to side= guilt
wandering= disinterested, bored
Nose wrinkled= disgusted, confused,
pointed up= arrogant
Lips parted, relaxed= happy
together= possibly concerned
wide open= very happy, very angry

Arms crossed= angry, disapproving

open= honest, accepting

Hands on top of head= amazement

scratching head= puzzled, confused
rubbing eyes= tired
rubbing chin= thinking
folded= timid, shy
Fingers interlocked tense
pointing at you angry
OK sign all is fine
V sign "peace"

Physical expression

Physical expressions like waving, pointing, touching and slouching are all forms of nonverbal
communication. The study of body movement and expression is known as kinesics. Humans
move their bodies when communicating because, as research has shown, it helps "ease the
mental effort when communication is difficult". Physical expressions reveal many things about
the person using them. For example, gestures can emphasize a point or relay a message, posture
can reveal boredom or great interest, and touch can convey encouragement or caution.

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 • One of the most basic and powerful body-language is when a person crosses his or her
arms across the chest. This can indicate that a person is putting up an unconscious
barrier between themselves and others. It can also indicate that the person's arms are
cold, which would be clarified by rubbing the arms or huddling. When the overall
situation is amicable, it can mean that a person is thinking deeply about what is being
discussed. But in a serious or confrontational situation, it can mean that a person is
expressing opposition. This is especially so if the person is leaning away from the
speaker. A harsh or blank facial expression often indicates outright hostility.
• Consistent eye contact can indicate that a person is thinking positively of what the
speaker is saying. It can also mean that the other person doesn't understand the speaker
enough to "take their eyes off". Lack of eye contact can indicate negativity. On the
other hand, individuals with anxiety disorders are often unable to make eye contact
without discomfort. Eye contact can also be a secondary and misleading gesture
because cultural norms about it vary widely. If a person is looking at you, but is making
the arms-across-chest signal, the eye contact could be indicative that something is
bothering the person, and that he wants to talk about it. Or if while making direct eye
contact, a person is fiddling with something, even while directly looking at you, it could
indicate the attention is elsewhere. Also, there are three standard areas that a person will
look which represent different states of being. If the person looks from one eye to the
other, then to the forehead, it is a sign that they are taking an authoritative position. If
they move from one eye to the other, then to the nose, that signals that they are
engaging in what they consider to be a "level conversation" with neither party holding
superiority. The last case is from one eye to the other and then down to the lips. This is
a strong indication of romantic feelings.
• Disbelief is often indicated by averted gaze, or by touching the ear or scratching the
chin. When a person is not being convinced by what someone is saying, the attention
invariably wanders, and the eyes will stare away for an extended period.
• Boredom is indicated by the head tilting to one side, or by the eyes looking straight at
the speaker but becoming slightly unfocused. A head tilt may also indicate a sore neck
or Amblyopia, and unfocused eyes may indicate ocular problems in the listener.
• Interest can be indicated through posture or extended eye contact, such as standing and
listening properly.
• Deceit or the act of withholding information can sometimes be indicated by touching
the face during conversation. Excessive blinking is a well-known indicator of someone
who is lying. Recently, evidence has surfaced that the absence of blinking can also
represent lying as a more reliable factor than excessive blinking.

Some people use and understand body language differently, or not at all. Interpreting their
gestures and facial expressions (or lack thereof) in the context of normal body language usually
leads to misunderstandings and misinterpretations (especially if body language is given priority
over spoken language). It should also be stated that people from different cultures can interpret
body language in different ways.

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 3. Body Language Signs: Hands and Legs Movement

When we talk about body language explained we can't omit hands and legs, undoubtedly two of
the most used body parts in human anatomy. Various actions people carry out by their hands
and legs can give a descriptive character sketch of those people.

• Open palms reflect sincerity.

• Biting nails reflects nervousness.
• Rubbing of hands reflects anticipation.
• Walking to and fro reflects urgency or impatience.
• Keeping your hands and legs folded reflects disagreement or lack of attention.

These are the most frequent of the various actions we tend to do with our hands and legs, which
indirectly reflect our state of mind.

4. Posture: An Eminent Body Language Tool

Our body posture is yet another important body language tool. Shrugged shoulders and
slouching indicates fear or boredom, whereas broad shoulders and upright position indicates
confidence. Hands on hips reflect authoritarian stance, while hands behind the head with legs
spread wide gives a hint of relaxation. Leaning forward when you are taking to someone in
person stresses on your interest towards the person (or what the person is talking). When
standing, transferring your weight from one foot to another frequently speculates your
indecisiveness and lack of trust.

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There are several instances wherein body language explained can be of great help. In fact, your
observational skills can make reading body language a lot simple for you. Portraying some
body language gestures, such as an eye to eye contact or leaning in front when talking to
someone face to face, can send across the message that you are keen on conversing with him.
On the other hand, if people with whom you talk are looking around or have their hands folded
when talking to you, it displays their disinterest and boredom. Interpreting body language signs
can help you in displaying a positive attitude, and at the same time judging other persons
negative attitude. This shows why body language interpretation is gaining so much popularity
today.

V. Conclusion

Taking everything in consideration I firmily affirm that body language is a very important part
of our lives, representing our main form of communication.

Body language is universal, every people having his body language. It is expressed differently
from culture to culture, but the innate use of it is common to all humans on the planet. This
form of nonverbal communication is of paramount importance because it is the most pure of all
human expressions. One must have awareness and be knowledgeable in understanding body
language to successfully maneuver in today’s complex digital society. In this era of so many
forms of non-personal communication for example the wide spread use of like texting on cell
phones, the human interaction is severely diminished. One spends an estimated ninety per cent
of verbal communication texting, instead of standing face to face talking. With all of this actual
human contact eliminated the importance of nonverbal communication and of understanding it
is greatly increased.

Communication between cultures can be difficult and confusing because of complexities in

language; however, with the use of body language, messages become clearer and easily
translated. Facial expressions are a primary example of the globalization of non-verbal
communication, because humans primitively and inherently react to varying facial expressions.
A smile in any language or corner of the world means happiness and is welcomed, while a
frown in any context is more omniscient and troubling to an observer. Body posture also claims
universal meaning; a tall posture with shoulders tilted back exudes confidence while slumped
shoulders do not. Personal interactions between separate nations and cultures can become
extremely frustrating; however, if the signs of body language are utilized, understandings can
be reached without extensive study of any language other than the instinct we as humans are
born with. The cultures of the world may contrast greatly, but it is the human form and
primitive body language which connects the globe.

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VI. Bibliography

• “ The definitive book of Body Language” by Allan and Barbara Pease

• “ Body language” by Julius Fast

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language

• http://www.essayxperts.com/essay-body-language/

• http://www.lichaamstaal.com/english/

• http://www.simplybodylanguage.com/facial-expressions.html

• http://learn-body-language.blogspot.com/2007/02/introduction-to-body-language-we-
are.html

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