You Don’t Have To Be A Complete Victim, Learn Body Language

Did you ever talk to someone and felt like their body was saying something different than what they were actually telling you? Or did you have had problems convincing a person because it could have been that your body was not sending the right message? If this happened to you then you might have came to the conclusion that besides spoken words, our body also has its own language and that grasping the meaning of some key body language can be beneficial.

Truly, when people talk, their body may also be communicating a message. If this non verbal language is picked up by you or the person you are talking to, it has the potential of asserting the point being made as it could also lower the pertinence of the vocal message sent. This being, what should you do to put the willed meaning on these body gestures or interpret others’ gestures?

In fact, before trying to decrypt the non verbal communication someone is making, be attentive to the context in which the body language is taking place. Effectively, if a person seems to present closed body language such as crossed arms, be sure that the move is not occurring because the person wants to protect himself/herself from the cold for instance. Thus, one should keep in mind that the environment can play a role on gestures people display.

Now you might be thinking: “Ok, so what are some examples of body language?” First of all, among the different types of non verbal communications some are seen as being defensive in the sense that the person is trying to protect himself/herself from a perceived danger, which of course is not necessarily physical. In this case, the person could be crossing his/her legs, looking from side to side as if to find a way to flee. Another element that can help determine defensive body language can be found in the person’s chin being held down. Someone displaying a defensive body language can also put an obstacle between him/her and the perceived danger. A book placed between the danger and the person can serve the purpose of creating an obstacle.

A Second type of body language is one termed as relaxed. In order to appear to be in a relaxed mode you could look at the person you are conversing with, loosen your muscles to avoid appearing tensed. Smiling can also be a way to show calmness. However when a smile is fake, it could be easily detected by the fact that your eyes might not be smiling while your mouth is. Furthermore, the breathing should be slow and regular. Finally, a sign of tranquility can be achieved by settling the body on one side.

Finally, while many of us disregard what messages we are sending non verbally, learning and reading body language can be advantageous not only for our understanding of people around us but also to influence others’ interpretation of our own gestures. Thus, avoiding presenting defensive body language and appearing relaxed can make the message being communicated more positive. Nonetheless, when reading someone’s non verbal language we should not forget to contextualize what we are seeing in order to avoid misinterpretations.

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