Body Language, Five Key Ingredients
Body language is anything more than just body language. We have all heard the term, and we might even have an idea what it means. But do you know the five key ingredients to communication through body language? They're not only easy to identify, but there are specific actions that can be taken in order to successfully communicate with those around us. You can use these five key ingredients in order to win friends, or even find a partner by reading their body language and learning how they think. That is why understanding body language is important - so that you can achieve success in your own life!
Read on for more information on the five main keys of body language: space, touch-distance, eye contact, posture and voice tone.
For more information, see: http://www.bodylanguageentertainment.com/articles/article.asp?id=11050&c=1#1
The Scientist Magazine's website offers a summary of a book titled "Body Language: the Hidden Meaning Behind Expressions and Gestures." The summary states that body language is "the codes that people use to communicate in everyday life." The summary claims that while some body language is involuntary and unconscious, most can be controlled and deliberately used to communicate meaningfully. It uses several examples of unintentional body language (such as giving someone the finger) to illustrate how these expressions sometimes say more about a person than can be seen with the naked eye.
Examples of such body language include:
According to the "Sociology Report", "In science journals alone, there are several hundred articles per year about human nonverbal cues."
For example, Ray Winstone (in the film "Boys from the Blackstuff") holds his fists close to his body in defiance when he is asked if he assaulted a woman. The position of her fist when she hit him changed to a low ready in response to his gesture.
Many people cannot control all their non-verbal communication and so they use gestures that are not directed towards another person, but which are effective nonetheless. By using these gestures as part of their normal behaviour pattern, people can convey complete meaning without verbal communication.
Non-verbal communication can have different effects on the people who communicate. It can be used to make a situation feel more familiar, for example. It can therefore be said that non-verbal communication has different functions in different situations. The use of gestures is one way in which non-verbal communication is used and the hand shape and movement of gestures can affect its meaning.
The way we gesture when we are communicating verbally changes from person to person. Some people may not use as many gestures as others, but this does not mean that they are not communicating effectively with each other. It is the way in which the signals are used that is important. The definition of non-verbal communication can be summed up in two ways: "A nonverbal message is any message delivered through body language."
Non-verbal communication can be understood by looking at people as if they were speaking a language. The way we gesture and use facial expressions will usually change depending on what we may want to achieve. For example, in one situation a person may point out something with their hand, whereas in another situation they may just say it instead.
Gestures are used to 'tell' by using our hands and limbs - the most basic form of communication. The easiest way to distinguish between verbal and non-verbal communication is by looking at the two together. For example, in the photograph on the right you can see how subtle changes in one's posture can make all the difference. This shows a person whose posture has changed from that of an individual who is confident and comfortable to a person who is apprehensive and wary.
Other examples of using gestures in communication include:
In some cultures body language may be used to indicate sexual orientation, for example by "cocking an eyebrow differently for men than for women".
An important body language aspect of nonverbal communication is facial expression or "micro-expressions". Micro-expressions contain complex patterns of muscle movement. The eyes, mouth and eyebrows are used to show transient decisions made by the brain. They are thought to be important in communication because they are so quick and the micro-expressions occur very quickly.
Many nonverbal cues can be used to communicate that an individual is feeling positive or negative about something or someone. Such nonverbal cues include:
The study of nonverbal communication is considered one of the most important topics in human factors, specifically by specialists in human–computer interaction, such as psychologist Paul Ekman (1929–). The relationship between body language and speech is a matter of great interest to both speech therapists and linguists - though not always to psychologists. Linguistic research has shown that speakers are typically unaware of which parts of their speech have been affected by their body language.
Studies show that gestures do indeed accompany speech, and not just when speakers are trying to emphasize a particular point or idea. As a speaker becomes more emotional about a topic and begins to feel more invested in the subject, she tends to gesture more and more. However, gestures have different meanings from speaker to speaker, so there is no one gesture that is universally recognized as an indicator of strong emotions on the part of the speaker.
The facial expression is a strong cue indicating mood: studies show that it can be detected faster than any other body language.
The face is the primary medium by which we express our emotions. The face is also the main channel through which we receive information about others' emotional states, and indeed it has been said that "the face of another person is perhaps the most striking revelation of his soul." As the face is the most expressive part of the body, it can have significant effects on rapport between people. A smile or a frown, for example, can have marked effects on how people interact with each other. When individuals communicate with each other through real-time applications such as video-conferencing, it becomes extremely important for them to understand each other's facial expressions so as to maintain a smooth flow of communication.
The face can be divided into two sides: the left and right sides. Although the right side of the face is typically more expressive than the left, studies have also shown however that people are better at expressing themselves through their left side as well. In addition, as studies have shown that a person's left hemisphere is generally more active (and therefore dominant) in most people than their right hemisphere, it can be argued that this could be another reason for why people tend to express themselves using their left side.
There are three factors which affect how expressive someone will be with their face:
Gestures are movements of hands and arms other than those used for locomotion and speaking. A gesture may accompany or substitute speech. There are two different types of these: the manual and the vocal gestures.
Most social interactions require some amount of non-verbal communication, and gesture is an important part of that communication. Gestures are used to show a perspective or provide information about something that may not be verbally stated. The gesture can also be used to show agreement, disagreement or interest in something. For example, a person may raise their hands palm up to show that they do not agree with something being said by another person, but at the same time may nod their head yes in order to agree with what has been said.
Vocal gestures afford more privacy than manual gestures because they can be made without an audience present.
Conclusion
Body language is a very tricky thing. Some people use it to their advantage and some people try to be misinterpreted for no reason. The first thing we need to understand is that the body does not speak everything on its mind, the most it can do is show that something is on its mind. A simple example would be if you were angry at a person and you make a body language gesture that says "I'm angry with you". It's simple enough to say "I don't know what that means", however, this can be interpreted in many different ways. It could mean "I'm angry with someone" or "I'm telling someone I'm angry with someone".