Reading Body Language: Examples of Body Language

The old saying "action speaks louder than words" holds true. In a given situation, even if you do not communicate verbally, your body speaks volumes by revealing your feelings and emotions. Body language and non-verbal communication go hand in hand.

Today, body language is an integral part of the selection criteria at many job interviews. A candidate may not be aware that there is someone among the interview panel who is studying his body language. Body language is read by observing the body posture, the eye movements and the rhythm of breathing. One of the skills, a human resource manager should possess is the ability to read body language. This would help him while conducting interviews or imparting training to employees. Reading body language is a skill that could be acquired through training and practice.

Counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists are good at interpreting body language of their clients. By reading the body language, a counselor or a psychologist is able to understand the problem of his client and prescribe the right kind of therapy.

The army and police force also use body language interpretation techniques for crime investigation. The investigative officers look for telltale signs in the body language of the criminal or accused to determine whether or not he is speaking the truth.

Examples of Body Language

Remember, in a pie chart for communication, 70% is occupied by non-verbal communication. Nonverbal communication includes gestures, tone and modulation of voice. The parts of the body considered while reading body language are:

• Head - face, forehead, eyes, eyebrows, cheek, chin, mouth
• Arms - elbow, hands, fingers
• Legs - knees, foot
• Torso - shoulder, back, hips

Here we will look at a few examples of body language.

Body Language	Interpretation
Biting nails	Nervous, Insecure
Drumming fingers	Restlessness or Impatience
Steepling fingers	Display of Authority, Influence
Open palms	Expression of sincerity, Innocence
Rubbing both hands	Anticipation, Impatience
Resting the cheek on the hand	Thinking, Evaluating
Folded arms across the chest	Disagreement
Walking to and fro with hands clasped behind	Frustration, Apprehension
Eyes downcast	Guilty, Boredom
Rubbing the eyes	Disbelief, Doubt
Rubbing the bridge of the nose	Uncertain, Rejection
Resting the head on the palms	Boredom, Despair
Head tilted to one side	Shows interest, Listening
Hands on the hips	Aggression, Authoritative
Brisk walking	Exudes confidence
Kicking your foot while walking or sitting	Signs of boredom
Sitting with hands behind the head and legs stretched	Relaxed, Confident and Thinking
Leaning forward	Displaying Interest

Body Language At the Workplace

It is important to exhibit a positive body language at the workplace to enhance a healthy work environment and also to maintain a good working relationship with your immediate superiors and colleagues. One-to-one meetings or team meetings are a part of a business organization; these meetings help the manager to understand the problems faced by his team and also establish a good working relationship. Team meetings and team building exercises help to motivate the team and invoke an overall spirit of the team. To create conducive work atmosphere, it is necessary for the manager to display approachable and empathetic body language. Take a look at some of the examples of workplace body language.

Body Posture - Whether or not your manager is agreeing or interested in your conversation can be understood from his body language. If he is standing with his foot and body turned towards you, i.e. mirroring your body pose, then it is a sure sign he is agreeing with you. When his body posture is not mirroring that of yours it means he is not in agreement with you. A manager and an employee who want to establish a good rapport with one another should mirror their body postures. This is a non-verbal sign that two people are thinking along the similar lines.

Crossed Arms - If the manager or the employee is sitting with their arms crossed tightly across their chest, it is a defensive position. It simply means he is not agreeing with you. Even if you are agreeing with what you hear, crossing your arms across your chest displays a negative attitude. So it is better to sit or stand with your arms uncrossed. If you want to cross your arms, it is always better to cross it on your lap.

Facial Expression and Eye Contact - One's disagreement or agreement is reflected on one's face. Your face is the mirror of your inner emotions such as anger, fear or sadness. Facial expressions reveal one's feelings in a given situation.

Another important body language tool is eye contact. If a person makes eye contact with you, it is a definite sign of interest. However, if his eyes are downcast, he is likely to be hiding something or it could be guilt.

Reading and interpretation of body language is done by many business organizations as a part of their manpower staffing procedures. Body language is a very vast, but interesting, subject. Body language plays a vital role in team building and also in establishing mutual understanding between two or more people.