Interpreting body language is not that easy. What to look out for.
Day after day we talk to people from work and private life, not just talking with our mouth, but with our whole body. You can find out here how you can interpret your body language and that of others.
That is why body language is important
A study from 2007 showed that What we say it is only partially important, namely 22 percent, while the voice is 19 percent effective and the body language has a full 59 percent impact. That is, besides what you say, it plays a significant role as you do it!
Especially in job situations, body language can involuntarily send messages contrary to what is being said. Tries to drag a speaker into the audience and convince them of the new upcoming strategy, but shuffles back and forth with sagging shoulders and a sad expression, moving the set goal into the far distance.
In other conversation situations, too, communication with the body takes place – often unconsciously. The bent upper body, the hand on the neck or avoiding eye contact, all of this does not always happen for no reason …
The 3 areas of body language
Body language includes your own constitution and expectations, but also the attitude towards the other person. Nonverbal communication is an interplay of three different areas:
- facial expressions: "Her expression was icy"- the facial expression describes the movements of the facial muscles, more precisely your facial expression (or hold your face).
- Gesture: This refers to the movements of the body while speaking, e.g. B. hands and arms or the head (gestures) are used.
- attitude: How does someone sit, stand or walk – slumped, upright, like a sip of water on a curve? Posture should not be underestimated when it comes to body language.
Body language often happens unconsciously, even if there are people who have trained themselves certain gestures & Co – but that only works to a certain extent. Not every situation or every course of a conversation can be planned and micro-gestures are therefore not always controllable.
One shouldn't forget that body signals too culturally shaped are, the "thumbs up" gesture should be seen as positive approval in this country, while in other countries it is considered insulting or obscene. A universal gesture on the other hand, for example, the smile, which is usually understood as a positive gesture. Even the frown is commonly understood in different cultures as an expression of anger.
Eye contact
Eye contact plays an essential role in body language. Avoiding someone's gaze shows disinterest, insecurity, or ignorance. Holding your gaze, on the other hand, signals interest and friendliness. Here, however, the measure is also decisive: Researchers at University College London have found that people felt comfortable with eye contact of 3.2 seconds. If you hold a look for too long, the other person quickly feels uncomfortable – everyone probably knows from personal experience.
Interpreting body language – with reason
If you want to interpret the body language of your interlocutor, you shouldn't get carried away into interpreting too much in an expression or a gesture. Maybe someone crosses their arms because they are cold or wrinkles their nose because they have just thought of something that has absolutely nothing to do with the situation. It is therefore important to consider the overall context and not to judge too quickly.
Body signals and their meaning
Here are body signals and what they can mean:
Sit or stand upright | Confidence |
Bent or crooked posture | Insecurity, malaise |
Leaning back torso | Disinterest or rejection |
Upper body leaning slightly forward | interest |
Sit on the edge of the chair | Being restless, unwell, or on the go |
Avoid eye contact | Disinterest or insecurity |
frequent blinking | uncertainty |
Put your fingers to your nose | thoughtfulness |
Rubbing hands | satisfaction |
Hand on the neck | Insecurity, discomfort or even doubt |
scratching head | Insecurity, perplexity |
Recognize lies? Not that easy at all
The psychologist Paul Ekman is known for his theory of the culture-independent seven basic emotions and the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) that he developed with co-author Wallace V. Friesen. This is a coding system that describes individual facial expressions. Ekman is also called the living lie detector and has even advised television producers on the subject of lies. In his theory betray so-called Microexpressions, Facial expressions that last no more than a fifteenth of a second, whether someone wants to hide something or not. So has z. B. the American aviation safety authority trained employees on the basis of his theses. However, his theory has now come under fire after untrained observers showed similar success rates as experienced officials in other experiments.
Finding out about a liar is not that easy. Meta-analyzes also come up with different results, one from 2003 identified dilated pupils and tensionbut another from 2007 less nodding of the head and less movement of hands, feet and legs as evidence of a liar.
Tip: Here you can find out what is important for the first impression, how the self-presentation in the interview succeeds and what you should pay attention to in a self-assessment.
Would you like to exchange ideas about job topics? You can find like-minded people in the BRIGITTE community.
sources
Piwinger.de
Scientificamerican.com
FAZ.de
Spektrum.de