Body Language Basics.pdf

BODY LANGUAGE

Introduction

Body language is an important – and often decisive – factor in risk communication.

This is especially true of communicators, who need to show congruency between the

oral information and their body language when transmitting a message, because only

if they manage to do so will the message be effective. Body language is an element

in communication that we should be very much aware of because it gives clues to the

character, emotions, and reactions of an individual.

Our state of mind is expressed in our body language. For example, if we doubt

something we hear, we raise an eyebrow. If we feel puzzled, we scratch our nose.

We cross our arms to isolate or protect ourselves. We shrug our shoulders to

express indifference. We wink as a sign of intimacy. If we are impatient, we drum

our fingers. We strike our forehead with our hand when we have forgotten

something. We rock when we feel anxious, and we sway backwards and forwards on

our feet when we are in a situation of conflict. An inexperienced speaker in an

auditorium expresses his anxiety by moving from one side to another, staring at the

ceiling, walking round in circles, or rubbing his hands together.

An awareness of body language is often the key to successful personal relationships

and it can be the secret that enables so many people to manage others. Some

individuals seem to have the knack of interpreting body language and manipulating

people with their bodies as well as their voices. Knowledge of the body language of

the other person and the ability to interpret it make a person aware of his or her own

body language. This awareness, in turn, leads to greater self-control and more

effective communication processes.

If you are aware of what you do with your body, your self-understanding becomes

deeper and more meaningful. Once you manage to control your body language, you

will be able to cross many defensive barriers and establish better relationships.

Body language is an important component of communication and it is to our

advantage to develop skills in this area in order to be better risk communicators.

Definition

Body language is the language of gestures and postures. Studies of body language

analyze the emotions transmitted through movement, such as facial expressions and

the movement of eyes, hands, legs, feet, and the whole body. These studies show

us how the body language of a person can reveal to us his or her state of mind and

intentions, and personality traits such as self-confidence, shyness, aggressiveness,

greed, rivalry. We can say that a person’s posture expresses his or her attitudes and

feelings.

The real value of body language is found in the sum of all the levels of

communication: oral language, visual language, body language, and imagination.

Genetic and cultural roots

It is difficult to determine exactly how a communication system is inherited or learned.

Darwin believed that facial expressions of emotion were the same in all human

beings, regardless of their culture.

Today it is considered that within a specific culture there exists a general agreement

to recognize the different emotional states. The human brain is programmed to raise

the corners of the mouth when the individual feels happy and turn them down when

he is discontent. Depending on the sensation that reaches the brain, a person will

frown, raise his eyebrows, or raise one side of his mouth.

The work of different researchers has shown that we can inherit in our genetic

makeup certain basic physical reactions. We are born with elements of a body

language. We can make another human being aware of basic sensations of hate,

fear, pleasure, or sadness, without ever having learned how to do so. This does not

contradict the fact that we do also have to learn many gestures that mean one thing

in one society and something else in another.

The sound signals innate in the human being remain valid and continue to play

important roles. Unlike verbal signals, they arise spontaneously and mean the same

in all cultures. Shouting, sobbing, laughing, roaring, moaning, and crying transmit

messages to everyone everywhere. Like the sounds of other species, these signals

are associated with basic emotional states and give an immediate impression of the

state of the person making the sounds.

The human being has conserved his instinctive expressions: the smile, laugh, stare,

frightened face, and solemn face are signals proper to the species. These signals

are common to all societies and persist despite the assimilation of many other cultural

gestures.

The basic sounds and gestures of our species have their origin in the early stages of

development of the human being. Crying is not only the first sign we give of our state

of mind, but also the most fundamental one, shared with thousands of other species.

There are certain expressions and standards that vary according to the culture, which

are learned during the years of early childhood. These standards prescribe what

should be done in response to the manifestation of each sensation or feeling in the

different social environments. They vary according to social roles and demographic

characteristics, and they differ from one culture to another.

We have to admit that, at the best of times, all social gatherings are a little frightening.

We do not know how the other individual will behave at the moment of meeting.

Smiles and laughter demonstrate the existence of this fear and they are combined

with feelings of attraction and acceptance. If a person we greet does not smile

frankly, and evades our eyes, this can mean one of two things: either we do not

interest him or her; or he/she is an extremely shy, retiring person, and finds the

situation frightening.

Each movement or position of the body has adaptive, expressive, and defensive

functions – some conscious and other unconscious. Our body language can be

partly instinctive, partly taught, and partly imitative, so a person’s culture is an

important factor to bear in mind.

Territorial needs

The space surrounding a person is another important factor in the expression of body

language. Each person has a well-defined bodily space, a territory, a personal space

known as the body buffer zone . That zone is determined personally and conditioned

by the culture.

It is not known exactly how much space each person needs, since it is a kind of aura

that expands and contracts constantly as we approach other people or move away

from them. The important thing is to be aware how essential this personal space is

and respect it; we must also be aware of what happens to an individual when his or

her territory is threatened or invaded.

The following points must be borne in mind:

•

Introverts tend to keep a greater distance during conversation than extroverts.

A person who moves away during a conversation is showing his need to set

up greater defenses to ensure his personal space.

•

During a multitudinous rally or protest march, however crowded it is each

person tries to keep an inviolable area around him or herself.

Hall has subdivided the territorial needs of the individual into four zones: intimate

distance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance. The distances grow

as the intimacy decreases.

For example, for Americans, the intimate distance can be close , that is in actual

contact, or far from 15 to 45 cm. The close phase of intimate distance is for

lovemaking, being with very intimate friends, and children holding hands with their

parents or with other children.

At the close intimate distance, one is fully conscious of the person one is with. The

far phase of the intimate distance is still near enough to hold hands.

The close personal distance is 45-75 cm, and the far personal phase is 75-120 cm

(considered the limit of physical dominance). It is no longer possible to touch the

other person comfortably from that distance, which gives a certain amount of privacy

to any meeting, but the distance is close enough to hold a fairly personal

conversation.

Masking

There are many methods for defending our personal zones; one of them is by

masking. Masking means controlling our body so that it will not give out messages

that the mind wants to hide. Masking includes facial gestures and can involve the

whole body. However, it is not possible to hide involuntary reactions such as

perspiration.

Masking is partly learned or absorbed from one’s own culture, but another part is

specifically taught, such as rules of etiquette, many of which deal with what is

appropriate or inappropriate in terms of body language.

Masking increases as a child approaches adulthood. The masks harden, they

become repressive, and are transformed into elements of protection. The adult may

be aware of the fact that although the mask protects his intimacy and enables him to

avoid associating with someone he doesn’t want to be with, it can also restrict or

prevent other contacts that he does want to establish. In some cases, the need to put

on a mask is so deep that it imposes itself automatically and it is impossible to let go

of it, but if the person is determined to grow, develop, and enter into significant

relationships, he will have to start discarding his masks. As the years pass, the

masks we use become more difficult to wear. An old man tends to forget about

himself and his face relaxes.

A smile is not merely an expression of humor or pleasure, but it can also signify

justification, defense, and even an excuse. When the smile is forced, it becomes a

mask to hide feelings.

Postures and positions

There is no word as clear as body language,

once one has learned to read it .

Psychological attitudes are said to affect the posture and the functioning of the body,

in such a way that neurotic problems also become apparent in the body’s structure

and function. If body language reveals an individual’s state of mind, personality and

ability to establish contact with others, it should be possible for the individual to

change by modifying his body language. The important thing is to understand the

message he is trying to transmit and what he is really saying with the different parts of

his body.

A person who knows about body language and how to use it has learned to master

the most important postures and can associate them with emotional states. Such a

person will be more perceptive when dealing with others. It is an art that can be

taught, since it depends on careful observation, but it is only learned if one is aware

that it exists.

Remember that:

•

A round-shouldered person cannot have the strong ego of a person who

keeps his back straight; on the other hand, a straight-backed person will be

less flexible.

•

Hunched shoulders mean contained annoyance; raised shoulders are

associated with fear; wide, straight shoulders denote assuming

responsibilities; drooping shoulders have the connotation of carrying a heavy

burden.

Movements of the head, eyelids, and hands do not represent different postures but

they are called points. A sequence of several points is qualified as a position , which

involves at least half of the body and can last almost five minutes.

Bear in mind that:

•

When holding a conversation, people use certain head movements to indicate

that they have come to the end of a sentence and are waiting for the other

person’s answer.

•

When talking, men and women normally look right and left, up and down; they

blink; they raise their eyebrows; bite their lips; touch their nose. Each

movement is linked to what they are saying. Just as lowering the head

indicates the end of a statement or raising the head the end of a question,

major modifications in posture indicate ending points in interpretations.

Posture is not only a means of punctuating conversation, it is also the way in which

people relate to each other when they are together. Three types of postures are

distinguished:

inclusive or non inclusive

•

face-to-face or parallel

•

congruent or incongruent.

•

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