Author: Chris

Body Language of Slow Speech or Talking Slowly

Body Language of Slow Speech or Talking Slowly

No picCue: Slow Speech or Talking Slowly

Synonym(s): Talking Slowly.

Description: A speech trait where the speaker talks at a rate that is slower than ordinary.

In One Sentence: Talking slowly indicates a relaxed attitude or high stress and a loss for words.

How To Use it: Using speech in a slow and careful way demonstrates high control. We see Presidents use slow deliberate speech to place emphasis on the few words that they do utter, rather than see them try to rush through a longer speech. Keeping things simple and to the point with carefully chosen words, spoken slowly, will demonstrate confidence and a relaxed, leadership disposition. Adding pauses to speech also creates the impression of supreme confidence and lets the listeners process the information.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m selecting my words careful which is why I’m talking slowly. I don’t want to say anything I might regret.” b) “I’m inebriated and losing consciousness making my rate of speech slow.” c) “I’m anxious, confused, lying or in deep thought making me slow to think of the correct words.” d) “I want to be clear and concise so I’m taking my time coming up with the correct words.”

Variant: See Rapid Speech, Speech Hesitation.

Cue In Action: a) When the president was asked if he was involved in the boondoggle, he paused, then began his answer with carefully selected words. b) At the end of the party, Dave began to slur his speech, trail off and eventually stop talking mid-sentence. c) When he asked where she was two nights ago, his wife spoke slowly so as to recount the history exactly. She wasn’t lying, nor did she want to appear to be. This drove her to be careful about what she said she did, and with whom. d) He was caught red-handed, but figured he could slip out. He measured and delivered his words carefully so as not to trip up on the details.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Talking slowly can be due to comfort and relaxation, or discomfort. Slow speech can be due to trying to make an important point, anxiousness, confusion, lying, grief, fatigue, deep thought, illness or the influence of drugs or alcohol. For this reason, one must be careful when attributing slow speech definitively with any one diagnosis.

Watch for cues in the cluster and the context to decide the real meaning of slow talking.

Cue Cluster: Watch for associated cues to decide what slow speech really means. In lying watch for eye aversion or conversely strong eye contact, lack of detail, lack of emphasis and so forth. While being honest and accurate, watch for richness of details and palms flashing upwards. To decide if it means that a person is intoxicated or tired watch for head dropping, eyes closing, alcohol on the breath and slurred speech.

Body Language Category: Audible signals.

Resources:

Arduino, P. J., & Gould, J. L. (1984). Is tonic immobility adaptive? Animal Behavior, 32, 921–923.

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Buller, David, B. ; Aune, R. Kelly. The effects of speech rate similarity on compliance: Application of communication accommodation theory. Western Journal of Communication. 1992. 56(1): 37-53.

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Body Language of Slouching

Body Language of Slouching

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Slouching 1Cue: Slouching.

Synonym(s): Body Sag.

Description: The head droops, shoulders hunch, feet are turned inward and the face often shows signs of depression or sadness.

In One Sentence: Slouching is a sign of social withdrawal and/or submission.

How To Use it: Slouching can be used to show dominance when used in the proper context. For example, when high status is already secured, slouching down backwards in a chair can boost the perception even further. Slouching, in the context, show that one is not at risk from a metaphorically attack and does not need to carry an engaged and ready body posture.

When a low ranking person slouches in full view of a higher ranking person, this can show willingness to defy authority. For example, should a rebellious teenager wish to instigate a confrontation, he or she simply needs to slouch as he or she engages in verbal combat. Slouching says, “I don’t care about your attempt at authority, I stand for my own ideas.”

Children can show their distain for the ideas of their parents by slouching forward in defeat. This plays on the emotions of their parents because they see that their decisions have created a sense of powerlessness. The parents, therefore, may think twice about continuing in eliciting submissiveness. Therefore, slouching can be used to manipulate more powerful people by nonverbally signaling defeat.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m bored, disinterested, depressed or tired. As a result my body is going limp and losing its tone.”

Variant: N/A.

Cue In Action: a) He was a typical teenager, slouching in his chair without a care for authority. b) After a long day at work, the day-labourer slouched down on the sofa with a cold beer. c) He was going through a tough time in his life and he would often sag into a deep depression, slumped over with an expressionless face.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Taking on a relaxed position and postures when around others, such as slumping in your chair can be a way to increase your status. However, slouching independent of other dominant cues indicates submission – sometimes extreme submission to the world at large, especially when it is persistent across context. Slouching shows others that life gets us down and we have trouble coping with the difficulties it presents us. Slouching shows others an overall withdrawal.

Children often use slouching and pouting to show that they are upset and disappointed. Slouching also presents when people are bored or disinterested. People will be found slouching or sitting low in their seats perhaps awkwardly.

We should be careful about reading emotionally into slouching, because sometimes it just means someone is taking a break or is exhausted.

Cue Cluster: When slouching has emotional meaning, it is usually accompanied by fidgeting, putting hands in pockets, crossing arms, wringing the hands, talking with a hand hiding the mouth, and touching or scratching the face or neck without purpose, the eyes often are blank and the face is expressionless.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Boredom body language, Comfort body language, Disengagement body language, Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Low confidence body language, Negative body language, Nonthreatening body language, Readiness to submit postures.

Resources:

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Body Language of Skirt Hike

Body Language of Skirt Hike

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Skirt Hike 1 BodyLanguageProjectCom - Skirt Hike 2Cue: Skirt Hike.

Synonym(s): Hiking The Skirt, Pulling Up The Skirt, Lifting The Skirt.

Description: The “skirt hike” happens by fingering and playing with the bottom ridge of the skirt. Other times, the skirt hike happens in a more pronounced way by grabbing the bottom of the skirt and pulling it up slightly to reveal more leg.

In One Sentence: The skirt hike is a subconscious nonverbal cue signaling sexual interest.

How To Use it: Women can use the skirt hike to tantalize potential male suitors. Normally this cue happens subconsciously as a woman plays with the material at the bottom of her short skirt. She may also slightly raise it. However, this can be done on purpose as well. Raising the skirt to show a little more leg while making eye contact should be enough to arouse the curiosity of men of interest. The cue is potent while standing, but it can also be done while sitting. If you see that an undesirable man notices the cues, simply shove the skirt back down while avoiding eye contact.

Context: Dating.

Verbal Translation: “This skirt is really getting in the way of my attractiveness, and way too long to attract the attention of the boys, so I’m going to pull it up a little bit and see who notices. Hopefully someone cute or else I’m going to push it back down in a hurry.”

Variant: See Symbolic Stripping or Removing Clothing.

Cue In Action: a) Newly single, Debbie was with her friends casually enjoying a drink at the bar. One hand clasping her drink, the other dangled loosely to her side while fiddling with the bottom of her skirt. Just then, she noticed a sweaty, awkward man, staring at her. She quickly brought her hand up, grabbed her straw, turned her back toward him and huddled in with her friends. b) Later in the evening Debbie had met a man named Dave. She and he had been carrying on for some time. Dave, an expert on body language, noticed that she was casually playing with the riffled edge of her skirt and would pull it up a bit at a time and then drop it and smooth it back down. He took this as a strong message of coy interest and availability.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The skirt hike is an interesting body language cue because it happens completely subconsciously with usually no awareness at all. It is so subtle though that only those looking specifically for it will actually see it. This motion is usually done toward a man of interest and followed by eye contact, but other times, happens as advertisement of the woman’s availability, generally – an open for business sign, so to speak. If she catches someone else notice this gesture that she isn’t interested in, however, she will quickly force the skirt back down and break eye contact.

Cue Cluster: It is possible that the skirt hike cue happen independent of other cues as a general broadcast signal directed to the room. It may also be anchored to a specific person through eye contact coupled with submissive cues such as eyes cast downward, batting eyelashes, laughing and giggling, touching the hand, forearm or other areas, head lowered or bowed, neck titled to the side, smiling, grooming either the self or person of interest, playing with the hair or hair tossing, and so forth.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Courtship display, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Intention movements, Leaked or involuntary body language, Microgestures, Tie signals.

Resources:

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Guéguen Nicolas. Gait and menstrual cycle: ovulating women use sexier gaits and walk slowly ahead of men. Gait Posture. 2012; 35(4): 621-4.
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Graff, Kaitlin ; Murnen, Sarah ; Smolak, Linda. Too Sexualized to be Taken Seriously? Perceptions of a Girl in Childlike vs. Sexualizing Clothing. Sex Roles. 2012. 66(11): 764-775.

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Body Language of Sinking In The Chair

Body Language of Sinking In The Chair

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Sinking In The Chair 1Cue: Sinking In The Chair.

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: The posterior is moved forward toward the front of the chair so a person can slouch and drop down low. The feet are held tightly together, head lowered chin down, eyes averted and downcast, the shoulders hunch up, the arms are kept close to the body.

In One Sentence: Sinking in the chair is a demonstration of relaxation and a casual attitude.

How To Use it: Sink in the chair when you want to show that you are withdrawing from a situation. Teenagers are particularly effective at this posture, especially in an educational setting. When sinking in the chair you are sending a message of indifference so be sure to use it with caution. Additionally, sinking in the chair is a way to reduce your overall profile. This is effective in reducing the changes that one is called upon.

Finally, sinking down in a chair is a way to get closer to a relaxed state as it puts our body in a sleep-like posture. When one has some downtime, slinking forward can help create a sense of relaxation without being totally prone.

Context: a) General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m hiding in plain sight by reducing the size of my body and remaining motionless so that other people don’t notice me.” a) “I have a relaxed attitude. I’m too cool for school.”

Variant: See Crouching, Body Lowering.

Cue In Action: a) The student sunk down really low in his chair and avoided eye contact with the professor. He hadn’t completed his homework and didn’t want to be called on. a) The new employee kept quiet and to herself. She had fudged some of the credentials on her resume and wasn’t familiar with the application.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Sinking in the chair is a closed body postures, as are most submissive postures. Reducing body size is the exact opposite from what one would do to indicate dominance. Dominance is displayed by taking up more space, being loose and free flowing, pushing the chin out, broadening our shoulders and so forth.

Making the body small limits the potential of being hit and covers up vital areas of the body. In today’s age, it is uncommon to be physically attacked, but the mechanism by which we display can have a big impact on how people react physiologically to us. In other words, body language plays a big part in how other’s perceive us even if we don’t know them, and so we can influence them to our advantage even before a word is spoken.

The extremity of submissive language is being curled up in the fetal position, however as we get older, we find that these gestures are not acceptable so we abbreviate them. We might therefore take on a crouched position.

Slouching in the chair can also show others that they are rejecting the situation and slipping away. We see this in people who are bored or those who wish to tell authority figures that they are superior to others and do not need or desire to immerse themselves in the material. This certainly applies to the student who parks himself in the rear of the class, slumps down, whose eyes begin to glaze. By comparison, the student who sits upright near the front of the glass proves that she is fully engaged in the course material (or is pretending to be).

Cue Cluster: Sinking in the chair includes pulling the arms inward, pulling the shoulders down and rounding them, hunching in, pulling the chin in and pulling the legs or knees closer together. Remaining motionless and avoiding eye contact are other key features of a submissive posture. What all these cues have in common is that they give us a better chance of being overlooked as a threat, and help to repel attention from us. Emotional tension created by submission can occur in either sex, such as a pale face, fidgeting, jerky movements, sweating, or displacement behaviours such as playing with the hair or rubbing the palms.

Body Language Category: Body size reduction, Closed body language, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Emotional body language, Escape movements, Low confidence body language, Protective reflexes, Readiness to submit postures.

Resources:

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Body Language of Sideways Glance Over Raised Shoulder

Body Language of Sideways Glance Over Raised Shoulder

No picCue: Sideways Glance Over Raised Shoulder.

Synonym(s): Looking Over Raised Shoulder.

Description: a) A woman will turn her back slightly facing the object of her interest, raise her shoulder, and gaze adoringly over it with eyes cast upward. The cue is made more salient in a strapless dress. b) Sometimes referred to as “Stealing A Look” but in this case, the shoulder is not raised, the look is quick so as to avoid detection, and the head is not lowered and eyes not cast upward.

In One Sentence: Looking over a raised shoulder is a flirty gesture.

How To Use it: Women can create sexual interest by peering over a raised shoulder. The cue is more potent when done over a nude shoulder such as a strapless dress. To compound the cue, couple it with slightly raised eyes that briefly make eye contact as well as a coy smile. If the desired results are not achieved, simply repeat the cue.

Context: a) Dating b) General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m looking over my raised shoulder to tease and flirt by showing off my curvy shoulder and making you do a bit of chasing to secure my full one-on-one attention.” b) “I’m glancing quickly over my shoulder to steal a look without being noticed.”

Variant: See Room Encompassing Glance (the), Looking Askance.

Cue In Action: a) She knew all the right buttons to push to get his attention. She removed her light overcoat, raised her shoulder, turned in his direction, smiled coyly, batted her eyelashes, before lowering her head and turning back for a sip of her drink. He was sent into fits. He knew it was an invitation to approach.

b) He kept glancing quickly over his shoulder at the angry girl. When she looked up, he quickly snapped his head back and continued the conversation with his buddy. He didn’t like her and certainly didn’t want her to know that he had noticed she was there, lest she come over and confront him.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Women do this flirty gesture as they gaze at men of interest. Instead of squaring themselves off and looking straight into his eyes, her body faces away and she looks over the shoulder which seductively teases him. This posture emphasizes the curviness of the shoulder and exposes the vulnerable neck. It is particularly alluring when done by women wearing a strapless outfit!

The power of the cue relies on its ability to tease through mystery. A bit of hide-and-seek mixed in with sexual curves of the shoulder as well as easy eyes cast upward showing submission. The entire cue, when done properly, is both seductive and coy.

In a general context, the sideways glance is done to steal a look without being caught. This might indicate that a person is trying to remain secretive, is talking behind another person’s back, or doesn’t want the other person to notice them. Stealing a look can also mean that sexual interest exists but that a person wishes to be covert.

Cue Cluster: a) Watch for eyes and head lowered or quick eye contact, wrist and palm exposure and flirty smile. b) Watch for darting eyes that don’t want to be caught looking. The shoulders will remain lowered, there will be no gazing or smiling.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Courtship display, Childlike playfulness, Eye Language, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Intention movements, Liking, Tie signals.

Resources:

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Body Language of Shoulder Shrugs or Shoulder Rise

Body Language of Shoulder Shrugs or Shoulder Rise

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Shoulder Shrugs or Shoulder Rise 3Cue: Shoulder Shrugs or Shoulder Rise.

Synonym(s): Shrugs, Ducking, Hunched Shoulders, Turtling, Head Ducking.

Description: The shoulder shrug posture happens as the head seems to sink inside the shoulders, however, what is really happening is that the shoulders are slowly being raised so the neck disappears taking the head with it. It is as if the head is being swallowed by the shoulders. Shrugs can appear as micro-movements barely perceivable or as full on shrugs where the shoulders nearly touch the ears.

In One Sentence: Shoulder shrugs indicate lack of knowledge and ultimately submission.

How To Use it: Shrug the shoulders when you don’t know the answer to a problem or you wish to show submission. Shoulder shrugs can be used to show others that you accept defeat when it is coupled with a lowered head. Therefore, you may consider using it when pleading for forgiveness.

In dating, women can use the shoulder shrug to take on a smaller profile in order to create the impression of submissiveness and therefore elicit a protective and caring partner. Children and men can also do the same. When submission occurs, it produces a sympathetic response when it is seen by an empathetic viewer.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “My shoulders raise for a nano-second showing that I don’t know the answer.” b) “My head pulls down to my shoulders, palms up as a shield, eyebrows raised with my head tilted shows that I’m drawing inward and don’t want to get involved – so leave me out of this.” c) “I’m sorry I don’t know the answer and I’m shrugging to show others that I’m not a threat and wish not to provoke. In other words, I’m sorry I don’t know, but please go easy on me. I’m not a target, I’m submissive.”

Variant: Shrugs contain key elements such as hunched shoulders where the shoulders are raised and lowered, hands twisted into the palms up position (one or both hands), lowered mouth corners (while hands and head remain still), raised eyebrows (which shows astonishment, indifference, and bewilderment). Each variant, independent of one another, can carry the meaning of the shrug.

See Uneven Shoulder Shrugs and Palm Up Displays or The Rogatory Posture.

Cue In Action: a) The teacher called on Dave but he didn’t know the answer because he hadn’t read the report. His shoulders flinched upward, barely raising, as he froze like a deer in the headlights. b) There was a mess in the staff room and the boss had made a point of rounding up the culprits to get the job done. She invited them to step forward, but in unison the staff raised their shoulders as if they were not to blame and didn’t want to help fix the mess. c) After cussing her out without giving her time to explain, he felt it was his duty to offer a box of treats and flowers. He lowered his head, turned his palms up and shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t need to say anything. She understood he felt sorry for what he had done.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A universal expression of doubt and uncertainty. Shoulder shrugs can signify apology, disbelief, ignorance, indifference (lack of interest), helplessness, resignation, discomfort, low self-confidence, insecurity, weakness or powerlessness and shame. Many negative emotions are expressed through shoulder shrugs.

A shrug can also mean that you don’t know the answer, that you don’t want to get involved, or imply submissive apology.

Shoulder shrugs in a business context are usually found when someone is centered out on their poor performance. The origin of the “head turtle” is to protect it from harm. For example, when people hear a very loud bang, they will quickly pull their heads inward and down, and tuck in their chins. However, when it is done out of shame, it happens more slowly and deliberately so as to draw even less attention.

Shrugging is also done when people want to appear less significant so they go overlooked and are ignored rather than called on. In business, the head duck will occur when subordinates meet with superiors as they try to stand out less and look less significant or when employees wish to be overlooked during status reports at a boardroom meeting. It might also happen in class when the professor is calling on students who don’t have the answers, or when athletes have to walk back in shame to their dressing rooms after losing an important match.

The shoulders hunching up with palms up indicate a desire to hold a more narrow and protective posture hence it is submissive like a turtle going up in its shell.

The shoulder shrug can also appear in a dating situation where women appear meek and submissive. Shrugging is a childlike posture and happens when a woman let’s her guard down. It is often subtle and occurs subconsciously as a small raise of the shoulders and sometimes is accompanied by an eyebrow flash. Other times it is more pronounced and the head lowers or bows in unison. In this case, the shrug may be held for some time.

Cue Cluster: Shrugs often appear coupled with cowering, eyebrows lifted, palms up, head lowered, head bowed, eyes cast upward and widened, frowning or downturned smiles.

Body Language Category: Appease, Courtship displays, Closed body language, Defensive, Disengagement body language, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Escape movements, Fearful body language, Intention movements, Nonthreatening body language, Palm power, Protective reflexes, Readiness to submit postures, Submissive body language, Universal gestures.

Resources:

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Body Language of Shoulder Shake

Body Language of Shoulder Shake

No picCue: Shoulder Shake

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: A conspicuous vibration, hunching and raise and lowering of the shoulders in secession accompanying laughter. At times the shoulder shake occurs in silence and is barely detectable.

In One Sentence: The shoulder shake indicates amusement.

How To Use it: Use the nonverbal shoulder shake to quietly show your amusement. As this gesture replaces an audible laugh, it can be used to share an intimate joke.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m so happy and amused that my entire body is vibrating with excitement.”

Variant: See Laughter.

Cue In Action: The man was rotund but loved life. When he laughed, his entire body shook including his shoulders. It was impossible to keep a straight face when in his company.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A hearty form of laughter where the body participates in the humour.

Cue Cluster: The shoulder shake is often accompanied by a vocal laugh, smiling face, eyes squinting, sometimes the body hunches over in amusement.

Body Language Category: Emotional body language.

Resources:

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Martin, Rod A. 2001. Humor, laughter, and physical health: Methodological issues and research findings Psychological Bulletin. 127(4): 504-519.

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Sturman, Edward D. Invluntary Subordination and Its Relation to Personality, Mood,
and Submissive Behavior. Psychological Assessment. 2011. 23(1): 262-276 DOI: 10.1037/a0021499
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-submission-men-women-depression-critical-examination-use-disuse-submission/

Vettin, Julia ; Todt, Dietmar. Laughter in Conversation: Features of Occurrence and Acoustic Structure. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2004. 28(2): 93-115.

Body Language of Short Grabber Handshake or Finger Grabber Handshake

Body Language of Short Grabber Handshake or Finger Grabber Handshake

No picCue: Short Grabber Handshake.

Synonym(s): Finger Grabber Handshake.

Description: A handshake whereby only the fingers make it into the hand. Because the grip ends up short, the fingers are usually sandwiched together painfully.

In One Sentence: The finger grabber aims to cause pain and inflict dominance and aggression over others.

How To Use it: Use this handshake when you wish to intimidate other people. This can be useful in threatening competitors. This can be useful to set people straight when they are causing you problems or are encroaching on your territory. The handshake is best served to those you feel are not prepared to back up their stake of dominance over you.

Context: Business.

Verbal Translation: “I’m so insecure, but pretending to be dominant, that I’m going to put you through the ringer by grabbing your finger tips and squishing up your fingers to cause you pain.”

Variant: See Country Handshake (The), Cold Dead Wet Fish Handshake, Double Gripper Politician Handshake or Double Hander (The), Short Grabber/Finger Grabber Handshake, Oddball Handshake, Palm Up, Palm Down and Palm Even Handshakes, Stiff Arm And Thrust Forward Handshake, Death Grip Handshake, Wrench Forward Handshake, Undershaker Handshake, Wrist Hold Handshake, Wrist Hold Handshake and Upper Arm Grip Handshake, Limp Fish Handshake, Teacup Handshake, Arm Twister Handshake (The), Firm handshake, Fist Bumping.

Cue In Action: James was a routine pranker. The family reunion was no exception. It was widely known that one should avoid shaking hands with him as he frequently caused his cousins and nephews to squeal in pain by crushing their finger tips.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Someone that grabs your fingers rather than your entire hand is trying to keep you at a distance and also put you in your place. Short grabbers are usually insecure but often try to hide this by coming off as dominant through the infliction of pain and the denial of proper, though measured, intimacy which the handshake is designed to create. If they add a crushing action in addition to the finger tip grab they are trying to send and even stronger message by displaying their physical power over you.

Crushing is used to put a bit of fear into their partners so as to dismiss the likelihood of any future challenge against them. In other words, the short grabber is messing around with the handshake on purpose and trying to put another person through the ringer, so to speak.

When the handshake comes up short by accident, rather than on purpose, the other person will let up and apply less pressure or readjust so as to do a proper handshake rather than cause undo pain.

If by chance, you accidentally grab the fingers of someone else, which can happen when men shake hands with women, you can vocally suggest doing the handshake over again. A simple “sorry, that didn’t quite work, let’s give it another go” will suffice. This will show that you are concerned about starting off on the right foot and truly wish to set the proper tone for the relationship.

Cue Cluster: The finger tip grabber is usually insecure, but tries to come off as cocky and arrogant. He will be boisterous and overstep personal space boundaries. He will touch when it’s inappropriate, slap a shoulder or ruffle hair. He is often a practical joker and tries to put people through their steps doing anything to make them feel uncomfortable.

Body Language Category: Anger body language, Arrogance or arrogant body language, Aggressive body language, Dominant body language, Hostile body language, Low confidence body language, Low confidence hand displays, Masked body language, Negative body language, Social touching.

Resources:

Aström, J ; Thorell, L H ; Holmlund, U ; D’Elia, G. Handshaking, personality, and psychopathology in psychiatric patients, a reliability and correlational study. Perceptual and motor skills 1993, Vol.77(3 Pt 2): 1171-86.

Bohm. 1997. Effects of interpersonal touch, degree of justification, and sex of participant on compliance with a request. The Journal of social psychology. 137: 460-469.

Chaplin William F.; Phillips Jeffrey B; Brown Jonathan D.; Clanton Nancy R.; Stein Jennifer L.; 2000. Handshaking, gender, personality, and first impressions Journal of personality and social psychology. 79(1): 110-117.

Crusco, A. and C. Wetzel. 1984. The midas touch: the effects of interpersonal touch on restaurant tipping, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 10: 512–517.

Debrot, Anik ; Schoebi, Dominik ; Perrez, Meinrad ; Horn, Andrea B. Touch as an interpersonal emotion regulation process in couples’ daily lives: the mediating role of psychological intimacy. Personality & social psychology bulletin. 2013. 9(10): 1373-85.

Dolcos, Sanda ; Sung, Keen ; Argo, Jennifer J ; Flor-Henry, Sophie ; Dolcos, Florin. The power of a handshake: neural correlates of evaluative judgments in observed social interactions. Journal of cognitive neuroscience. 2012 24(12): 2292-305.

Frumin, Idan; Ofer Perl; Yaara Endevelt-Shapira; Ami Eisen; Neetai Eshel; Iris Heller; Maya Shemesh; Aharon Ravia; Lee Sela; Anat Arzi and Noam Sobel. A Social Chemosignaling Function for Human Handshaking. eLife 2015. 4:e05154
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05154.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/shake-hands-share-human-scent-curious-case-hand-sniffing-body-language/

Fisher, J; Rytting, M and Heslin, R. 1976. Hands touching hands: affective and evaluative effects on interpersonal touch, Sociometry 39: 416–421.

Ghareeb, P.A. ; Bourlai, T. ; Dutton, W. ; McClellan, W.T. Reducing pathogen transmission in a hospital setting. Handshake verses fist bump: a pilot study. Journal of Hospital Infection. 2013. 85(4): 321-323.

Guéguen, Nicolas. Nonverbal encouragement of participation in a course: the effect of touching Social Psychology of Education. 2004. 7: 89–98.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/a-touching-way-to-encourage/

Gueguen, Nicolas; Sebastien Meineri and Virginie Charles-Sire. Improving Medication Adherence by Using Practitioner Nonverbal Techniques: A Field Experiment on the Effect of Touch. Journal of Behavioral Medice. 2010. 33:466–473
DOI 10.1007/s10865-010-9277-5
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/touching-boosts-compliance-improving-medical-compliance-using-nonverbal-communication/

Guéguen, N. (2001a). Toucher et soumission a` une requeˆte: Re´plications expe´rimentales en situation naturelle et e´valuation de l’impact du statut. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale. 2001(a). 14(3):113-158.

Guéguen, N. (2001b). L’effet d’influence du toucher sur le comportement du consommateur: 2 illustrations expe´rimentales en exte´rieur. Direction et Gestion: La Revue des Sciences de Gestion. 2001(b). 190–191, 123–132.

Guéguen, N and C. Jacob 2006, Touch and consumer behavior: A new experimental evidence in a field setting, International Journal of Management 23: 24–33.

Guéguen, N., & Jacob, C. The effect of touch on tipping: An evaluation in a French’s bar. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 2005. 24(2): 295-299.

Gueguen, Nicolas; Celine Jacob; Gaelle Boulbry. The Effect of Touch on Compliance With a Restaurant’s Employee Suggestion. Hospitality Management. 2007. 26: 1019-1023.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/touching-leads-compliance-study/

Gueguen, Nicolas. Handshaking and Compliance With a Request – A Door-to-door Setting. Social Behavior and Personality. 2013. 41(10): 1585-1588.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/handshakes-lead-compliance-study/

Greenbaum, Paul ; Rosenfeld, Howard. Varieties of touching in greetings: Sequential structure and sex-related differences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1980. 5(1): 13-25.

Hiemstra, Kathleen M. Shake My Hand: Making the Right First Impression in Business With Nonverbal Communications.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included). Business Communication Quarterly. 1999. 62(4): 71.

Hertenstein, Matthew J; Keltner, Dacher; App, Betsy; Bulleit, Brittany A; Jaskolka, Ariane R 2006. Touch Communicates Distinct Emotions. Emotion. 6(3): 528-533

Hareli, Shlomo; Noga Shomrat and Ursula Hess. Emotional Versus Neutral Expressions and Perceptions of Social Dominance and Submissiveness. Emotion. 2009 9(3): 378-384. DOI: 10.1037/a0015958
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/dominance-expression-conveyed-different-facial-expressions-men-women/

Jeffrey D. Fisher; Marvin Rytting; Richard Heslin. 1976. Hands Touching Hands: Affective and Evaluative Effects of an Interpersonal Touch. Sociometry, 39(4): 416-421.

Lynn et al., 1998 M. Lynn, J.M. Le and D. Sherwyn. 1998. Reach out and touch your customers, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quaterly 39: 60-65.

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From Making a Fist. Society for Personality and Social Psychology. 2004. 30(6): 757-769. DOI: 10.1177/0146167204263780
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Body Language of Shoe Play or Removing Shoes

Body Language of Shoe Play or Removing Shoes

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Shoe Play or Removing Shoes 2 BodyLanguageProjectCom - Shoe Play or Removing Shoes 1Cue: Shoe Play or Removing Shoes.

Synonym(s): Playing With The Shoe, Removing Shoes, Dangling The Shoe.

Description: A cue usually delivered by a woman where the heel of the shoe is either removed entirely or partially removed and dangled from a toe. Alternatively, the shoes are removed to make a person more comfortable.

In One Sentence: Removing the shoes is a sign of comfort.

How To Use it: Remove the shoes to show other people that you feel comfortable and are not in any rush to leave. When removed at the door to someone’s house, it also serves to show respect as it avoids bringing dirt inside. If uncertain, always ask when entering a home if they wish for you to leave your shoes on or take them off. If you notice that your host has removed their shoes, you should simply remove them unless they specify otherwise. In a relaxed atmosphere such as at a friend’s house, removing the shoes is common practice; however, in a business setting, removing your shoes can be seen as disrespectful. If your feet have a malodor, keeping your shoes on is highly advisable.

In a dating context, woman can remove their shoes as a symbol of their trust in their partner. Dangling a stiletto from the tip of the toe is a great way to show arousal and trust at the same time.

Context: a) Dating b) General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m comfortable in this environment and not going anyway so I feel safe enough to remove my shoes.”

Variant: See Symbolic Stripping or Removing Clothing.

Cue In Action: a) She dangled her tall stilettos from the tip of her toes and bounced her leg up and down while sipping a pinkish drink from the edge of the bar. It wasn’t long before she had her first offer from a potential suitor. She quickly froze at the sight of him, put her shoe back on and gazed across the room hoping to make eye contact with her friends. She was looking for a possible exit. b) They had a full work schedule ahead of them and as the clock ticked on to the early morning hours they had removed their jackets, ties and shoes. The end of the project was still not in sight.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Removing the shoes is a strong indicator of comfort and agreement. It is most salient in a courtship setting when done by a woman because it is a concrete indication of her desire to stay rather than go. Removing the shoes makes “escape” that much more difficult. Shoe play also accentuates the female physic and permits her to bounce her leg up and down showcasing her legs through movement, and drawing in male gaze.

To test this idea, simply startle a woman and if she doesn’t freeze, she’ll pull her shoe back on in short order! Men attuned to shoe language will be able to test an approach. If it goes sour, she’ll casually slip her shoe back on.

In men, shoe removal indicates that comfort is either present or desired and that one is not prepared to leave.

Cue Cluster: Removing the shoe is accompanied by other comfort body language such as open, relaxed facial expressions, smiling, arms uncrossed and gesticulating, touching, eye contact and neck and palm exposure (in women).

Body Language Category: Approach tell, Comfort body language, Courtship display, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Open body language.

Resources:

Navarro, Joe. 2008. What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People. William Morrow Paperbacks.

Body Language of Shifty Eyes

Body Language of Shifty Eyes

No picCue: Shifty Eyes

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: Happens when the eyes dart all over the room to focus on anything but someone else’s eyes.

In One Sentence: Shifty eyes show lack of certainty and nervousness.

How To Use it: Shifty eyes is a cue that should be avoided unless one wishes to draw attention to ones stress and nervousness. As the cue is generally associated with lying it is looked poorly upon. The cue can be used to show nonverbal sarcasm.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m feeling the pressure and my eyes are traveling all over the place in search of answers to the stress I’m under. If I look in enough places, I’m bound to find what I’m looking for.”

Variant: N/A.

Cue In Action: To get him to cave, she put him in front of the class and asked him if he would confess. He was obviously lying, she though. His eyes darted about the room as she grilled him about the missing raffle money. She assumed he was lying because he wouldn’t hold eye contact.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Shifty eyes are habitually associated with lying but research shows that most practiced liars hold gaze even more strongly than normal.

Paul Ekman’s research into lying says that people often attribute shifty or darting eyes to liars, however, as a predictor of a lie it actually falls short. Looking away from complicated human faces helps us concentrate. Therefore darting eyes doesn’t really tell us anything concretely. Just that thought is taking place.

Additionally, the stress and nervousness of being put on the spot is enough to cause the eyes to exhibit patterns that seem dishonest. Shifty eyes are a more reliable predictor of stress than lying.

Cue Cluster: Darting eyes is connected to other nervous and stress related body language such as touching the face, neck, nose and ears, shrinking and shrugging, ducking the head and crossing the arms and legs.

Body Language Category: Confused body language, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Escape movements, Eye Language, Negative body language, Nervous body language, Stressful body language, Suspicious body language.

Resources:

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