Body Language of Masked Arm Cross
Cue: Masked Arm Cross.
Synonym(s): Playing With The Cufflink, Playing With The Watch, Cufflink Adjust Language, Watch Play, Bracelet Play, Playing With A Button, Checking A Purse, Security Blankets.
Description: “The hand crosses the midline of the body and plays with the watch, bracelet or cufflink.”
In One Sentence: The masked arm cross signals insecurity and nervousness.
How To Use it: The masked arm cross is a way that we can create a barrier between us and other people. This is useful when we feel uneasy and need security. In front of large audiences playing with a wrist watch may help us feel more comfortable by giving us something to play with while at the same time, give us a barrier to hid behind. To appear confident, however, this body language should be avoided. In most cases, though, it generally goes unnoticed by most people.
Context: General.
Verbal Translation: “I’m feeling awkward, insecure, unsure, or nervous, so I’m playing with my watch or bracelet. This is a way I can cross and block off the mid-point of my body without being obvious or rude. I’m masking my negativity and insecurity.”
Variant: A person may use a cup of coffee held across the chest or a handbag placed on the lap to create a barrier by which comfort may be created. The coffee cup held chest high or across the other side of the body while seated serves as a partial arm cross. The handbag placed on the lap serves a protective purposed as it acts like a childhood blanket. See Coffee Cup Barrier or Handbag Barrier.
Cue In Action: a) Charles made his way through the adoring crowd while playing with his cufflink. The cufflink gave him something to do but also cut off access to his midbody similar to arm crossing. b) Bob habitually clasped his watch band and rotated it around his wrist.
Meaning and/or Motivation: Masked arm crossing implies that a person feels insecure or awkward, self conscious, nervous, timid, and desires security from a less exposed torso but feels that a full arm cross would be unacceptable due to it’s overt nature. The masked arm cross forms a loose loop rather than a tight loop as in the full arm cross.
Masked arm crossing is defined as ‘leaked.’ This is because the person is trying to prevent it from happening. However, their conscious mind is only successful at blocking a more obvious gesture, by replacing it with one that is slightly less pronounced.
The gestures are also considered “masked arm crosses” because they create a barrier-effect protecting the body.
Playing with the cuff link is a common choice for men attending formal affairs because it gives their hands a task to perform rather than simply dangling them awkwardly. Next time you see a televised awards show watch carefully as a presenter or an award winner makes his way up to the stage, he just might show his awkwardness by fingering his cufflink or watch.
Other forms of gestures that fall in the same family include holding or clutching a bag, checking the contents of a bag or briefcase, playing with a bracelet, watch or shirt button and holding a drink with one or both hands across the mid-point of the body. Any sort of motion that allows one hand or arm to cross the centre of the body, or where a crutch object is sought that otherwise serves little or no appropriate purpose, qualifies as a security blanket. To those aware of the cue, it is a very easy ‘tell’ to catch, because there really is no purpose for the behaviour aside from tension relief.
Cue Cluster: Watch for other signals of insecurity such as blushing, head lowered, a loss for words, shoulders shrugged, and so forth.
Body Language Category: Body cross, Disguised gestures, Displacement behaviour, Low confidence body language, Nervous body language.
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