Body Language of Strutting
Cue: Strutting.
Synonym(s): Swagger.
Description: A careless, slow, deliberate gait with shoulders back, chest out, head up, as if swimming through the air. The upper body moves back and forth confidently.
In One Sentence: Strutting is a type of gait displaying supreme confidence.
How To Use it: Use strutting or swagger to show others that good things happen to you and that you are able to control the results in your life. This works well in any context but if done too conspicuously will appear as smug. When using the cue, be sure that it can be backed up with other confident demeanor including a relaxed and slow speech pattern, proper gesticulation and so forth. President Obama is a great example of walking with swagger and he also backs it up with swagger in his speech and gesture. In dating, swagger is highly regarded as it is in business.
Context: a) Dating b) Business.
Verbal Translation: “I’m confident and in control. I walk with my head up, shoulders back, chest puffed out so that others take note of my dominance and show me respect and admiration.”
Variant: See Gait or Walking Styles.
Cue In Action: a) He walked by the girls in full strut, his chest puffed out trying to appear larger than he actually was. b) The boss was confident and this was easy to see. His gait was smooth, deliberate, and effortless. He walked with his head held high, back strait and arms moving smoothly with each stride.
Meaning and/or Motivation: High ranking officials such as presidents and high level business men habitually strut. A swagger occurs while walking and is a display of confidence, dominance and usually sex appeal. Men are said to strut when trying to appear masculine in the eye of women. Women can also strut, but it’s not as typical as it is for men.
If someone is going out of their way to strut, he is likely trying to impress others but might not have the gull to back it up. True strutting appears effortlessly and is backed by real life accomplishments.
Cue Cluster: The strut is a collection of cues in cluster. Head high, back straight but fluid, arms in motion and chest puffed out. Watch for additional cues to verify the honesty of the strut. Those with confidence will also carry open postures such as arms uncrossed and out of pockets, make and hold eye contact easily, touch people freely when appropriate, maintain open postures, gesticulate when appropriate and so forth.
Body Language Category: Arrogance or arrogant body language, Authoritative body language, Confident body language, Dominant body language, Expansive movements, Gravity defying body language, High confidence body language, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Leadership body language, Open body language, Threat displays, Up nonverbals.
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