Category: Disguised gestures

Body cross, Disguised gestures, Displacement behaviour, Low confidence body language, Nervous Body Language

Body Language of Masked Arm Cross

by Chris • November 5, 2014 • 0 Comments

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.

Resources:

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Adaptors, Amplifier, Arousal, Auto contact or self touching, Disguised gestures, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked body language, Microgestures, Pacifying body language, Stressful body language

Body Language of Hand To Nose

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Hand To Nose

Cue: Hand To Nose

Synonym(s): Nose Touching

Description: Touching the nose, usually with the index finger or pinching it with the webbing of the thumb and index finger.

In One Sentence: Touching the nose indicates discomfort, or serves to alleviate an itch.

How To Use it: When possible make touches to the nose and other parts of the face brief and directed, as persistent nose touching is often misread as dishonesty. At worst, touching the nose is read as insecurity.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m stressed, and the blood if flowing to my nose, making me want to scratch it.”

Variant: Nose touching can happen as a quick but purposeful touch, the finger might graze the side of the nose, or it can be a persistent rubbing. Sometimes the touch is quick and dirty in an up and down motion, other times it is a brief almost unnoticeable touch to the base of the nose or its side. A person might wipe the nose with the back of their hand or come up and touch it lightly with their index finger. See Hand To Eye Gesture.

Cue In Action: During the Grand Jury testimony over Monica Lewinsky, Bill Clinton touched his nose 26 times when answering highly emotional questions. When he answered questions he found easy, his hands were nowhere near his face.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Touching the nose with the hand is a discomfort gesture linked to anxiety and therefore serves as a pacifier. Other times touching the nose provides clues that a person is lying as it indicates stress.

Face touching can come in two forms, one that serves a real function, to alleviate an itch, and one that is the result of negative feelings such as being uncomfortable and stressed. Face touching that is due to an emotion is meant as a fix behind the sensation, the emotion, and not due to any physical need.

Touching the nose has been linked to lying, but like most lie-detection cues, they aren’t absolute or reliable. We can tell when something is out of the ordinary when someone touches their nose for no reason or touches their nose while delivering critical information. The astute will find it obvious when someone is touching their nose for the purpose of alleviating an itch instead of alleviating a lie (or negative thought). Scratching is directed, specific, deep and vigorous, showing that some amount of waiting was done before the gesture was performed. Thus more relief is present when the itch is real. Itching due to negative emotions is general, shallow or glancing. This type of itch is done by bringing the index finger up, by example, and lightly touching the side of the nose where the nail is not used at all. That is, no real scratching is taking place.

When nose touching is not due to itching, then it’s due to a negative or dishonest thought from either lying, being terrified, pretending to be brave or just feeling self doubt.

Chemical known as catecholamine triggers nasal tissue to swell, but that it only induces the nose to increase in size below the level of perception. This is the real life Pinocchio effect. Even though most people will not be able to detect it, the increase in blood flow and pressure often causes a tingle in the nose, which in most people, triggers an itch response.

Some people touch their nose at the end of every sentence – it’s their idiosyncrasy. Does this mean that every word that comes from their mouth is a lie? It could be, but it is not likely. Once we’ve caught someone in a lie we can backtrack and look at the clues that preceded the lie and those that followed the lie to pick up on cues that might have given him away.

Cue Cluster: Touching the nose coupled with wiping the mouth in a down-stroke, avoiding eye contact, and fidgeting, tells us that something dishonest is probably going on.

Body Language Category: Adaptors, Amplifier, Arousal, Auto contact or self touching, Disguised gestures, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked body language, Microgestures, Pacifying, Stressful body language.

Resources:

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Adaptors, Disguised gestures, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Leaked or involuntary body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked emotions, Surprised body language

Body Language of Hand Covering or Cupping The Mouth

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Hand Covering or Cupping The Mouth

Cue: Hand Covering or Cupping The Mouth.

Synonym(s): Cupping The Mouth, Mouth Slap, Slapping The Mouth, Hand Slapping The Mouth.

Description: a) One or both hands quickly come up to the mouth covering with both palms. b) One hand quickly comes to the mouth palm open against the mouth in a slapping motion.

In One Sentence: Hand to the mouth is a signal of disbelief, shock, mischief, or the desire to reclaim misspoken or damning words by jamming them back in.

How To Use it: Bring the hand to the mouth to show shock or surprise. It is useful to show others that you can’t believe what you just heard or saw. When you say something inappropriate, bringing the hand to the mouth shows other people that you wish to take the words back and wish to prevent any other hurtful words from coming out and doing more damage.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m scared or surprised by what I’m seeing so I’m covering up my surprised gaping mouth.” b) “I can’t believe what I said or what I heard you say and am covering my mouth in effort to jam the words back in or prevent any more offensive words from coming out.” “My hand is slapping my mouth to prevent me from saying things I shouldn’t and to jam the things I already said, back in.”

Variant: See Hand To Mouth, Hand To Nose, Hand To Eye Gesture, Hand To Cheek. Other variants to the mouth slap include a closed fist against the mouth, a single finger over the mouth in a shh-ing gesture (self silencing), finger in the mouth (sucking for soothing), or the hand-to-mouth in a fake cough.

Cue In Action: a) A bicyclist darted through the intersection and ran head-on into oncoming traffic smashing into the hood of a car. The bystanders were stunned. One of the women was covering her mouth in horror. b) The six year old accidentally let out a cuss word in front of her parents. She quickly slapped her mouth in shame. c) Wendy was a chatter box, and the worst at keeping secrets. She was talking away at the cafeteria when she blurted out that she had an outfit all set out for the special occasion on Friday night. Realizing what she had done, she slapped her mouth with her hand. The birthday party was to be a surprise and the birthday girl was right there at the table.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Mouth covering is a way to reduce the pain of telling a lie. In this case, it is so as to “speak no evil.”

Small children perform a full cover and even slap their mouths when they say something they shouldn’t. However, the mouth slap usually becomes a vestige to other minimized gesture such as the hand to the chin, or the hand coming to the corner of the mouth, or several fingers seemingly busy playing in front of the mouth.

When in the right context, hands to mouth or mouth slapping is a clue to deception and a desire to prevent being detected or revealing too much information. Grown adults will sometimes cup their hands to their mouths like children in effort to “jam the words back in their mouths” but usually use more subtle gestures such as “talking through their hand” which is a gesture done by placing a finger softly over their lips.

Talking with one’s hand covering the mouth, “talking through the hand,” or resting the hand around the mouth by wrapping the fingers around the top, are significant clues indicating insecurity.

Subconsciously, hand-to-mouth gestures leads people to distrust others, and see them as less honest overall. The gesture can be done with a fist, a finger, or a ‘shushing’ motion with the index finger vertically placed over the lips. Other times the subconscious mind is so powerful that the hand comes up and slaps the mouth, but to cover this ‘tell’ up, a fake cough is added.

What starts off as a quick mouth slap movement to the mouth when lying (or swearing) in children, slowly becomes a touch to the corner of the mouth. Later, restraint forces the finger to the side even further and then instead of touching the mouth it touches the side of the nose instead. As people age, they become much more difficult to read. By logical progression, the hardest to read of all are sixty-year-old politicians!

Cue Cluster: The mouth usually gaps open with eyes widening or the mouth jams shut with the head tilted down or away, depending if shock is experienced or words have accidentally spilled out. Sometimes the hands come to the head rather than the mouth during shock. Usually the facial expression is one of surprise. When someone says something regrettable they might blanche or blush, avert their eyes, slink down in embarrassment, seek exits and become quiet. When the hand comes to the mouth in more abbreviated forms, the eyes will also avert, a person may begin to fidget or squirm, touch the neck or nose as well as additional emotional cues of discomfort.

Body Language Category: Adaptors, Disguised gestures, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Leaked or involuntary body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked emotions, Surprised body language.

Resources:

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