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<\/a>Cue<\/strong>: Toe Pointing or Pointed Toe.<\/p>\nSynonym(s)<\/strong>: Pointed Toe, Foot Pointing, Feet Indicating, Feet Toward, Feet Away, Goodbye Feet, Honest Feet, Foot Pointing Language.<\/p>\n Description<\/strong>: When the feet point toward the direction they wish to travel.<\/p>\n In One Sentence<\/strong>: Toes are believed to subconsciously signal the direction in which people wish to travel, or in the direction in which they are thinking.<\/p>\n How To Use it<\/strong>: Foot pointing usually goes unnoticed, however, to show intimacy and focus, orient the entire body toward the person who you wish to express your undivided attention. This works well in business, dating, as well as other relationships. Showing others that they have your nonverbal attention is much more powerful than simply lending an ear or an eye. Despite the cue being out of usual awareness, it is quite likely that others will pick up on your cue and ascribe to you positive attributes. See Meaning and\/or Motivation for more ideas about constructive uses for foot pointing.<\/p>\n Context<\/strong>: a) General b) Dating.<\/p>\n Verbal Translation<\/strong>: \u201cMy feet are honest and point in the direction I wish to travel.\u201d<\/p>\n Variant<\/strong>: See Arm Withdrawal or Leg Withdrawal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cue In Action<\/strong>: a) In his excitement, he failed to realize that his buddy really needed to get going. His buddy\u2019s head began to drag backwards, his torso faced away, and his feet were aimed away from him and toward his car. His body language really said that he needed to get going. b) He wasn\u2019t interested and wanted to leave \u2013 his feet slowly inched toward the doorway rather than toward her. On the other hand, her feet were directly facing, and extended, in his direction. The affection was not mutual.<\/p>\n Meaning and\/or Motivation<\/strong>: Feet are intension cues because they are the earliest indicators of where the mind wishes to go. Feet point to doorways when someone wants to leave and away from people they do not agree with. If feet are pointed away from you, it\u2019s a strong indicator that a person wishes to be elsewhere.<\/p>\n It has been said that the feet are the most honest part of the body as it applies to the language they emit. Millions of years ago, we gave up quadrupedalism to walk upright, leaving our feet to the dirt. While our hands busied themselves with other complex tasks like fire building, making clothing, shelters and throwing spears, our legs were relegated to more primitive activities like locomotion.<\/p>\n The feet have always carried out more traditional tasks like escaping predators, avoiding hot sand or coals from a fire, leaping from slithering snakes or poisonous spiders, or navigating rough rocking river bottoms. The feet were therefore connected more to the reptilian brain that reacts to stimuli directly. The feet don\u2019t contemplate higher order tasks that require planning.<\/p>\n Feet, therefore, make great predictors of behaviour. For example, we know that children are interested in play rather then eating when their legs bounce at the dinner table. Their feet bounce up and down as they quickly gobble their food so they don\u2019t miss the action. Even if feet don\u2019t fidget they will still point, or inch toward the door in effort to prepare for escape. Therefore, the feet of adults reveal true emotions by pointing away from boring conversations and towards things they find attractive or stimulating.<\/p>\n Cue Cluster<\/strong>: Usually the torso also tends to aim in the direction of desired travel, along with the head. Conversations will begin to dry up, agreement indicators either speed up to quicken the conversation or slow down if there is little more to say. Barriers like arm crossing or partial arm crossing will accompany the foot indication.<\/p>\n Body Language Category<\/strong>: Body pointing, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Disapproval cues, Distancing or moving away, Escape movements, Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Indicator of interest (IoI), Intention movements, Orienting reflex or orienting response (a), Rejection body language, Ready language.<\/p>\n Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n Astrom, Jan. Introductory greeting behavior: a laboratory investigation of approaching and closing salutation phases. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1994. 79(2): 863(35).<\/p>\n Aiello, J. 1977. A further look at equilibrium theory. Visual interaction as a function of Argyle, M., & Dean, I. Eye contact, distance and affiliation. Sociometry, 1965, 28, 289-304.<\/p>\n Boucher, Michael L. Holzberg, Jules D. (editor). Effect of seating distance on interpersonal attraction in an interview situation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1972 38(1): 15-19.<\/p>\n Broth, Mathias and Lorenza Mondada. Walking Away: The Embodied Achievement of Activity Closings in Mobile Interaction. Journal of Pragmatics. 2013. 47: 41-58.<\/p>\n How We Nonverbally Negotiate A Conversation By Walking Away<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\ninterpersonal distance. Environmental Psychology & Nonverbal Behavior, 1: 122-140.<\/p>\n