During the first Friday in October, National Body Language Day recognizes the significance of nonverbal communication in your life. These are the silent messages you don’t realize you’re sending in your interactions with others. From a smile to a shoulder shrug, your body is revealing your emotions and thoughts.
- In 1872, Charles Darwin detailed his observations of nonverbal behavior in his book, “The Expression Of Emotion In Man and Animals.” He noticed both people and humans use body language to communicate.
- To overcome language barriers, you use body language to talk to and understand people when you don’t speak the same language.
- Couples use body language as a silent communication to express their emotions for their partner.
- Body language is officially known as kinesics
- The first modern book on body language appeared more than 375 years ago. John Bulwer’s “Chirologia: Or the Natural Language of the Hand” (1644) was a pioneering work on hand movements.
- A woman has a wider-ranging peripheral vision, which allows her to check out a man’s body from head to toe without getting caught. A male’s peripheral vision is poorer, which is why a man will move his gaze up and down a woman’s body in a very obvious way. Men do not “ogle” more than women—their tunnel vision means they just get caught more easily
- Americans usually stand 18–48 inches away from each other, which is the size of their “personal bubble.” Japanese, however, have a personal bubble, or intimate zone, of 10 inches. And people from rural areas tend to have larger personal bubbles than those that live in a city.
- here are six universal facial expressions: 1) anger, 2) disgust, 3) fear, 4) happiness, 5) sadness, and 6) surprise. Recently, some scientists have argued that looks of contempt and embarrassment are also universal expressions
- Studies show that women laugh at men they’re attracted to, and men are attracted to women who laugh at them. From a man’s perspective, saying a woman has good sense of humor doesn’t mean she makes jokes; it means she laughs at his jokes.
- When feeling discomfort, men typically prefer to touch their faces. Women, on the other hand, prefer to touch their necks, clothing, jewelry, arms, and hair
- People are typically perceived as more attractive when they tilt their heads.
- When people sit side to side, the direction of the leg crosses become significant. If they are good terms, the top leg crossed over will point toward the other person. If a person is uncomfortable, he will switch the position of the legs so that the thigh becomes a barrier
- The “face platter” or when a person places one hand on top of the other and rests his or her face on top of the hands is often used in courtship. It’s used mainly by women and by gay men who want to attract a man’s attention. Their face is placed as if it were on a platter for the other person to admire.
- Hand-steepling may be the most powerful high-confidence hand gesture. It involves touching the spread fingertips of both hands in a gesture similar to praying hands, but the fingers are not interlocked and the palms may not be touching. In the U.S., women tend to steeple low (at the waist), while men tend to steeple at chest level.
- People who smile without actually feeling happy can make themselves feel happier
- The “thumbs-up” sign means “good” to Westerners, “one” to Italians, “five” to Japanese, and “up yours” in Greece. In Iran, it represents a penis.
- The older people become, the more serious they become. An adult laughs on average 15 times per day. A preschooler laughs on average of 400 times.[
- Just by noticing the blinking rate of the eyes, it can be said whether a person is lying or not. Eyes blink faster while lying or when people are under stress. The normal blinking rate is 6 times to 8 times in 60 seconds. This ramps up dramatically under stress.
- Research shows that whatever we’re feeling first shows up in our body before entering our conscious minds microseconds later.
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