How to Study People’s Body Language?
We have all been in a situation when you interact with someone, and their body language does not quite match what they are telling you out loud. 60% of our communication comes from non-verbal cues. It can be difficult to understand what someone’s non-verbal communication is really telling you. So how do you learn how to study someone’s body language? There are several ways to study the meaning of body language that are backed by scientific research and are universal.
When people shrug their shoulders, that is a genuine sign that they are telling you that they don’t the answer or what is going on. An open palm means they are open and honest. We use this gesture in a court of law or when we are faced with a situation where we need to show we are not a threat. Police ask you to put your hands up, or when you are swearing in to testify, you are asked to raise your right hand with your palm open. This is a sign to show you are not a threat in any way.
When looking at facial expressions and you want to know if someone is genuine when they are smiling, you can see if there are crinkles in the face. Some research suggests that when you are faking a smile, you won’t see any crinkles in the crow’s feet of your eyes. If you are genuine, you will see the crinkles around the eyes. When someone points a finger with a closed fist, this can show a sign of dominance. Depending on the audience, this type of body language can be met with a negative impact.
If you are in a conversation with someone and they mirror what you are saying, this is a sign that the conversation is moving in a positive direction, and most likely, there is a connection being built. If someone raises their eyebrows, this could be a sign that someone is uncomfortable in a situation.
Eye contact has a lot of different meanings. If someone holds a stare too long, this could be a sign they are lying. They may also sit very still and may not blink very often. When someone makes eye contact with you, it can set off our arousal state in our body. Some use eye contact to intimidate, or some use eye contact to make a connection.
There are many other ways to study body language, other than the ones listed here. If you would like to see the rest of the list, you can reference this webpage below.