Knowing how to interpret people’s body language is often difficult but, we assure you, it’s not impossible.
You have to be good observers to be able to catch a glimpse of those small movements. To catch those almost imperceptible gestures that people usually make during a conversation.
As we will see later, these gestures are involuntary, so many things can be discovered about a person while they are in front of you. And it does not need to be expressed in words.
You can apply the same method to all people, even to complete strangers.
It is enough just to observe them with a “clinical” eye. Their posture, an attitude, a different walk, can reveal some little more secrets.
Interpreting body language allows you to:
- understand other people more deeply.
- Guess what their real intentions are.
- Integrate your interpersonal skills.
HOW TO INTERPRET THE LANGUAGE OF THE BODY
The communication is an important aspect that regulates the common unfolding of everyday life.
This is a very important social and individual psychological aspect, which guarantees a continuous development in inter and intrapersonal relationships.
THE BASIC ASPECTS OF INTERPRETING THE LANGUAGE OF THE BODY
- in order for a conversation to take place, it is necessary that there are at least two people who share the same language system (governed by shared norms and meanings).
- It is appropriate that there is a message to be reported intended as an exchange of information, mood, ideas, feelings, etc.
By setting these conditions, you immediately realize how easy it is to interpret the message that the other person clearly wants to get us.
Precisely because a classic conversation is taking place.
There are different ways in which you can communicate meanings to other people, and there are different means by which to do so.
Let’s think, for example, of the classic message sent via smartphone or email, or even a radio release.
Information can be obtained through the television channel and also through the Internet.
Obviously these examples refer to a direct communication whose purpose is mainly to spread messages and create dialogues.
INTERPRETATION OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE BODY: A PERSON ALWAYS REPRESENTS WHAT IT SAYS?
According to psychology, there is an inherent social norm, which people usually take for granted.
That is, that anything said by a stranger can be considered true. Because you would tend to believe that people usually tell the truth.
We think absurdly of the opposite condition, in which it was the rule to believe that everyone has the right to lie.
Certainly, communication between people would be rather difficult and tiring on a cognitive level.
It goes without saying that it is in any case appropriate to clarify that the concept of “truth” is different from the concept of “reality”.
Reality is represented by the true essence of things, or as they actually are.
Truth, on the other hand, takes on many philosophical meanings (based on the model followed throughout the history of philosophy).
But, basically, it takes on the meaning of real only if the same meaning is shared and assumed as “true” by the people themselves.
CONTRASTING ATTITUDES
We refer to the concepts of reality and truth just described.
Often and gladly it is possible to notice that people, when they speak, assume attitudes that, at times, are in stark contrast to what they are saying.
But it is good to remember that the concept of communication does not only include dialogue but that “everything says something”.
With regard to the statement just mentioned, we can immediately understand that often an attitude or a look can be more expressive and communicative than many words.
Knowing how to interpret the language of the human body can be a real index that allows us to understand many things.
We say real because, more often than not, these details are involuntary.
They are response reactions that the unconscious puts in place, following various stimuli.
The person perceives them, processes them internally. And the body translates them into behaviors, movements and expressions that can indicate the real state of mind of the subjects.
HOW TO INTERPRET THE LANGUAGE OF THE BODY: A BIT OF HISTORY
Man has always tried to interpret the world around him. Specifically, he tried to figure out from another person’s appearance if they were someone worthy of trust. Or if it were necessary to keep it at a distance.
In Ancient Greece, a school of thought called physiognomy was born , which gave great importance to the study of facial features.
THROUGH FACIAL EXAMINATION IT WAS CONSIDERED THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND THE CHARACTER OF THE PERSON
Over the course of history, in the Roman, medieval and Renaissance periods, this discipline has seen its evolution through the most varied studies of interpretation.
From drawings on the proportions of the body and face of Leonardo Da Vinci, up to the second half of the 1800s, with the studies of the Italian doctor Cesare Lombroso .
He argued that, through certain measurements of the skull, it was possible to identify the propensity to delinquency.
These studies were the beginnings of what is now modern criminological science.
In ancient times, in the East, healers regarded the body as a physical representation of the soul.
Their skill lay in grasping the truth of the soul based on the physical characteristics of a person such as the appearance of the body and face.
HOW TO INTERPRET THE LANGUAGE OF THE BODY: THE EYES
When we are angry, happy, afraid, we produce typical expressions that describe our mood.
Studies carried out in different cultures have shown that these characteristics are mostly common.
This leads us to think that we react to our sensations in an automatic and characteristic way.
However, there are involuntary, more subtle and more sophisticated movements that tell us something more.
LET’S START FROM THE EXAMINATION OF THE LOOK
When you are talking to someone who is describing an episode to you, pay attention to the direction of their eyes.
Looking at the gaze helps a lot in interpreting body language.
LOOK UP LEFT (VISUAL REMEMBERED)
The left hemisphere of our brain is mainly dedicated to logical and rational analysis.
Eyes that usually point in that direction indicate that that person is analyzing a memory that actually happened. So it is feasible that within a dialogue, he is telling the truth.
RIGHT (RECALLED AUDITIVE) This position indicates that the subject is attempting to recall a sound already heard. Like a song you listened to or a person’s voice.
LOOK DOWN LEFT (INTERNAL DIALOGUE)
Here the interlocutor is having an introspective dialogue, he is reflecting.
If this position is held within a conversation he is probably not interested in the speech.
BOTTOM RIGHT (KINESTHESIC)
This particular position is about sensations. At that moment, the person is experiencing real, authentic feelings (whether positive or negative).
LOOKING TO THE RIGHT (AUDITIVE BUILT)
In this case, it is plausible that the interlocutor is studying new ways to modulate the voice during his utterance.
TOP RIGHT (BUILT VISUAL)
We know that the right hemisphere of our brain is mainly devoted to the elaboration of imagination and creativity.
Therefore when a person directs his gaze predominantly up and to the right, he is creating a completely new image. We are therefore faced with a purely invented tale.
THE PUPILS
Check the dilation of the pupils of the person you are talking to; if she is interested in speech, her pupils will often be dilated.
HOW TO INTERPRET THE EXPRESSIONS
We have already briefly addressed the question regarding facial expressions.
And we realized that the poses it assumes in conjunction with the sensation experienced, is a feature mostly common to all human beings, regardless of their culture.
The psychologist Roberto Assagioli, in one of his laws relating to psychosynthesis states that ” the attitudes of the body tend to evoke mental images and their corresponding emotions”.
Paul Ekman , in the course of his studies, tried to identify a range of “expressions” common to all people.
It should also be said that, not only the poses of the face change.
The emotional system also involves other physiological, chemical and mechanical aspects of the body (for example, sweating, heart rate and temperature).
BASIC THERE ARE 7 PRIMARY FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
Sadness
The eyebrows are raised and drawn closer thereby causing the inner part of the eyelids to rise so that they appear to sag. The gaze is blank and usually turned downwards. The mouth takes on the typical shape of an inverted U.
Surprise
It is generally a short emotion and occurs when you are faced with something unexpected.Usually the eyebrows rise, the eyes widen and the mouth opens and takes on the classic O-shape. If the person keeps the same mimicry of the eyes but keeps the mouth closed, it indicates that the same is interested in what he is seeing or hearing.
Another case is where a person keeps the eye pose as above but the corners of the mouth tend downward. It indicates an expression of skepticism.
Anger
It is considered a biological reaction that prepares the person to defend themselves when attacked.
Usually the forehead contracts, producing vertical wrinkles between the eyebrows, producing a lowering and approaching in them. The lips contract exposing the canines and the nostrils dilate. If, on the other hand, the lips remain closed and the teeth are clenched, the person in question is in a grip of anger.
Disgust
The mouth forms an inverted downward curve, the nose wrinkles.
This expression mainly involves the areas of the face described above. And, usually, it refers to something we don’t like, for example a food whose taste and smell repels us.
Contempt
Facial mimicry usually aims at distancing from the subject in question. This expression is usually characterized by the raising of a single eyebrow with the consequent creation of concentric wrinkles above it.
The upper lip of the same side rises until it almost reveals the portion of teeth it covers.
Fear
The eyebrows are raised and moved away, they create horizontal wrinkles on the forehead, the gaze remains fixed on the thing that causes the fear, and the eyes dilate. The mouth is stretched with the corners down and the nostrils are dilated. The voice can usually become hoarse and stammering.
Happiness
The mouth usually stretches to create a smile (sometimes open, sometimes closed) and the cheeks swell and lift.
In these cases, the eyelids lift and form small wrinkles on the side of the eyes. It is also possible to identify false smiles because, in them, the fine lines near the eyelids just described do not appear.
Micro-expressions
This concept always hypothesized by Eikman goes to describe those short involuntary facial expressions that are produced by a person whose purpose is to mask the situation of strong stress he is experiencing.
INTERPRETING THE LANGUAGE OF THE BODY: POSTURE
The ancient Greeks attributed the beauty of the human body to the corresponding goodness of soul.
In fact, it was believed that in a person, the more cared for and harmonious the physical appearance, the more “beautiful” his interiority would be.
There is ample evidence that an individual’s attitudes, such as posture, are an indicator of intentionality.
A neutral posture, therefore the absence of specific tendencies, is indicative of an absence of a prevailing emotional state.
If it is tilted upwards it is a sign of sympathy (usually it is found in a relationship between a child and an adult, it can describe a situation of protection and tenderness).
An upright posture describes the openness and predominance of the subject over another. Usually the legs are spread apart and the hands are at the hips with the elbows bent and protruding thus increasing the breadth of expression.
Generally, those who take this pose want to show that they are sure of themselves.
A hunched and limp posture characterizes sadness and submission as if reflecting the heaviness of a burdensome emotional state. It is plausible that this posture can also define an intimate moment of internal dialogue.
HOW TO INTERPRET THE GESTURES
It is not communicated only through the verbal form. For example, deaf people use a real sign language ( LIS = Italian Sign Language, in the case of Italy) to communicate.
However, there is no doubt that what has just been said presupposes an intention to communicate.
UNCONSCIOUS GESTURES TO BE STUDIED IN THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BODY LANGUAGE
However, there are gestures that often, such as eye direction or expressions, are unconscious and reveal more details.
Pointing fingers with a clenched fist can be a way to try to establish dominance over a situation.
On a subconscious level it can be interpreted in a negative sense, that is, ancestral to a situation of struggle.
Imitation: if during a conversation the interlocutor imitates the gestures of the other, it is possible that a good harmony has been established between the two.
Crossed legs, which are often a comfortable and / or habitual posture, can also be interpreted as a sign of low receptivity.
Usually when an important deal is closing they are a negative index.
Repeated touching of the face or hands is a common manifestation of an anxiety state; usually these manipulations act as a soothing agent in uncomfortable situations.
SHRUG
Shrugging is a universal gesture usually made up of three moments that have a very specific meaning:
- Palms of hands raised to demonstrate (in a rhetorical sense) that nothing is hiding.
- Shrug to protect throat from potential attack (always seen in a non-literal sense).
- Arch of the eyebrows to indicate remission.
Shrugging indicates that the person is at least confused about the events that are taking place, not having a clear and definite idea.
WIDENING THE ARMS DOWNWARDS KEEPING THE PALMS OPEN WAS CONSIDERED A SIGN OF HONESTY
In fact, if you think about it, when a person in a courtroom is asked to swear to tell the truth, he, in the gestures of the rite, will show the palm of his hand.
Direction of the face. Let’s examine when you are among a group of friends and are laughing and joking. Usually a person, starting to laugh, will look in the direction of the friend who is dearest to him or towards the person with whom he feels a stronger bond.
Direction of the feet. We are in a situation similar to the one just mentioned, within a group of any kind. During a conversation, an individual will involuntarily have their toes pointed in the direction of the person they respect most (in an emotional or hierarchical sense).
Plugging your ears with your hands is a sign of rejection, while touching your earlobe is a sign of indecision.
Touching or scratching your nose with your hands during a conversation may mean that the speaker is magnifying the description of the facts.
Putting your hands in your pockets is generally a clear manifestation of disinterest, boredom and unwillingness to get involved.
Now it’s your turn: practice observing others to apply what you’ve read about how to interpret body language.
