Posts Tagged ‘Gestures’
Body Language and Gestures
Posted on: November 2, 2011
Several weeks ago at a Sunday lunch with friends and family I embarrassed my son. I embarrass him on a regular basis, as doing so is part of a mother’s job. This particular day I went a step too far and Max demonstrated a degree of self-control that made me sit up and notice. While he didn’t say a word, his body tightened and he wrapped his arms around his torso as if keeping his emotion in check. His jaw locked and his lips puckered in disapproval. Add to that, his eyes became steely as he glared at me, suggesting that I might want to stop what I was doing. And I did.
Your body’s speaking and people are noticing. How you’re holding your body, focusing your gaze and what your feet and fingers are doing tells a tale of your inner state.
Below is a snap shot of gestures and the emotions they’re conveying. Before I go any further, remember that no one gesture tells the entire story. In order to interpret what the body’s saying, you must reflect on the whole picture of the person.
Fiddling fingers, bouncing feet and sideways glances reveal feelings of doubtfulness, rejection or suspicion. A combination of picking at fingernails, pinching the fleshy part of the hand, rubbing or caressing a personal object (ring, cufflinks, watch, for example) or chewing on an object, such as a pencil or pen translates into insecurity.
To spot enthusiasm, look for smiles in which both the lips and eyes are engaged. People who are enthusiastic move with a bounce in their step. Their posture is erect, their hands are open and they frequently extend their arms in the direction of their interest.
Negative emotions such as secrecy or nervousness tend to manifest themselves through minimal or no eye contact, throat clearing and covering the mouth while speaking. Boredom reveals itself through drumming fingers, swing feet, picking at clothes and jingling keys and coins.
People demonstrating superiority and authority come across as both relaxed and expansive in their gestures. They steeple their fingers, are comfortable putting their feet up or on their desk. You often see them leaning back with their fingers laced behind their head with their chin lifted upward.
When you notice someone with their hands on their hips or sitting forward at the edge of a chair, you’re right in thinking that they’re ready to go. As you may be by now.
For more about how body language reveals attitudes, emotions and feelings, buy a copy of Body Language For Dummies. You might want to wait to the end of January 2012, when the 2nd edition hits the stands with more photographs and expanded content. Until then, pick up an app to get you started.
For more information visit www.kuhnkecommunication.com
And…Follow us on Twitter! www.twitter.com/diamondpolisher
Kinesics: The Categories of Gesture
Posted on: May 10, 2011
The American anthropologist Ray Birdwhistell was a pioneer in the study of non-verbal behaviour. He labelled this form of communication ‘kinesics’ as it relates to movement of individual body parts, or the body as a whole. Building on Birdwhistell’s work, Professor Paul Ekman and his colleague Wallace V Friesen classified kinesics into five categories: emblems, illustrations, affective displays, regulators and adaptors.
Kinesics convey specific meanings that are open to cultural interpretation. The movements can be misinterpreted when communicating across cultures as most of them are carried out with little, if any, awareness. In today’s global environment, awareness of the meanings of different kinesic movements is important in order to avoid sending the wrong message.
- Emblems
Emblems are non-verbal signals with a verbal equivalent. Emblems are easily identified because they are frequently used in specific contexts. The person receiving the gesture immediately understands what it means.
Example:
The raised arm and tightly closed fist. Generally the fist is used as an expression of solidarity or defiance. In 1990 Nelson Mandela walked free of prison holding this position.
The Sign of the Cuckold. Your index and little fingers are extended pointing forward with your palm facing down, making ‘horns’. Your thumb crosses over your two middle fingers. You’re telling an Italian that his partner’s been unfaithful. In Texas, this gesture is the sign for the fans of the University of Texas Longhorns football team.
Because of different interpretations of the same gesture between cultures, the correct reading is dependent on the context in which the signal occurs.
- Illustrators
Illustrators create a visual image and support the spoken message. They tend to be subconscious movements occurring more regularly than emblematic kinesic movements.
Example: Holding your hands apart to indicate size
The usage of and amount of illustrators used differ to culture to culture. In general, Latinos use illustrators more than their Anglo-Saxon counterparts, who make more use of illustrators than many Asian cultures. In some Asian cultures, extensive use of illustrators is often interpreted as a lack of intelligence. In Latin cultures, the absence of illustrators indicates a lack of interest.
- Affective displays
Affective displays tend to be movements, usually facial gestures, displaying specific emotions. They’re less conscious than illustrators and occur less frequently.
Example: Expressions of love, frustration, or anger.
A lack of affective displays doesn’t indicate a lack of emotions. Cultural considerations determine what is considered t0 be acceptable behaviour. A person from Japan expressive anger shows significantly fewer affective display movements than his Italian counterpart.
- Regulators
Regulators – body movements that control, adjust, and sustain the flow of a conversation – are frequently relied on to feedback how much of the message the listener has understood.
Example: Head nodding and eye movements
Because of cultural differences in the use of regulators, the way in which people respond to the flow of information can be confusing. A misinterpreted regulatory signal in international politics and business can lead to serious problems.
- Adaptors
Adaptors include changes in posture and other movements made with little awareness. These body adjustments are to perform a specific function, or to make the person more comfortable. Because they occur with such a low level of awareness, they’re considered to be the keys to understanding what someone really thinks. Adaptors principally comprise body-focussed movements, such as rubbing, touching, scratching, and so on.
Example: Shifting body and/or feet position when seated.
The significance given to adaptors may be overstated as well as oversimplified. Many adaptor movements, such as shifting position while seated, may be simply a way of resolving a specific physical situation, such as being uncomfortable, rather than revealing emotions and attitudes.
For more information visit www.kuhnkecommunication.com
And…Follow us on Twitter! www.twitter.com/diamondpolisher
Elizabethkuhnke's Blog 