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Sunday, May 12, 2019

Leg barriers gestures

Standard Leg-Cross Position

Standard Leg-Cross Position
  • One leg is crossed neatly over the other, usually the right over the left. This is the normal crossed-leg position used by European, British, Australian and New Zealand cultures and may be used to show a nervous, reserved or defensive attitude.
  • For example, people often sit like this during lectures or if they are on uncomfortable chairs for long periods.
  • When the crossed legs gesture is combined with crossed arms, the person has withdrawn from the conversation.

The American Figure 4 Leg Lock Position

The American Figure 4 Leg Lock Position
  • This leg cross indicates that an argumentative or competitive attitude exists. It is the sitting position used by many American males who have a competitive nature. This being the case, it is difficult to interpret the attitude of an American during a conversation, but it is quite obvious when this gesture is used by a British citizen.
  • The person who has a hard and fast attitude in an argument or debate will often lock the figure 4 into place with one or both hands, using them as a clamp. This is a sign of the tough-minded, stubborn individual who may need a special approach to break through his resistance.

Standing Leg Cross Gestures

Standing Leg Cross Gestures

The Ankle-Lock Gesture

The Ankle-Lock Gesture
  • Male Version of Ankle Lock - is often combined with clenched fists resting on the knees or with the hands tightly gripping the arms of the chair.
  • Femal Version of Ankle Lock - varies slightly the knees are held together, the feet may be to one side and the hands rest side by side or one on top of the other resting on the upper legs.

Saturday, May 11, 2019

Arm barriers gestures

Standard Arm Cross Gesture

Standard Arm Cross Gesture
  • The standard arm-cross gesture is a universal gesture signifying the same defensive or negative attitude almost everywhere. It is commonly seen when a person is among strangers in public meetings, queues, cafeterias, elevators or anywhere that people feel uncertain or insecure.

Reinforced Arm-Cross Gesture

Reinforced Arm-Cross Gesture
  • The full arm-cross gesture the person has clenched fists, it indicates a hostile and defensive attitude.
  • The person using this gesture cluster has an attacking attitude, as opposed to the person.

Arm Gripping Gesture

Arm Gripping Gesture
  • A superior type can make his superiority felt in the presence of persons he has just met by not folding his arms, but take an arm-fold gesture with both thumbs pointing vertically upwards.
  • This gesture is the defensive version of both arms being held horizontally in front of the body with both thumbs up to show that the user is 'cool'.

Partial Arm-Cross Barrier Gestures

Partial Arm-Cross Barriers Gesture
  • The full arm-cross gesture is sometimes too obvious to use around others because it tells them that we are fearful. Occasionally we substitute a subtler version - the partial arm cross, in which one arm swings across the body to hold or touch the other arm to form the barrier.
  • The partial arm barrier is often seen at meetings where a person may be a stranger to the group or is lacking in self-confidence. Another popular version of a partial arm barrier is holding hands with oneself, a gesture commonly used by people who stand before a crowd to receive an award or give a speech.

Disguised Arm-Cross Gestures

Disguised Arm-Cross Gestures
  • Disguised arm-cross gestures are highly sophisticated gestures used by people who are continually exposed to others. This group includes politicians, sales people, television personalities and the like who do not want their audience to detect that they are unsure of themselves or nervous.

Sunday, May 5, 2019

Hand to face gestures

The Mouth Guard

The Mouth Guard  Gesture
  • The mouth guard is one of the few adult gestures that is as obvious as a child's. The hand covers the mouth and the thumb is pressed against the cheek as the brain sub-consciously instructs it to try and suppress the deceitful words that are being said. Sometimes this gesture may only be several fingers over the mouth or even a closed fist, but its meaning remains the same.
  • Many people try to disguise the mouth guard gesture by giving a fake cough.If the person who is speaking uses this gesture, it indicates that he is telling a lie. If, however, he covers his mouth while you are speaking, it indicates that he feels you are lying!

Nose Touching and Eye Rub

Nose Touching and Eye Rub Gesture
  • The Nose Touch - In essence, the nose touch gesture is a sophisticated, disguised version of the mouth guard gesture. It may consist of several light rubs below the nose or it may be one quick, almost imperceptible touch. Like the mouth guard gesture, it can be used both by the speaker to disguise his own deceit and by the listener who doubts the speaker's words.
  • The Eye Rub - 'See no evil' says the wise monkey, and this gesture is the brain's attempt to block out the deceit, doubt or lie that it sees or to avoid having to look at the face of the person to whom he is telling the lie. Men usually rub their eyes vigorously and if the lie is a big one they will often look away, normally towards the floor. Women use a small, gentle rubbing motion just below the eye, either because they have been brought up to avoid making robust gestures, or to avoid smudging make-up. They also avoid a listener's gaze by looking at the ceiling.

Ear Rub and Neck Scratch

Ear Rub and Neck Scratch Gesture
  • The Ear Rub - This is, in effect, an attempt by the listener to 'hear no evil' in trying to block the words by putting the hand around or over the ear. This is the sophisticated adult version of the handsover-both-ears gesture used by the young child who wants to block out his parent's reprimands. Other variations of the ear rub gesture include rubbing the back of the ear, the finger drill (where the fingertip is screwed back and forth inside the ear), pulling at the earlobe or bending the entire ear forward to cover the earhole. This last gesture is a signal that the person has heard enough or may want to speak.
  • The Neck Scratch - In this case, the index finger of the writing hand scratches below the earlobe, or may even scratch the side of the neck. Our observation of this gesture, reveals an interesting point. The person scratches about five times. Rarely is the number of scratches less than five and seldom more than five. This gesture is a signal of doubt or uncertainty and is characteristic of the person who says, "I'm not sure I agree." It is very noticeable when the verbal language contradicts it, for example, when the person says something like, "I can understand how you feel."

Collar Pull Gesture and Fingers in the Mouth Gesture

The Fingers in the Mouth and The Collar Pull gesture
  • The Collar Pull - when a person is feeling angry or frustrated or sweating and needs to pull the collar away from his neck in an attempt to let the cool air circulate around it. When you see someone use this gesture, a question like, "Would you repeat that, please?" or, "Could you clarify that point, please?" can cause the would-be deceiver to give the game away.
  • Fingers in the Mouth - Morris's explanation of this gesture is that the fingers are placed in the mouth when a person is under pressure. Whereas most hand-to-mouth gestures involve lying or deception, the fingers-in-mouth gesture is an outward manifestation of an inner need for reassurance. Giving the person guarantees and assurances is appropriate when this gesture appears.

Cheek Gestures

Boredom and Interested Gesture
  • Boredom Gesture - When the listener begins to use his hand to support his head, it is a signal that boredom has set in and his supporting hand is an attempt to hold his head up to stop himself from falling asleep. Extreme boredom and lack of interest are shown when the head is fully supported by the hand.
  • Interested Gesture - Interested gesture is shown by a closed hand resting on the cheek, often with the index finger pointing upwards. Should the person begin to lose interest but wish to appear interested, for courtesy's sake, the position will alter slightly so that the heel of the palm supports the head.
  • Genuine interest is shown when the hand is on the cheek, not used as a head support.

Chin Stroking Gestures

Chin Stroking Gestures
  • When the index finger points vertically up the cheek and the thumb supports the chin, the listener is having negative or critical thoughts about the speaker or his subject. Often the index finger may rub or pull at the eye as the negative thoughts continue.
  • The next time you have the opportunity to present an idea to a group of people, watch them carefully as you give your idea and you will notice something fascinating. Most, if not all the members of your audience will bring one hand up to their faces and begin to use evaluation gestures. As you come to the conclusion of your presentation and ask for the group to give opinions or suggestions about the idea, the evaluation gestures will cease. One hand will move to the chin and begin a chin-stroking gesture.
  • This chin-stroking gesture is the signal that the listener is making a decision. When you have asked the listeners for a decision and their gestures have changed from evaluation to decision-making.

Head-Rubbing and Head-Slapping Gestures

Head-Rubbing and Head-Slapping Gestures
  • Pain in Neck Gesture - A person who uses this when lying usually avoids your gaze and looks down. This gesture is also used as a signal of frustration or anger and, when this is the case, the hand slaps the back of the neck first and then begins to rub the neck.
  • Forgetfulness Gesture - The slapping of the head communicates forgetfulness, the person signals how he feels about you or the situation by the position used when he slaps his hand on his head, either the forehead or the neck. If he slaps his forehead he signals that he is not intimidated by your having mentioned his forgetfulness, but when he slaps the back of his neck. He non-verbally tells you that you are literally a 'pain-in-the-neck' for pointing out his error.

Friday, May 3, 2019

Hand and arm gestures

Rubbing the palms together

Rubbing the palms together
  • Rubbing the palms together - Rubbing the palms together is a way in which people non-verbally communicate positive expectation.

Hands Clenched Together

Hands Clenched Together
Research by Nierenberg and Calero on the hands-clenched position brought them to the conclusion that this was a frustration gesture, signalling that the person was holding back a negative attitude. The gesture has three main positions,
  • The person would be more difficult to handle when the hands are held high, than he would be with the person whom hands resting on the desk position. Like all negative gestures, some action needs to be taken to unlock the person's fingers to expose the palms and the front of the body, or the hostile attitude will remain.

Steepling Hands

the raised steeple and the lowered steeple
People who are confident, superior types or who use minimal or restricted body gestures often use this gesture, and, by doing so, they signal their confident attitude. It is frequently used in superior/subordinate interaction and that it can be an isolated gesture which indicates a confident or 'know-it-all' attitude. Managers often use this gesture position when giving instructions or advice to subordinates and it is particularly common among accountants, lawyers, managers and the like. The gesture has two versions,
  • The Raised Steeple - The position is normally taken when the steepler is giving his opinions or ideas and is doing the talking.
  • The Lowered Steeple - The position is normally used when the steepler is listening rather than speaking.

Gripping Hands, Arms and Wrists

The hand gripping gesture
  • Superiority/Confidence Gesture - Several prominent male members of the British Royal Family are noted for their habit of walking with their head up, chin out and one palm gripping the other hand behind the back. Not only does British Royalty use this gesture; it is common among Royalty of many countries. On the local scene, the gesture is used by the policeman patrolling his beat, the headmaster of the local school when he is walking through the school yard, senior military personnel and others in a position of authority.
  • Hand-Gripping-Wrist Gesture - which is a signal of frustration and an attempt at self-control. In this case one hand grips the other wrist or arm very tightly as if it is an attempt by one arm to prevent the other from striking out.
  • Upper Arm Grip Gesture - The further the hand is moved up the back, the more angry the person has become. He is showing a greater attempt at self-control than the man in Hand-Gripping-Wrist Gesture man, because the hand is gripping the upper arm, not just the wrist. It is this type of gesture that has given rise to such expressions as, 'Get a good grip on yourself'.

Thumb Displays

Male and female back pocket gesture
The thumbs denote strength of character and ego and the non-verbal use of thumbs agrees with this. They are used to display dominance, superiority or even aggression; thumb gestures are secondary gestures, a supportive part of a gesture cluster. Thumb displays are positive signals, often used in the typical pose of the 'cool' manager who uses them in the presence of subordinates.
  • Dominant Male - Arms folded with thumbs pointing upwards is another popular thumb gesture position. This is a double signal, being that of a defensive or negative attitude, (folded arms) plus a superior attitude (displayed by the thumbs). The person using this double gesture usually gesticulates with his or her thumbs, and rocking on the balls of the feet when standing is common.
  • Dominant Female - Dominant or aggressive women also use this gesture. The women's movement has allowed them to adopt many male gestures and positions. In addition to all this, thumb thrusters will often rock on the balls of their feet to give the impression of extra height.