These ten very common body language gestures serve as an excellent introduction to this most important element of communication.
The Most Popular Body Language Gestures
Common Body Language Gestures 10: Hands Behind Head: One of the most common body language gestures, when someone holds their hands locked behind their head so as to support the head with the palms of their hands, they are showing superiority, cockiness and arrogance. You’ll find some of the guys in the corporate executive offices show this gesture, though not for long as executive leadership courses will strike this sign of arrogance out of them.
Common Body Language Gestures 9 : Chair Straddling: When someone straddles a chair, they are showing an aggressive body language gesture e while protecting themselves symbolically with the chair. This gesture shows a desire to dominate the conversation.
Common Body Language Gestures 8 :Legs Spread: The most popular body language gesture in the body language of legs. Standing or sitting with the legs spread is the most common superiority / dominance position of men because it clearly puts the crown jewels on display. Often when one man assumes this position, other men in the group will do so too.
Note: A lot of guys will assume this body language gesture as it’s considered “Alpha Male.” Sadly, many men exaggerate the pose so much it just ends up looking stupid. See the pic of Tom Cruise for instance.
Common Body Language Gestures 7 : One leg over a Chair Arm: When someone puts a leg over the arm of a chair, they are showing indifference. If someone you’re talking to adopts this position, you can assume they don’t care about what you’re talking about.
Common Body Language Gestures 6: Head Nodding: Not only does head nodding signify agreement, it also produces positive sensations. Try nodding your head and you will begin to feel more positive and agreeable. What’s more, head nodding is also contagious. Try nodding your head when you finish a sentence and you’ll find people are more likely to agree with you.
Common Body Language Gestures 5: Pen in Mouth: Putting a pen or other object in the mouth is a clear sign of insecurity.
Common Body Language Gestures 4: Tucking the head into the Shoulders: The clearest sign of fear. When someone ducks their head and raises their shoulders you can be certain they’re feeling afraid or insecure.
Common Body Language Gestures 3 : Leaning forward: When you’re talking to someone and they lean their head forwards, you can feel assured that they are interested in what you are saying.
Common Body Language Gestures 2 : Head Shake: The sign of “No.” Look out for people whose words say “yes” while shaking their head. Their body language is worth more than their words.
Common Body Language Gestures 1 : Head Positions: There are three main head positions: head up, head down and head neutral. Head neutral is where the head faces straight forwards. This is a sign of neutrality. Head down signifies a negative feeling and head up a positive one (though holding the head too high becomes a sign of arrogance).
These common body language gestures have hopefully served to introduce you to some of the ways in which the body communicates information. We’re now ready to get right into the heart of body language as we begin to discover the exact meanings of different gestures and how different parts of the body are used to communicate different messages. We’ll start on the next page.
Next: Body Language of Hands
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Important note: All body language gestures should be taken in context. Body language is not a “one size fits all” deal nor can body language be read like an A-Z. For more on this read: Body Language: Explained