Learning the secrets of the art of body language will make you a master communicator and negotiator. Get started right here with Body Language Explained.

According to body language researcher Albert Mehrabian (professor of psychology at the University of California), 55% of all communication is non-verbal. That’s one giant slice of communication pie. And let’s face it; if you want to get the most out of your communication—be it business communication, social communication, with friends, romantic interests or anyone else— it’s a slice of pie that you can’t afford to turn your nose up at. Thankfully, you’re about to have everything you could ever need to know about body language explained.
Before we get to truly looking at the science of body language, let me talk about one of the best examples of body language the world has ever seen: James Bond. Skyfall is going to be released in a few weeks, and millions of people will be rooting for Bond as he takes on Javier Bardem’s bad guy. But what makes James Bond so popular? A huge part of it is his body language. He stands tall, speaks slowly and clearly, has an extremely powerful fixed gaze. .. everything about James Bond’s body language screams style. Bond is a great example of what can be achieved through body language.

The Importance of Body Language Explained

We stated on the previous page that body language is the way our physical expressions reveal our feelings, emotions, meanings or intentions and is often unconscious. Both the reading and the presenting of body language is usually unconscious. We both interpret other people’s body language and use body language ourselves without thinking about it. A body language expert, however, uses body language intentionally to gain deep insight into what an individual is thinking and feeling as well as to present themselves in the best possible light, using strong body language to create an image of confidence and many other characteristics of personality. In this way, it’s perhaps best understood that the body language expert makes use of the reams of personal information that is presented under the seams, reams of information that is incredibly valuable.

The Fundamentals of Body Language Explained

In a moment we’ll take the deep plunge into the vast resource of information offered through body language, looking at what different body language gestures mean, but first there are a few rules you must understand.

Gestures and Clusters of Body Language Explained

Think of body language as being similar to words and sentences. Like words, a gesture can have several meanings (a person folding their arms over their chest might be defensive, but they also might just be cold). It’s only by combining gestures into gesture clusters (sentences) that the true meaning is revealed.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Body Language Explained

One of the keys to being good at both reading body language and using it is to be aware of when body language and spoken words do and do not match.  When people lie, their words do not match their boy language. When they are being honest, there is a natural congruence between body language and spoken words. It is only by paying attention to both verbal and nonverbal information that we can truly gain insight into a person.

Logic and Context of Body Language Explained

It can be tempting and exciting to start analysing everyone’s body language, but sadly this over-enthusiasm often leads us to make a big mistake. That mistake is forgetting to think logically and forgetting to consider context. Is that person really being defensive with their arms over their chest or are they just cold? Is your friend covering their mouth with a hand because they just lied, or maybe they’ve just got a pimple they’re trying to hide. Always take context into account.

With these three rules, you can begin to learn to read and use body language. But before we get to that, here are a few important pointers.

Practising Body Language: Pointers

• You can’t fake body language to a good body language reader for a long time. Little clues will begin to give you away after a few minutes and the other person will start to lose view you as untrustworthy.
• Never make apparent the fact that you’re either reading or using body language.
• The best way to learn about body language is to just be very watchful. Spend ten to fifteen minutes a day closely watching the body language of both yourself and others.

So, body language explained, let’s continue on now to look at how popular myths and misconceptions sabotage people’s body language skills. These will likely include a few mistakes you make at the moment and need to be aware of . . .

Continue to Body Language Myths Uncovered

Related Articles:        Body Language: Hands        Body Language: Handshakes           Body Language:smiles

How to improve Communication Skills through Acting           Body language: Smiles            Body Language: Arms     Reading Body Language Correctly

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

Discover the body language secrets that can turn your image into a powerful form of self defence  

Years ago, before I studied body language, I was often physically and verbally attacked by people. In school I was bullied repeatedly, after finishing school I was seen as an easy target, but once I learned the secrets of body language, my whole life changed.

To understand how body language secrets can work as a powerful form of self defence, you have to understand the mind of bullies and of other trouble makers.

Bullies are essentially cowards. They’ll pick on anyone they believe to be an easy target. The way in which they determine who is and who is not an easy target is by looking at a person’s body language.

You can learn how to tell who is a bully before they even get near you with THIS GUIDE. 

Weak body language will make you look like you can’t stand up for yourself. Holding your head low, fidgeting nervously, protectively lowering your chin to protect your throat area. . . these are all nervous body language gestures that will make you look like an easy target. Weak body language to a bully or other aggressive type of person is like a red flag before a bull. They’ll see your nervousness, recognise your lack of confidence and take advantage of it.

The only way to counter this is to use positive body language secrets. The following ten secrets of body language will make you look strong and confident even when you don’t feel it, and by doing so, they’ll keep trouble away.

Five Body Language Secrets for Self Defence

For a complete guide to body language (which is 100% free) read THIS. 

1: Don’t cover your throat or chest: Covering the throat and chest area is a body language gesture we have learnt to use through evolution in order to protect ourselves. We cover these areas in order to prevent them from being attacked. Unfortunately, these gestures also make us look weak. It’s better to stand confidently with your arms at your side and your chin neutral. This will create a strong impression and will stop others from thinking you’re an easy target.

2: Stand with your feet at shoulder width apart: Nervous people often clench their legs or stand with their feet right next to each other. This looks polite and formal but also weak. By standing with your feet shoulder width apart you show confidence and strength.

3: Don’t clench your fists: The to body language secrets above are about not looking weak. If you want to protect yourself, however, you also need to stop showing any signs of aggression, which can be misread by others, making them think you’re going to cause trouble, resulting in an unnecessary confrontation. To avoid this, hold your hands relaxed and never clench your fists.

4: Move slowly and calmly: Any kind of fidgeting or awkward movements give off the wrong impression. Most of the time they make us look nervous, which is a sign of weakness that makes us look like an easy target. Aim to move slowly, smoothly and calmly and you  will look relaxed, in control and, again, strong.

5: Stand tall but relaxed: Standing tall makes us naturally look bigger, which of course is a good thing for self defence. Standing rigidly tall makes us tense and actually looks protective. To stand tall but relaxed, think of your body extending from your head downwards rather than from your feet upwards. This makes you taller but also make you more relaxed.

There are many more body language secrets for strength HERE. 

By using these body language secrets for self defence you will show inner strength that people will respect. You’ll also keep yourself from attracting the wrong sort of attention.

If you liked this article or found it useful please share on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you.

If you’ve already read our complete body language training course here on this very site, you might like to find more reading material about body language

Thankfully, there’s a brilliant new body language book on the market called SNAP. It’s written by Patti Wood, a famous body language expert who has helped such notable individuals as Barrack Obama, egis and Kelly and Tiger Woods. And now, she wants to help you.

SNAP discussed the importance of body language when making a good first impression. We’re all aware of how important a good first impression is. After all, we’ve all met thousands of people who we’ve formed an impression of before we’ve even talked to them. And we all know how difficult it is to change our first impressions once we’ve made them.

In SNAP, Patti Wood explains exactly how we make a first impression. As she explains, “we’re programmed to take the measure of one another, processing millions of bits of nonverbal data in a fraction of a second.”  When it comes to developing effective communication skills (whether it be for business or finding a relationship), you have to make a good first impression within seconds, or it’s too late.

Thankfully, her new book shows precisely how to do that.

You can pick up a copy of  body language book SNAP for around $10 off Amazon.

Do you want to: Learn the secrets of body language for good communication skills HERE, OR go to the complete body language encyclopedia HERE? 

10 Secrets of Body Language for Good Communication Skills

One of the most important elements of effective communication is body language. That’s why body language is of key importance in improving communication skills and negotiating skills (as well as being why I wrote the complete Body language Online Course on this very site).

Whether you’re looking to have good communication leadership skills, good communication skills in sales or anywhere else, be sure to make use of these 10 secrets of body language.

The 10 Secrets of Body Language for Good Communication Skills

Secrets of body language #1) To give your confidence a boost, sit straight and tall with your shoulders back

Good posture is essential to your confidence, as was proven recently at Harvard University. Simply by sitting tall and straight with your shoulders back you will immediately feel more confident.

Secrets of body language #2) To get people to agree with you, show agreeable body language early

Let’s say you’re entering a business meeting or a negotiation and you need someone to agree with you. Begin to show signs of agreeability (like smiling and maintaining eye contact) long before you get to the crux of the matter (i.e before you pop the important question).

Secrets of body language #3) Know the four signs of liars

There are many different ways in which to spot a liar, but four of them are particularly important. The four body language signs of lying are: face touching, leaning away, crossed arms and hand touching. Research at the Northeastern University showed that this signs are the best indicators of lies.

Secrets of body language #4) Smiling make everything easier

Charles Garfield, who wrote the book Peak Performance, was one coach for the Russian Olympic team. He discovered that grimacing while lifting weights made it much harder where smiling made it easier. And this isn’t just the case for lifting weights. Smiling makes everything easier.

What do you do when you know that someone has been lied to but they don’t want to believe it? It can be next to impossible. You want to do the right thing to make your friend know that a guy or girl has lied to them, but you can’t prove it and they don’t want to listen. What the heck do you do?

Well, now you can prove it. The science of body language has the proof about lies.

How the Science of Body Language Shows signs of Lying

When we lie, our body moves in certain ways. There are body language signs of lying that we can use to prove that a person has been deceitful.

For instance, when a person lies to us, the blood flow in their neck causes their neck to itch, making them pull at their collar or relieve the itch in some other way.

Another body language sign of lying is revealed by a person’s blink rate. When a person lies to you, their blink rate actually slow down. They blink less because they are afraid of being caught in their act of lying.

Body language signs like this are the proof that reveals a person’s lies.

So, when you need to prove to your friend or other close person that they’ve been lied to, refer to the body language of lies.

You can find all the body language signs of lying right HERE.

Finally, there’s the proof we need!

Whether you’re a student at university studying for your exams, a small business owner needing to motivate a small team of employees or the owner of a multi-national company, positive body language is a must for ensuring healthy levels of workplace productivity.

Positive Body Language like this is integral to good workplace productivity

In ARoleModel.com’s complete body language guide, we comprehensively covered all aspects of body language. In this article, I’ll be taking a brief look at five all-important positive body language tips which are musts for workplace productivity.

The Top Five Positive body Language Tips

Positive Body Language Tip 1: Work on your posture.  Good posture is absolutely essential in the workplace for a number of reasons. Firstly, having good and relaxed posture limits the amount of energy used while simply standing / sitting. The last thing you want at work is to waste your energy unnecessarily by having bad posture. So, what can you do about it?

Take ten minutes out of your day to practice the Alexander Technique (the Alexander Technique is a simple but highly effective floor-based exercise for achieving good posture). If you’d like to learn more about the Alexander Technique consider picking up a copy of The Alexander Technique Manual.

By having good posture, you allow yourself to be 100% comfortable and relaxed, meaning you’re not wasting energy shuffling about and you’re not distracted by any kind of physical discomfort.

Positive Body Language Tip 2: Look people in the eyes: If you’re in sales then you will already know how important it is to look people in the eye simply to build rapport. Looking people in the eye is important in all kinds of business and work. When we look in each other’s eyes we greatly increase the effectiveness of communication. We are more likely to understand one another quickly. This not only saves time when communicating but also helps to build positive relationships, which are essential for achieving and maintaining health levels of workplace productivity.

Positive Body Language Tip 3: Use Space: It can be hard for many people to be productive at work when they’re crammed into a tight space (either by other people or by objects about the room). You need to have space to let your body relax properly and to prevent any physical tension (which would waste energy and inhibit your thinking)l. Make sure you have enough space so that your entire body can be relaxed.

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