Body Language Dictionary

Body Language Dictionary ::I::

Written by Christopher Philip

Topics: I

I – Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary:

Did we forget a nonverbal term? Suggest it in the comment box or e-mail it direct, and we’ll be ecstatic to add it! With well over 500 terms, the BLP dictionary is growing to be the largest free nonverbal dictionary in the world! Brought to you exclusively by The Body Language Project! Visit our homepage for more free learning.

Illustrators: Gestures that we use while speaking that are directly linked to words. We use these gestures in cooperation with the verbal language to help emphases meaning. Examples of this is the motion of throwing whilst speaking of tossing a ball or using a punching motion to emphasize what happened during a fight, or by describing something, as in, “It was this wide”, then spreading the hands apart to show just how wide it was.

Impression management: The desire, motivation and knowledge to control, either consciously or subconsciously how one is perceived by others through the conveyance of information. It includes acting strong, submissive or muted when required, as exhibited through nonverbal means.

Inbau, Fred E.: Born 1909, deceased 1998 Fred Inbau was a Professor of Law. In 1945 he joined the faculty of Northwestern University School of Law and later headed the Criminal Law department. As his career developed he became more and more fascinated with police interrogation and worked closely with police officers in their training. He wrote a very popular and influential book by the title “Criminal Interrogation and Confessions” as well as “Reid nine steps” which details various techniques useful in interrogating suspects.

Inclusion and exclusion technique: Standing or sitting positions that either include or exclude others from conversations based on orientation. It is usually meant to describe a three person affair that have formed a triangle, but inclusion and exclusion can happen with just two people also based on orientation alone. When a third person arrives, the technique to exclude involves an orientation where the original two remain facing each other or, if not facing head-on will close the angle between them even further (from a ninety degree angle to zero, or head-on). This shows that the third person is not accepted. Usually only the head will turn toward the person who is not included. Therefore to exclude someone, the technique says that shoulders or torsos face away from the excluded and toward the included.

Incongruent: A state or cluster of cues which are not consistent and when they come together formulate a mixed or confusing message. This state often happens in those who are trying to hide their true feelings. An example includes open postures with palms up, which is honest, but then return their hands to their pockets as if they are hiding something. At times, incongruent body language is legitimate including simply being unsure of a position. Incongruent body language is perceived in a negative light by others who are aware of it.

Independent and opposite position: A seating arrangement where two people face head-to-head across the table, but not directly – rather they are adjacent. We see this when people sit in busy places with other strangers or wish to work by themselves.

Indicators of disinterest (IOD): Nonverbal cues or signals put out by men and women that show they aren’t interested in an interaction. They can occur in a dating context, business context, or any social context. Turning torsos away, crossing arms, avoiding eye contact, looking away, drumming the fingers in boredom, or picking imaginary lint are all body language cues showing a lack of interest.

Indicators of sexual disinterest (IOsD): Nonverbal cues or signals put out by men and women that show they aren’t interested in a sexual relationship or interaction.

Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI): Nonverbal cues or signals put out by men and women that show they are interested in a sexual relationship or interaction.

Inner self: That which influences of all nonverbal communication to produce the character that is seen by others. It is that part of the self that consistently and routinely controls body language patterns of which is nearly impossible to consciously control. The inner self is the aspect one is required to change in order to change nonverbal patterns to portray traits that are more desirable.

Intensity: A measure of the amount of emphasis placed in a nonverbal message. It is a term that describes the amplitude to which, for example, the arms and legs reach and the strength of a smile or frown. It is an indication to the dept of the emotion that is felt and its accuracy to what is really felt.

Intention movement or posture: A position that indicates what someone wishes to do. Pointing toes toward or away, leaning or looking away and hands on legs in sprinter position are all intension movements since they tell where one wishes to go.

Interpersonal relationships: Refers to the social associations, connections or affiliations between two or more people.

Interlacing fingers: Happens by locking the fingers together and rubbing them one inside the other as a means of pacifying. It indicates high stress and low confidence.

Introverts: People that become easily affected from outside stimuli and seek refuge in quieter places. These types of people tend to freeze up more in public, but are loose when in their own element.

Interrogators: Experts such as the FBI, CIA, military personnel, police and psychologists who specialize in interviewing suspects in order to reveal criminality versus innocence or to extract information by reading hidden messages in body language. They often focus on lying and lie detection and have been shown through research to be more effective at uncovering liars from truth tellers when compared to regular people. The goal of interrogators is to avoid false confessions by comparing the relaxed baseline of an individual against stimuli that creates stress to uncover leads for further investigation.

Intimate gaze or triangular gaze pattern: The eyes will travel continuously in a pattern from eye to eye then down to the mouth. They will also wander briefly to other parts of the face although the vast majority of time is spent looking at the eyes and mouth. When the eyes make forays to the rest of the body, they check out the clothing, overall build, jewelry and rings. The intimate gaze lasts around 4-5 seconds.

Intimate space zone: A distance of 18 inches or closer which is reserved for only very close friends or romantic partners.

Intuition: Intuition includes the processing of information that we’ve obtained by observing people. When someone says they have a “bad” feeling about someone or they feel “uneasy” or the salesman was “slimy” they are using their intuition. Sometimes though, our intuition becomes clouded by preconceived notions and new information is tainted or distorted.

Invisible lint picker (the): Shows a critical listener and indicates that what was being said is disliked, contempt and disapproval through eye contact avoidance and distraction.

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If you are only picking up on what is being said, you are missing more than half of the message.

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