Body Language Dictionary

Body Language Dictionary ::Y::

Christopher Philip — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:09:51 +0000

Y – 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.

Yawning: An exaggerated opening and stretching of the jaw with inhalation of air. Indicates boredom or exhaustion.

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Body Language Dictionary ::Z::

Christopher Philip — Sun, 09 May 2010 13:33:39 +0000

Zygomatic major muscles: One of the two muscles that directly produce smiling. They run down the side of the face to connect to the corners of the mouth. The zygomatic muscles are consciously controlled and are the ones that normally flex when we smile for the camera. This is what produces a dishonest smile.

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Body Language Dictionary ::X::

Christopher Philip — Sun, 09 May 2010 13:32:31 +0000

No entries, be the first to suggest a term!

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The Body Language Project is the result of a decade of personal research including a thorough review of over 60 primary scientific research journal articles. Learning body language forms the perfect foundation for success in ALL your communication.

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

For more information on BodyLanguage be sure to check out: BodyLanguageProject.com and the Ebook – Body Language Project: Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Body Language Dictionary ::J::

Christopher Philip — Sun, 09 May 2010 13:28:54 +0000

J – Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary:

No entries, be the first to suggest a term!

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Body Language Dictionary ::W::

Christopher Philip — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:00:45 +0000

W – Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary:

War of the eyes: A term originated from war where soliders cast eyes meant to intimidate, where darting eyes meet blank stares, and other eyes still looking for friendship that are met with eyes of fear. The eyes can convey many meanings.

Wink: A gesture that usually signals sexual connotations whereby one eye closes for a split second while the other remains open. Normally, men or overt women will perform this gesture to the opposite sex as a sexual invitation. When done in good humour signifies a cheeky attitude.

Whispering: Talking at such a low level that it requires someone else to move into the speaker’s personal space zone creating intimacy. It is an effective tactic in dating and attraction.

Whistling: A nonverbal message indicating content.

Wrench forward handshake: Done by pulling someone in closer and indicates a desire to control someone by pulling them into their personal space.

Wrist displays: Exposures of the wrist and neck are linked to visceral responses linked to submissiveness and are displayed during courtship by women.

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

For more information on BodyLanguage be sure to check out: BodyLanguageProject.com and the Ebook – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Body Language Dictionary ::V::

Christopher Philip — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:00:44 +0000

V – Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary:

Ventral displays: Torsos house important vital organs that are responsible for keeping the body alive. Heart, lungs, liver, intestines and so forth are all easily accessible through a thin layer of skin, fat, muscle and sometimes ribs and a sternum and exposing our ventral side means that we trust we won’t be attacked and is therefore a signal of openness and liking. Ventral sides are usually oriented toward people we like and away from those we dislike.

Ventral denial or ventral distancing: Is the opposite nonverbal cue to ventral fronting and indicates that a person dislikes or lacks agreement. Ventral distancing includes slouching, lean backward, orienting the torso away, or placing objects in front of the body such as clothing or books.

Ventral fronting: Is the opposite nonverbal cue to ventral denial and indicates that a person likes and is in agreement with another. Ventral fronting includes orienting the body toward someone directly, leaning toward a person, increasing proximity and removing objects to create a clear view.

Visual learners: Account for around 35% of the population. They will prefer charts, maps, graphs, data, images and photographs. Tailoring visual representations to visual learners will make any pitch more effective.

Virtual body language: Stemming from research by Dr. Yee out of Stanford University in 2007 into the online gaming industry, it was found that even in a virtual world people maintain nonverbal rules. He found that male characters tended to hold larger distances between other males and females tended to hold less distance between themselves and other females just like real life. Male characters also maintained less eye contact with other males whereas females did not.

Von Osten: A 1800’s German based high school teacher who studied phrenology which is a now discredited theory that intelligence, character and personality traits are based on the shapes and bumps on someone’s head. He later teamed up with a horse named Hans who was able to read body language to solve mathematical problems.

Vrij, Aldert: Psychology research professor at the University of Portsmouth. Professor Vrij is a leading researcher in nonverbal and verbal cues of deception and lie detection and has published over 325 articles and book chapters on the subject. His book “Detecting lies and deceit: pitfalls and opportunities” is “a comprehensive text about deception and lie detection. It describes the lie detection tools used to date and discusses the problems related to these tools. It also gives guidelines on how to improve lie detection.” Mr. Vrij is also an advisor to police on interviews with suspects and frequently acts as an Expert Witness in court.

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

For more information on BodyLanguage be sure to check out: BodyLanguageProject.com and the Ebook – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Body Language Dictionary ::U::

Christopher Philip — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 01:00:00 +0000

U – Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary:

Unblinking eye: Research shows us that a steady stare of more than ten seconds creates anxiety and discomfort especially in subordinates making it a dominant signal. When done by two equally dominant individuals it can lead to feelings of aggression and in extreme cases, even physical altercations.

Uncommitted (liars): The subconscious mind limbic mind of liars doesn’t allow them to motion or carry on with enthusiasm. Liars will us duller motions and use less commitment to them. This is part of the fight or flight response.

Undershaker handshake: A handshake that happens so quickly, that it’s actually offensive. Indicates indifference and suspicion.

Undivided attention (nonverbal): When the entire body is directed at a speaker including toes, legs, torso, hands, arms, head and eyes. It is a rare cue that happens when the body shows no signs of a desire to exit and is totally immersed. It is most frequently found in lovers, but can also happen when being particularly moved through an extraordinary experience. Other times, attention is usually being competed for and is visible through various inattention cues such as scanning the room, pointing the feet toward an exit and so forth.

Uneven smile: This is associated with tongue-in-cheek humour or sarcasm and happens when only one side of the face sports a smile and the other side does not. The opposite side may even be down turned or frowning indicated the presence of opposite or conflicting emotions. The uneven smile would accompany cheeky humour amongst friends.

Unintentional gestures: Body movements that happen out of conscious awareness. These gestures are usually more honest than other gestures since they happen naturally and are not the result of planned impression management.

Universal facial expressions: There are six main facial expressions that are found throughout the world. They are happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger and disgust.

Universal gestures: These are nonverbal postures and positions that have meaning across cultures and include smiles, frowns, grimace, grief as well as shoulder shrugs, pointing and beckoning.

Unmatched face: A facial expression that is uneven across each side of the face. In other words, it is stronger on one side than the other, but otherwise shows the same expression. Unmatched or asymmetrical expressions give clues to deceptive expressions.

Unvoiced laughs: Includes laughs such as snorts, grunt and pants rather then song like laughs such as the characteristics “ha, ha, ha”. These types of laughs seen as less attractive.

Unwavering gaze: In most animal species unwavering gaze is used to display dominance and aggression when it happens between members of the same species. When it happens across species it indicates that a prey has been centered out and the stalk has begun.

Upper arm grip: A posture where the arm is wrap in behind the back to reach to wrist are upper arm. This indicates an attempt at self-control as a result of negative thoughts.

Upper smile: In this smile the upper lid is raised to expose only the top row of teeth, but the true significance is that the lower teeth remain hidden. The jaw and teeth remain closed and the message conveyed is of medium pleasure and from those who are insecure. Used car salesman, who beam light from their teeth in this way, will seem to have a hidden agenda.

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

For more information on BodyLanguage be sure to check out: BodyLanguageProject.com and the Ebook – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Body Language Dictionary ::T::

Christopher Philip — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:12:54 +0000

T – Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary:

Tap (the): A nonverbal cue given off by available women whereby the index finger taps the forearm. It is usually done when the arms are crossed. The tap is like an abbreviated finger motion as in, “come here.”

Tapping a pencil on the teeth: Thoughtfulness.

Target: That person to which body language is aimed at, or, of which is being read.

Teacup handshake: The palm is cupped such that it makes no contact with the other palm. It indicates shyness or insecurity.

Teeth grinding: Occurs when the jaw is tightly clenched and the teeth rub back and forth or simply by clenching the jaw tightly. It indicates inward-directed anxiety, frustration or anger.

Tells: A term borrowed from poker, a ‘tell’ is a nonverbal cue that gives a person away and uncovers their hidden thoughts and emotions. It is an informal word used to replace “cue”, or “nonverbal body language.”

Territory: The area around a person which they feel is their own and guard as such. It includes our houses or apartments, our yards, automobiles, offices as well as the space that surrounds our immediate bodies.

Territoriality: A key part of humanity that describes how people use space to communicate ownership.

Testing closeness: A technique that is used to verify a desire for greater intimacy. Rather then using the entire body which can cause a negative reaction, testing says that legs, arms, or objects should be used to make brief forays into someone else’s personal space to read their reaction.

Thumb displays or thumbing: We see this thumb displays normally by royalty and also by lawyers who are trying to seem noble and important. The gesture happens by placing all but the thumbs in the front pockets of a vest, or suite jacket, or by knuckling the vest and leaving the thumbs out. Thumbs-out is a representation of ego, dominance, assertiveness and sometimes even aggressiveness. Denotes superiority.

Thumb in hand gesture: Done by placing the thumb against the index finger and where the remaining fingers form a ball. The hand then motions as if pointing, and in a rhythmic motion, emphasize points with conviction. The thumb in hand gestures is the “politicians gesture” since it is frequently used by various Presidents and world leaders and is a less offensive way to accomplish what would otherwise be left to finger pointing.

Tibial torsion or pigeon toes: Having the toes pointed inwards, often called pigeon toes or anatomically “tibial torsion” is a submissive body posture. Children, and women who are smitten, will point their toes inwards to show their meekness signally their willingness to be lead by more dominant individuals. Pigeon toes makes the body appear smaller forcing it into a less threatening profile.

Tight lipped smile with low intensity: In this smile the lips are stretched across the face toward the ears using the risorius muscle and no teeth are showing. The low intensity smile has very little upward curl in the corner of the mouth and indicates a hidden attitude or thought, uncertainty, hesitation or lack of confidence.

Tight lipped smile with high intensity: A variation where the lips rise even further with some teeth showing and of which the lips are slightly separated, the corners of the mouth are upturned, gaze is steady and warm and the posture is relaxed. We find this smile appearing when meeting new acquaintances and it is not a full honest smile, but does show openness to others.

Timber: A characteristic of the voice that describes its quality or sound. Timber is influenced by age and sex coupled with the physical dimensions of the oral and nasal cavity. Children have higher voice qualities, as do women, especially compared to men, since their vocal tracts are about twenty centimeters shorter, and in relation, so too are their vocal cavities. Timber is a separate quality from pitch as even signing highly such as sopranos and falsettistas sound different across sexes and age. This is what makes timber an important nonverbal cue as it ties directly into hidden meanings perpetuated by the creator of the voice. We expect masculine men to have a different timber than less masculine men and especially different than women and children.

Tonality: Refers to the pitch or depth of the voice. Men normally have a much lower pitch then woman, where pitch refers to the highness or lowness of the voice. A low tone indicates dominance and is an attractive feature in men.

Tongue protrusion: An evolutionary throwaway gesture thought to have arisen as food rejection mechanism by infants sometimes indicating genuine focus on a task or a pacifying behaviour when moved back and forth across the lips.

Tongue-jutting: When the tongue is pushed through compressed lips. It is used to signal a cheeky attitude when done amongst friends, but has a more sinister connotation in competitive situations since it indicates that a person has gotten away with something. In this case, the tongue usually does not touch the lips.

Touch reduction: When people are at odds with someone else, or are lying, they tend to reduce the amount of touching they do to other people.

Traffic cop (the): The hands are placed palm up in a stop motion. The speaker wishes the audience to settle or calm so they can continue.

Transactional analysis theory: Abbreviated TA, and developed by Eric Berne in the late 1950’s it is an integrated theory of how people function. It uses three ego states to predict and explain behaviour which are the parent, adult and child. It states that the most constructive position to hold is the adult rather than the parent or child. The “adult” is able to rationally deal with emotions and difficulties without throwing tantrums like a “child” and without trying to control like a “parent.” Unproductive or counterproductive interactions were said to be due to ego state problems rooting in our development. The focus was on modifying behaviour to achieve desirable results rather then simply observing them.

Truth bias: A literature review shows that an average sixty-seven percent accuracy is found when detecting the truth, whereas forty-four percent is found while detecting deception. People’s accuracy at detecting truths is usually higher than their accuracy at detecting lies! This is what is called the truth bias. Some possible explanations for the truth bias stem from the fact that in everyday encounters we usually deal with honest people. While lying is pervasive, it doesn’t happen nearly as often as does lying. Thus, we expect people to be telling the truth and are therefore better at detecting it. Another possible reason for our inherent truth bias is because it would be detrimental to act suspiciously while speaking with others just in case they were telling the truth.

Turtling: This posture happens as the head appears to be swallowed by the shoulders. It is an evolutionary defensive strategy to protect the head and happens when people are uncomfortable, have low confidence about themselves or a topic, have insecurities, feel weak or powerless, ashamed, or are carrying any other negative emotion.

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

For more information on BodyLanguage be sure to check out: BodyLanguageProject.com and the Ebook – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Body Language Dictionary ::S::

Christopher Philip — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:00:19 +0000

S – Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary:

Scorn: Sometimes flashing as a microexpression. It is a combination of anger and disgust that happens by wrinkling of the nose, raising and tightening of the upper lip. To visualize this expression think of a bad smell.

Seated body pointing: Directing torsos, legs, feet, arms, hands and head toward those we are most interested in, or agree with the most.

Seated readiness: A body postures that indicate a desire to take action which is especially useful in sales and negotiation. Examples include placing the hands on the thighs in the sprinters position and leaning forward onto the balls of the feet as if ready to spring up.

Security blankets: Any object that is stroked our touched when someone is under pressure. They arise out trying to keep our hands busy or perhaps as a tactile response. Even those that spend a lot of time in front of large numbers of people feel the need for a security blanket. The cuff link is a common choice when crossing an open room or when coming up on stage to perform a speech or accept an award. Other security blankets can include handbags, bracelets, watches, shirt buttons or brief cases.

Seducer eyes: An intimate gaze that produces attraction in the opposite sex.

Seduction: The behavioural process resulting in sexual intercourse.

Self-awareness: The consciousness of how oneself is portrayed in view of others through nonverbal channels.

Self monitors: Defined as the desire or ability to regulate oneself to fit into any given environment. “High self monitors” are more likely to change their behaviour in lieu of the situation and seem to be less consistent across context. This personality type is more likely to mirror others. “Low self monitors” are just the opposite, and remain almost the same across situations.

Self-motivating gestures: Gestures that indicate an attempt to create better functioning such as tapping the head, drumming the fingers, the chin or a pen, tapping the keyboard, or making circular motions with the hands.

Sex-coloured-glasses: Because men have twenty times more testosterone than women, they tend to view all cues put out by women as displaying sexual interest. This makes their ability to read proper interest in women clouded.

Sexual hair play: Hair play is done by women who intent to show off their luxurious hair to men. Hair tosses can be done by flicking the hair over the shoulder, twirling or rolling it and placed on top of the head, running it through the fingers or wrapping the hair around the neck.

Sexy son hypothesis: Women favour men who are more dominant for random “one-night-stands” because they will receive no parental care but will foster “sexy son” as offspring. Women will seek men who are sexier during peak ovulation and “softer” men who make good fathers at other times.

Shifty eyes or darting eyes: Happens when the eyes dart all over the room to focus on anything but someone else’s eyes and is habitually associated with lying. However, research has shown that most practiced liars hold gaze even more strongly than normal.

Short grabber/finger grabber handshake: A handshake whereby only the fingers make it into the hand. Short grabbers are usually insecure but often try to hide this by coming off as dominant.

Shoulder shrugs: A universal expression of doubt and uncertainty. They are done by moving the shoulders upward toward the ears.

Shoe play: A cue put out by women who wish to draw men’s attention to their sexiness. It is done by dangling a shoe by the toe or bouncing the leg up and down.

Sideways glance: Done by shifting the eyes to the left or right without moving the head. It indicates hostility when accompanied by appropriate cues in a cluster or attraction/interest when it is done so as to avoid detection.

Sideways glance over raised shoulder: A sexual signal done by women to draw attention to their desire to be subordinate. It is usually done by lowering the head slightly and “peering up” at the man of her interest.

Sign language: A set of visual expressions of the hands, arms, body and face designed specifically to convey meaning from one person to another. Sign language is the primary language for deaf people and is a form of body language.

Skepticism (nonverbal): A trait that serves the body language reader well especially those interested in detecting lies. Being skeptical is what makes readers aware of their surroundings and question other people’s true motives. Taking to elevators with strangers without looking them over, ignoring disheveled or inebriated homeless men, or even the well kept, yet out of place business man, can lead to unwanted results. The skeptical nonverbalist is someone who reads everyone all the time and expects that until proven otherwise, are up to no good. He or she reads people as if they are hiding their true emotions from others for direct gain, or to protect themselves from looking disadvantaged in one form or another. The skeptical reader, seeks to uncover these features in others through reading their total self including their postures, gestures, fashion, facial expressions, eye patterns, and movements.

Skirt hike: The skirt hike happens completely subconsciously with little, and usually no awareness at all. The “skirt hike” happens by fingering and play with the bottom ridge of the skirt. Other times, the skirt hike happens in a more pronounced way by grabbing the bottom of the skirt and pulling it up a few inches or more, to reveal more leg.

Smiles: Many biologists think the smile had roots as a fearful gesture as a sort of “fear grin”. Smiles are controlled by two sets of muscles which are the zygomatic major muscles, that run down the side of the face to connect to the corners of the mouth and the orbicularis oculi muscles that pull the eyes back. Today though, human smiles are a universally submissive gesture to show we are non-threatening and they also symbolize pleasure, amusement, or anxiety (grimace).

Sneering: Sneers activate the buccinator muscles located on the sides of the face to draw the corners of the lips sideways toward the ears. Sneering is universal signal of contempt, arrogance, disapproval and disrespect.

Social gaze: Non-threatening eye contact that travels in a triangular pattern from eye to eye then to the mouth making some but infrequent trips to the rest of the body. This gaze is brief, lasting only a few seconds followed by breaks in eye contact.

Sociology: Is a realm of study that looks at society and how it functions using very broad disciplines. To the nonverbalist, sociology looks at the effects of body language on social order, its maintenance and its effects.

Social space zone: A distance of five to twelve feet which we employ as a buffer between people we interact with for everyday relationships that we do not know well.

Sommer, Robert: Distinguished professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of California, Davis who began researching the use of space in the 1950’s. He’s best known for his book “Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design” published in 1969. He also authored “Expertland”, “Personal Space”, “Design Awareness”, “Tight Spaces”, “Street Art”, “Sidewalk Fossils”, “The End of Imprisonment”, “The Mind’s Eye”, “A Practical Guide to Behavioral Research”, among others.

Song-like laughs: Also called voiced laughs and are typically sounds such as “ha,ha,ha” or “he,he,he”. Song like laughs are seen as more attractive in both sexes rather than unvoiced laughter.

Spatial empathy: An informal term used by expatriate workers in Hong Kong and then

later into Japan and China who were typically from Australia, England, France and the United States. Even though the city itself was very westernized, the walkways and public transport system were very crowded by comparison. Preventing intrusion into their personal space was proven difficult and at times impossible. Spatial empathy therefore describes a state or mind whereby people are either aware of the needs of peoples space or are not.

Space invasion: Happens when people come to close to another such that it creates anxiety and defensive body language.

Square jaws: A masculine facial feature that has been tied to female preference for one-night-stands. It is also rated by women as a feature predictive of less stability in child rearing (fatherhood) and so men with square jaws are chosen more often during lustful affairs, rather than for long term relationships.

Square table seating: Square tables can form defensive, competitive and cooperative arrangements depending on seating location. Cooperate by sitting side by side across a corner and competitive by facing head on across the table. They are ideal for short meetings, or to create superior or subordinate relationships.

Stalling body language or stalling tactics: Body language that delays decision making. It is usually found as the time nears to sign contracts, fill out paper work, or purchase orders. It includes behaviours such as cleaning glasses, taking a smoke break, sipping a drink, adjusting clothing, or chatting about topics that are insignificant.

Stammering eyes: The action of keeping the eyes closed for prolonged periods of time. Can sometimes give liars away.

Standing at attention: A standing position where the legs are together, neither one in front of the other. It signifies “no comment” and a person who has neither committed to stay or go. It is used more often by women than by men, and it happens when meeting with higher ranking people indicating subordination.

Standing square: When people who speak to each other stand facing each other directly. It is a confrontational orientation similar to those nearing, or in physical conflict.

Stare test: A test to verify if a person is purposely overstepping the moral looking time. It involves making eye contact initially with a stranger, then frequent and randomly looking back to see if the stranger is still looking.

Starter’s position (the): A readiness gesture indicating a desire to end a conversation and leave, or take some other form of action. It is done by placing both hands on the knees when seated and leaning forward. While standing it happens by placing the hands on the hips.

Steinzor effect: When larger groups meet in the competitive arrangement with many people facing one another across a rectangular table, it is most often the person to the front of the speaker directly across the table that talks next, and rarely the person to their side. This has been termed the “Steinzor effect” and was named after the researcher Dr. Bernard Steinzor in 1950 who first discovered the occurrence.

Stealing looks: A look that is stolen is one that happens by looking to the sides without turning the head. Both sexes do it to check out a sexual prospect, a rival while at the same time remain safe from detection.

Stiff arm: A defensive arm distancing posture that happens by thrusting the arm forward and away from the body with the palm face vertical in a “stop” type signal in order to indicate to another person that they have overstepped personal space boundaries.

Stiff arm and thrust forward handshake: A handshake that occurs by thrusting forward after meeting so as to put another off balance. Comes from people who require more space than ordinary.

Submissive body language: Any body language that forces the one to take up less space. It can include shoulders hunched, arms folded inward or crossed, or legs together. The tighter the body position the more submissive the body language.

Sub-typical: A person or group of people who fall on the left side of a gradient or bell curve in terms of their actions or popularity. They are below average.

Suckling: The mouth and lips are full of nerve endings which, when stimulated, provides tactile gratification and comfort. However, anytime the fingers go to the mouth or play with the side of the mouth or lip, it’s a retrogressive action indicating insecurity since the gesture is an attempt to pacifying as an infant would.

Suprasternal notch: The dimple located just below the neck between the Adam’s apple and the breast bone which women habitually cover when nervous, distressed, threatened, insecure, fearful or uncomfortable.

Super-typical: A person or group of people who fall on the right side of a gradient or bell curve in terms of their actions or popularity. They are above average.

Supplication: Refers to body language that is designed to lower inherent self value in the eye of someone else who holds something desirable in hopes of obtaining it from them. Nonverbal supplication involves leaning forward to show interest while speak with someone, rather than leaning back, forcing them to chase. There are some cases where supplication is warranted such as conceding to higher ranking officials or employers, but others where it is ill advised, such as in dating, where the creation and maintenance of social value is paramount, especially in men.

Surprise: Characterized by an upward curve of the eyebrows, widening of the eyes to reveal the whites and a drop of the jaw.

Swagger: A way of carrying the body that emits extreme confidence and self esteem, strength, charisma, a sense of masculinity, and even danger. Having swagger implies that a person has excellent and attractive body language including posture and movement, eye patterns and voice tonality such that it creates envy in men and awe in women.

Symbolic stripping: Includes loosening ties, removing jackets or over-shirts, rolling up the sleeves, undoing buttons and so forth. The nonverbal message it entails is mixed since it depends on context. It can deliver a sexual message in a romantic situation, getting down to business at work, or comfort when done around friends.

Symbols: Learned gestures that represent particular sentiments.

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

For more information on BodyLanguage be sure to check out: BodyLanguageProject.com and the Ebook – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Body Language Dictionary ::R::

Christopher Philip — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:00:14 +0000

R – Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary:

Rapport: When bodies flow in unison while in conversation as if in a dance, they have achieved perfect rapport. Good rapport includes, proper turn taking in speech, matched pace, tonality and volume, mirroring or echoing with respect to posture, matched gesturing and agreement indicators are present and used appropriately to create a seamless and synchronous conversation between two or more people. Rapport is a nonverbal necessity in forming social bonds in friends, in sales to produce comfort and agreement. In all situations, rapport produces liking. It is good rapport that is felt when people feel relaxed and comfortable with others.

Rectangular table seating arrangements: A table dimension that makes it possible to structure power. The head of the table gains the most power except when it puts their back to the door. Power trickles down as one moves down the table from the head. The person sitting opposite the head is in a competitive arrangement with them.

Regulators: Used to modulate and maintain the flow of the speech, or turn taking, during a conversation. They include kinesic such as head nods or nonkinesic such as eye movements as well as verbal utterances such as “mhums” and “yeses.”

Reinforced arm crossing: A full arm cross in combination with clenched fists in a cluster. This cluster indicates hostility and defensiveness. When arm crossing is combined with a tight-lipped smile or clenched teeth is signifies that a verbal or physical confrontation is immanent.

Rejection body language: Cues used to repel others such as turning the head away and body away, holding an expressionless face, fidgeting and so forth.

Readiness to submit postures: Cues that can eliminate, or significantly reduce the possibility of confrontation usually done by making the body smaller and lowering the eyes.

Ready language: Postures or positions that indicate a desire to leave or take action. Putting the weight forward on the toes, extending a foot in the direction one wishes to exit and putting the hands on the knees are a few examples.

Register: Is the range of the voice from its highest of highs to it’s lowest of lows.

Relaxed body postures: Found in people that feel they belong or “own” a situation. They include a loose and open body.

Resonance: An aspect of voice cause by vibrations in the vocal chambers such as the mouth or pharynx. An authoritative voice resonates from within the chest whereas thin and tight vocal cords produce resonance through the head creating a higher resonance. Low resonances are deep, mellow and earthy, whereas high resonance appears nasal and at times annoying.

Rictus: A term stemming from the Latin word meaning “open mouth.” A fixed grimace resulting from extreme shock or nervousness.

Rogatory posture: When the arms are completely outstretched with palms up we call it the “rogatory” posture, or prayer-like. It is a posture used to signify a desire to be believed and trusted however it also tells of a person who lacks conviction.

Room encompassing glance: Occurs when a women first casts her eyes around the room for 5 to 10 seconds. If she spots someone she is interested in, she will take a second look. This second glance is directed toward a specific man. It will be short, and she will rotate her head 25 to 40 degrees to the side then look away (usually downward) within about 3 seconds. Women usually continue this behavior until they meet their target’s eyes. At this point, the target and the woman will hold a mutual gaze lasting about 3 seconds with eye contact broken most often by the women.

Rotation of the pelvis: While sitting or standing, a woman may subtly roll her pelvis to draw attention to her sexuality.

Round table seating arrangements: A relaxed informal way to sit that promotes discussion among people and creates egalitarian relationships.

Rituals: Habitual gestures that repeat within a culture including ceremony, idiosyncrasies or social norms.

Rituals of nervousness: Person specific patterns that outline tension in a person. They can include stroking the arm of a chair, playing with a pen, playing with the hair, or adjusting clothing.

Rubbing the eye: Usually signifying doubt or disbelief although sometimes indicating fatigue or to alleviate an itch.

Rubbing the hands gestures: A universal signal indicating that someone is prepared to receive something and is figuratively like washing or cleaning them. In an evolutionary sense it is mean to keep the gift which is about to be received clean. We often see those closing important contracts or sales rubbing their hands.

Rubbing the forehead: An evaluative body language gesture but also one that signals an internal struggle where slight to severe discomfort is being experienced.

Rule of four: States that to get an accurate reading of people’s body language you need to find at least four congruent signals at the same time.

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

For more information on BodyLanguage be sure to check out: BodyLanguageProject.com and the Ebook – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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