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.

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

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Zoology: The branch of biology that focuses on the structure, function, behavior and evolution of animals.  It encompasses zoography, comparative anatomy, animal physiology, molecular biology, ethology, behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology (population genetics, heredity, variation, and reproduction), systematics (cladistics, phylogenetics, phylogeography, biogeography, taxonomy), paleontology, as well as the sub-categories such as mammalogy, herpetology, ornithology, entomology and ichthyology.  The study of zoology plays an important role in terms of the heritage and systems or origins, of which animals and humans both stem.  By making comparisons of the structures and functions of animals to humans and linking them together with respect to communication and behaviour, drawing predictive conclusions comes easy to the nonverbalist.  The study of zoology is the glue that binds the body language channel of communication together with its origin – evolution.  In other words, without the various disciplines of zoology, nonverbal communication is simply a random set of gestures and postures that have meaning in and of themselves, but no inherent explanation or reasoning behind them, and a lesser ability to cross-generalize cues through various cultures and situations.

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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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No entries, be the first to suggest a term!

Bookmark this page as we grow our dictionary.  Link-in…tell your friends!

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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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Jabbing: A type of finger pointing but with added emphasis and direction, usually aimed at a person who is being spoken to, and repeated rhythmically.  It is a rude gesture as it is as if the person is being stabbed.

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Jaw tightening or jaw clenching: A nonverbal signal that indicates hidden grief, stress, anxiety or that aggression is being suppressed.  The jaws appear to be tightly compressed and the teeth can even be ground together.

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Jerky movements: Unpredictable, twitching, erratic, flailing wildly, theatrical, impulsive or random motions by the head, arms, hands, feet, legs, torso and so forth.  Jerky movements can also spread to the voice as it becomes high pitched and increases in volume.  Jerky movements spells hysteria, unflattering, frustration, and breeds a lack of respect in others.  It says nonverbally, “I have lost complete control.”

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Warding Harding error or The Harding effect: A term originating out of the twenty-ninth president Warren Harding who was voted into office based primarily on his outer appearance – he just looked presidential.  He had a booming voice, piercing eyes and charisma which was enough for the voters in the early 1920’s.  Author Malcolm Gladwell coined the term in his book Blink that says that we judge by appearance, and we judge quickly, but that this decision is not always correct.  Harding turned out to be corrupt and suffering from marital affairs demonstrating how dubbed voters had been.

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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.

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Wave: The hand is raised and moved back and forth.  It is a long distance greeting gesture.

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Whining voice or whine: A voice trait aimed specifically at manipulating other people without using forceful words or asking for something outright.  It is sometimes sign-song like, high pitched and nagging.  Those who use whining voices are usually followers by nature and often prefer complain rather than take action to rectify issues hoping others will take care of them.  When suggestions are rejected, they often withdraw and pout.  Whiners often surround themselves with people who are sympathetic to their complaints and help them.

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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.

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Whistling: Blowing air over the lips and teeth to produce a high pitched sound – often producing a ‘tune’ with varying music notes.  Whistling indicates contentment, usually, however it can also signify the desire to be pacified making it context specific.

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Wide arms: A long distance embrace-indicator.  The arms are spread wide apart and eye contact is established with the target or targets.  Entertainers can be seen performing this gesture toward their audience after completing a routine.

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Wiggle (the): An erotic gait type performed by women wishing to display femininity.  It is a shifting of the weight from one hip to the other.

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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.

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Witch’s brows: Naturally low set eyebrows making a women appear sinister.

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Whistling: A nonverbal message indicating contentment or conversely meant to pacify and calm.

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Wincing eyes: Wincing happens as the eyelids are quickly tightened.  An eyeblocking form of body language designed to prohibit distasteful images from being received at full view.  Wincing falls into the category of microexpressions since it happens quickly and lasts only fractions of a second, yet is full of meaning.  A person might wince when reading objectionable portions of a contract.  Wincing can also be due to the sudden approach of projectiles or the sun’s glare.

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Worry body language or worry: Body language that signals that a person is concerned about something and thinks there is a good chance there will be a negative outcome.  This emotion is usually accompanied by anxiousness, nervousness and fear.  Body language spelling worry include repetitive actions such as pacing, nail biting, wringing the hands, shaking, fidgeting, lack of focus and various pacifying behaviours such as rubbing the face or playing with hair.

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Worry facial expression: A facial expression where the eyebrows come together in the middle.

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

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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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Wrist hold handshake: An intimate handshake more common for politicians than ordinary people where the wrist of the other person is grasped with the left hand.

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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 – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Ventilator (the): When a person pulls at an article of clothing, usually a shirt collar in and out so as to remove heat.  The ventilator is indicating a desire to cool due to high stress.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Verbal eloquence: Refers to the method with which people speak and the contents of their sentences.  Eloquence is soothing to listeners.  Eloquence includes characteristics such as deliberate, interesting, concise and articulate.  Frequently verbal eloquence comes with rehearsal rather than naturally although when done properly seems effortless.

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Verbal mirroring: A rapport building technique that involves matching the style of a speaker including some of the words they use and their representational system, be it visual, auditory or kinesthetic as well as other facets such as accent, draw, speed, tonality, volume, etc.  Proper verbal mirroring creates empathy quickly between near strangers.

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Visual learners or visual communicators: 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.  Visual communicators use phrases such as: Can you picture this? Just envision this.  This isn’t what it appears to be.  It’s a transparent deal.  Let me illustrate this.  Here’s what it looks like.  Our goal is in sight.  Can you see what I mean.  It’s crystal clear.  Let’s take a closer look.  Here’s a demonstration to show you.  Look, we have a lot to offer.  Imagine what can be done.

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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.

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Vocal emotion: Vocal emotion conveys various feelings such as happiness, excitement, anger, fear, grief, lust and so forth.

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Voice accents: A voice trait reflecting differences in nationality or regionality.  Accents can provide clues to the nonverbalist by dictating a targets origins and upbringing and hence their personalities and personal values.  Misreading those with accents that cause broken language can wrongfully read a person as shy, nervous, lacking in self confidence or unintelligent when they might otherwise hold opposite traits when conversing in their native language.

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Voice breathiness: A voice trait that has an unusual aimed at seduction though can also be due to illness.  Other reasons to add heavy breath while speaking includes anger, excitement, frustration, out of breath (exercise or fatigue), disbelief, nervousness, surprise, or stress.

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Voice clarity: Includes voice qualities such as enunciation, mumbling, precision and distortion.

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Voice contrast: The variability in the voice in terms including volume (loud or soft), speed (fast or slow), and pitch (high or low).

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Voice hesitation: A quality of the voice that includes starts and stops due to difficulty in finding words.

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Voice intonation or voice emphasis or voice intensity: A stressing of syllables and words that function to produce different meanings.  This voice trait is not as important while speaking English, but many language use intonation to communicate various emotions and meanings.

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Voice language: A voice quality that includes slang, proper grammar, use of clichés and colloquialisms.

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Voice pauses: The use of pauses to create emphasis, dramatic effect and to allow a listener to process incoming information.

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Voice pretentiousness or pretension or snobbery in the voice: A haughty voice.  This voice trait signifies a desire to present an image of success, sophistication, intelligence, wealth, or upper class-values.  While the aim is to appear better than others, pretentious voices often signifies insecurity, approval seeking and a desire for recognition.  A person who speaks snobbishly usually believes that they are better and more intelligent than others.

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Voice rate or voice speed: A paralingual feature of the voice describing the speed with which words are delivered.  It can vary from high energy or fast talking to low energy or slow talking.  In terms of emotions, the faster a person talks the more angry or excited they are, and the slower a person talks the more sadness is present.  Studies show that fast talkers are considered more intelligent and more knowledgeable than slow talkers.

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Voice tempo: Refers to the speed, variability, rhythm and pacing of the voice.

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Voice tonality or tone: 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.

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Voice traits: Characteristics of the voice of which outline hidden meaning about the speaker such as loud or soft voice, rapid speech or slow speech, halting speech, pitch, intonation and emphasis, flat or unemotional voice, pretension, snobbery, whining, raspy voice, mumbling and accents among others.

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Voice volume: A characteristic of the voice linked to specific meaning.  A loud voice is an indication of confidence, anger, and enthusiasm whereas a quiet voice is linked to shyness, calmness and a lack of enthusiasm.  At other times soft whispers can be used to draw people in closer and control them.

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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.

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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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V-sign or victory sign: With the palm facing outward toward another, the v-shape is made with the index finger and the middle finger with the rest of the fingers tucking into the palm.  In the West it signifies victory or peach, but when the palm faces inward, it is considered an insult in certain cultures.

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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 – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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Unemotional or flat voice: A voice that lacks emotional characteristics.  This voice trait can indicate boredom, anger, resentment, frustration, depression or a physical ailment.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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Universal tells: Gestures and postures that are the same across culture that are the most reliable in reading other people.  An example of a ‘universal tell’ is compressed lips which indicating that a person is holding a negative thought.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Up nonverbals or upwardness: A term that encompasses body language such as toes aimed upward while standing (heel down, weight on opposite foot), thumbs up, chin up, raised arms, etc.  These “up” nonverbals are gravity defying body language because they are difficult to do and require effort and commitment.  This makes these cues honest and ones that a nonverbalist can rely on.

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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.

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Upper arm grip handshake (the): An intimate political-type handshake where the hands meet and the opposite hand reaches up to grasp the upper left arm just above the elbow.  In the wrong context, this handshake will seem insincere and off-putting so should only be used with extreme caution.

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Upper lip bite: When the lower teeth bite at the upper lip.  This is a signal of true anxiety or when done routinely a pacifying gestures aimed at calming a person.

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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.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

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 – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Tanned skin or tan: When the skin is darkened due to exposure to UV rays either through tanning beds or outside exposure.  Tanned skin reveals a person’s hobbies or work environment.  When it is due to tanning can indicate vanity especially when overdone.  Tanned skin can also reveal a recent sunny vacation, or that a person works outdoors habitually and will usually have callused hands.

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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.”

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Tapping: Tapping of the feet, fingers, or with objects, it indicates boredom and a desire to exit a situation.  Other times it indicates anxiety where tapping is a form of energy release.

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Tapping a pencil on the teeth: Indicates that thought is taking place.

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

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Taste or tastefulness: Nonverbal signals that are culturally specific and also somewhat subjective indicating that a person prefers clothing and material objects that are in style or fashionable.  Having good taste reveals good judgment about social norms, a sensitivity about the opinions of others, sophistication and prosperity. The opposite signals are conveyed with poor taste.

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

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Teeth grinding or teeth clenching: 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.  Other times clenching is due to intense physical strain or in anticipation of pain.

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Teeth licking or running tongue over teeth or tongue to teeth: When the tongue is run back and forth over the teeth or lips.  This is a signal of stress as saliva production increases so does the need to move it around and swallow it.  The tongue on teeth also provides a soothing tactile stimuli aimed at reducing anxiety.

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Tells or Tell (a): 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.”

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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.

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Territorial displays: Includes nonverbal cues that make the body appear larger.  Splaying the arms, legs and feet and puffing out the chest are a few examples of territorial displays.

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

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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.

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Thigh-thigh cross or thigh thigh leg cross: A more extreme version of the knee knee cross where the leg is drawn up further onto the leg.  It is extreme in so much as the legs are more tightly crossed.  It is rarely performed by men due to their anatomy but found in women due to their wider hips.

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Thin slice assessment: The ability of humans to make decisions in astonishingly small amounts of time with only small amounts of information often involving nonverbal information – whether accurate or not.  This phenomenon is why it takes so little time to assess people coding them into characters and leaving them there relatively immutable unless rigorously challenged.  This is what makes using good nonverbals important in everyday life.

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Threat displays: Nonverbal signals designed to intimidate and predict aggression.  These include chest protrusion in men, making the body appear larger and more outstretched, fist pounding, fist clenching, raising the voice, erratic movements, and so forth.  These gestures form the prelude to physical violence.

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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.

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Thumb hiding: Placing the thumb of the same hand inside the clasped fingers, placing only the thumbs in a pants pocket with the remainder out are two ways thumbs can be hidden.  This indicates low status and low confidence.

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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.

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Thumbs up: Where the thumb is raised upward with the remaining fingers clenched together.  It indicates that all is well in North America and Europe, a sexual insult in parts of Africa, Australia, Southern Europe and the Middle East, the number 1 in Germany, and the number 5 in Japan.

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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.

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Tickling: A play gesture done to make another person laugh and squirm.

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Tie adjustment: A stereotypical male grooming cue indicating sexual interest.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Toes pointed upward (while standing): Happens when a person shifts their weight to the back foot while raising the toe of the other foot.  It is a gravity defying form of body language indicating positive feelings.

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Tongue displays: Nonverbal cues that provide cues to a person’s inner thoughts.  Lip licking, tongue protrusion and the tongue out the corner of the mouth all have specific meanings.

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Tongue protrusion or tongue out: An evolutionary throwaway gesture thought to have arisen as food rejection mechanism by infants sometimes indicating genuine focus on a task or deceit, agitation and unhappiness.

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Tongue jutting or tongue jut:  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.

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Torso shield: Placing the arms or other objects over the chest so as to protect it from perceived threat.  It indicates a difference of opinion.  Shields can be hidden and subtle such as playing with a cufflink or holding a drink across the body, or be more obvious like holding a full arm cross or hiding behind a bar top or the back of a chair.

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Torso splay: A dominance posture where the torso is seen laying back in a comfort position, the chest is puffed out, and the chest is opened or bared challenging an attack.  It indicates high comfort and that a person feels they are in charge.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Turtling or turtle (the) or turtle effect: 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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Twiddling the thumbs: A subconscious gesture indicating boredom where the interlocked fingers support the task of thumbs circling one another.

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Twitching:  Sometimes referred as a nervous twitch, a sudden short burst of movement or flinch can be due to a variety of reasons.  Twitching can be due to sudden or sustained stress, but more often than not is due to a random firing of neurons, or underlying medial disease and therefore has no meaning at all.  When it is due to stress, it is likely person specific meaning they have a tendency to twitch when under stress.

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Two-inch-drop: A female hip to waist ratio of which the hips are two inches larger than the breast.  It is a “hippy” condition and found much more in European countries such as Britain.  In Germany and Switzerland it is 2.4 inches and Sweden and France it is 3.2 inches.

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Two-inch-rise: Opposite to the two-inch-rise, the breast is two inches larger than the hips.  This produces a “pin up model” condition.  In the usual condition it is the hips that are actually narrower and not the breast that is larger producing an illusion.

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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 – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Sadness: A raise of the inner eyelids into an inverted “V” accompanied by a lift of the lower eyelids.  Often accompanied by lines across the forehead with the mouth pulled downward and a droop in the eyelids.  Sadness also sees an overall depletion of energy, enthusiasm, trembling, slowing of metabolism and crying.

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Salute or obeisance: A gesture done by raising the hand with fingers outstretched rigidly to the side of the head near the temple.  It is usually done in a military context, but can also be done in ordinary context.  The gesture is designed to show respect among rank.

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Sarcasm or sarcastic: These are body language signals that show mock approval or enthusiasm.  An example showing sarcasm is a distorted or uneven smile where the mouth is raised only on one side.

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Scanning eye movements: An eye pattern used when gathering information from the surroundings.  It is characterized by raised eyebrows and wide eyes to provide the maximum field of view.

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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.

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Scratching: In proper context indicates uncertainty and a lack of knowledge such as when being asked a question.  The scratching behaviour is a pain inducer which causes painkilling hormones to be released to create relaxation in the face of emotional discomfort.  Other times, scratching is simply to alleviate an itch.

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Scratching the neck: This is a stress related behaviour aimed at pacifying and also protecting since the neck is a vulnerable part of the body.  Scratching the neck is done when under stress and when faced with uncertainty.

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Screaming or shouting (a):  When motivated by anger, screaming or shouting says that a person has lost their dignity and resolve and says that a person has lost control.

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Screaming or shouting (b): When motivated by happiness screaming signals ecstasy and good fortune.  A person might scream when they win a match or are reunited with loved ones.

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

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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.

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Secretiveness body language: When a person wishes to withhold information from other people.  Secretive people often reveal very little about themselves and their personal lives or may keep certain facets of their life private.  Secretive body language includes maintaining distance both emotionally and often physically, whispering, guarded posture with shoulders hunched, covering the mouth, body oriented away, pursed lips, tight jaw, frequent glancing down during conversations, eye avoidance, routinely hiding tracks and removing personal belongings from view.

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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.

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

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Seduction: The behavioural process resulting in sexual intercourse.

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Self administered hug: When the arms are crossed and wrapped around the body.  At times, the hands will pacify by rubbing the shoulders.  Hugs, done in this way, indicate a need for reassurance as a mother would sooth a child.

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Self-awareness: The consciousness of how ones self is viewed by others through nonverbal channels.  Nonverbal self awareness includes overall attractiveness, marketability, capacity to impress, and having a lack of objectionable characteristics.

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Self branding: The creation of a polished self image such that it increases its marketability.  Branding says that in all facets of life, a person is selling themselves, be it to friends, family and at work.

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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.

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Self slapping: When the open palm is quickly slapped against the head and have various meanings depending on its location.  For example a forehead slap means that a person realizes they’ve made a mistake and a hand slapping the back of the neck indicates that they feel someone is being a pain.

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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.

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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.

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Sex flush: A measles-like rash appearing as women (and sometime men) nears orgasm.  It appears on the breasts and chest and is found in nearly seventy-five percent of women and twenty-five percent of men.  This sex flush is not found at any other time and is not a reaction to temperature.

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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.

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Sexual harassment body language: Any nonverbal body language that offends another person in a sexual manner such as unwanted come-ons, crude sexual joke, eye contact, touching, and so forth.  There is much controversy about sexual harassment stemming from the fact that it is defined differently between the sexes.  Women feel that any man is grounds to harass whereas men feel that it can only come from women in more powerful position than them (bosses, managers).  Women also define harassment from its origin.  Meaning that touch from more attractive men is not harassment, but when the same form of touching coming from less attractive men is deemed otherwise.

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Sexual suggestiveness attire or fashion: A person who chooses dress that is exceptionally sexy and revealing.  This type of fashion can be worn by a person who is either confident or insecure, but in either case, is trying to gain the attention of others.  This type of person is usually self-centered, vain and extroverted.  When worn out of context, sexy attire reveals a lack of good judgment.  The sexy dresser is also often sexually liberated, but also can be a confident tease.

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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.

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Shake and wait approach: A technique that helps decide the level of liking that is present.  It is done by shaking hands as usual then taking a step backwards and seeing what transpires.  Someone that likes the other person will shrink the distance, while those that don’t, will maintain distance and even aim their bodies away.  Other times distance is maintained for cultural or personal reasons.

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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.

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Shoe play: An indicator of comfort and agreement, usually found in a courtship setting done by a woman where the heel of the shoe is removed or the entire shoe dangled from a toe.  When agreement and comfort is not established the shoe will be put back on so as to be more prepared to escape.

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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.

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Shoulder embrace: A nonverbal signal of affection where arms are put around another’s shoulders.  This might occur between adult men, or between a mother and her child and is therefore non-sexual in nature.

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Shoulder shake: A conspicuous vibration, hunching and raise and lowering of the shoulders in secession accompanying laughter.  It is also termed “shaking with laughter.”

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Shoulder shrugs or shoulder rise: A universal expression of doubt and uncertainty.  They are done by moving the shoulders upward toward the ears.  Shoulder shrugs can signify ignorance, indifference, helplessness, or resignation.

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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.

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Sideways glance or sidelong glance or glancing sideways: 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.

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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.

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Sighs: An exhalation of air accompanied with a low huff or tone.  This signifies frustration, being overwhelmed or weighted down, burdened and thoughts of powerlessness.  Other times sighs are done at the completion of a difficult task spelling relief.  Sighs can be so low as to be barely distinguishable from ordinary exhalation.

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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.

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Silent language: The set of information which transferable from person to person of which there are no sounds whatever.  Silent language is a set of gestures, postures and facial expressions emitted all of the time, by all people regardless of their intentions.

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Situational awareness: Having a sense of where one is at all times with respect to the environment and the people in it.  It is a total picture of what is happening with every, or most of the facets going on around a person.  A nonverbalist must have a high situational awareness to be a proficient ready of nonverbal communication.

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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.

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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.

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Slow speech or slow talking or slow talker: A speech trait where the speaker talks at a rate that is slower than ordinary.  Can be due to comfort and relaxation, or discomfort.  Slow speech can be due to trying to make an important point, anxiousness, confusion, lying, grief, fatigue, deep thought, illness or the influence of drugs or alcohol.

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Smells or olfaction or odors: A very powerful area of nonverbal communication that is rarely given the importance it deserves. This area of body language covers all aspects of odor from those consciously perceived to those which are not such as pheromones.  A person can read very distinct habits from a person’s odor.  They can detect their hygiene such as if they’ve recently washed their hair, the types of soaps they use, if they’ve brushed their teeth recently or used mouth wash and it has been postulated that a man can detect a women’s ovulation cycle.  Studies also show that women prefer men to carry scents of other women as a means of attraction.  Scents can tell you if a person smokes, what they’ve eaten and so forth.  Environmental scents are also important to the nonverbalist.  They tell of recent rain such as wet grass, fresh baking, lingering cologne signaling a foreign presence, pollution or cleaning chemicals and so forth which provide hints as to activities occurring nearby.

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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).

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Smooth movements: Controlled and conscious movements of the hands, arms, feet, head and torso that do not dart or jerk in any way.  The voice is steady, low and in control, it does not raise, yell or scream.  This fluidity demonstrates confidence, control, authority, trust, and commands respect from others.  It says Alpha.

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Sneering or sneer (the): 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.

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Social dynamics: The study of the interaction humans have with each other inside society at large.  To the realm of nonverbal behaviour, social dynamics represents the influence body language has on a group of people inside a given situation.

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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.

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Social touching: Touching between friends and family including hand holding, hugging, offering a hand to steady, helping someone with their coat.

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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.

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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.

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Soft voice: A voice that is so quiet it is difficult to make out what is being said.  This voice trait is sometimes used to manipulate others who strain to hear what is being said or mean that the speaker lacks confidence and assertiveness.  Other times a soft voice implies a quiet confidence from a person who lacks a desire to control a conversation.  Other meanings of soft voice includes a withdrawl from a conversation due to confrontation, discomfort or nervousness, grief or sorrow, that a person is lying, forcing a person to move closer (power play), to limit what is being heard, tiredness or illness.

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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.

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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.

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

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Spatial awareness: The ability to properly control and use space to a person’s benefit.  This includes respecting (or disrespecting as in a power play) space zone, their touch restrictions, and even voice volume.  It also includes the relationship of the body to nearby objects and a person’s position in a room.  To have a poor sense of spatial awareness a person lacks a sense of their surroundings.  To the nonverbalist it includes a cognition of how space is used with the people around them so as to read hidden messages of like, dislike, intimacy, etc.

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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.

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Spatial needs: The relative amount of area that is reserved for a person of which no one else is permitted to enter.

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Speech hesitation: Differing from pauses, speech hesitations are time wasters imparted by people who lack the knowledge to properly and directly address concerns.  They usually use filler words such as “hmms” and “ahhs” or “like.”  Speech hesitation says that a person lacks confidence.

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Speech-independent gestures: A deliberate body language cue that is a replacement for a specific word or short phrase which are usually culturally specific.  Examples include shoulder shrugs for “I don’t know”, waving for “Hello” or “Goodbye”, Index finger to lips for “Be quiet”, etc.

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Speech-related gestures: A deliberate body language cue that accompanies speech serving to punctuate, emphasize and to regulate the flow of speech.

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Splay or splaying: When the body is made to appear larger by spreading out the arms and legs, leaning back and puffing out the chest.  It is a high confidence and high dominance display.  It often indicates territoriality and in the wrong context disrespect and indifference.

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Spontaneous body language: Body language that occurs automatically, unintentionally and without conscious awareness.  These include various visceral fear responses as well as other nonverbals which are leaked.  Throughout life, people are taught to manage these naturally occurring gestures, postures and signals but they are usually readily occurring in young children and teenagers such as when the stare and point at unique looking people.  Extroverted individuals also emit more spontaneous body language when compared to introverted individuals.  Spontaneous nonverbal language is the most useful type since it represents true underlying emotions rather than deliberate body language.

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Spreading body language: When the body takes up more space rather than less space.  For example, the arms might be placed over the back of the chair rather than crossed and the legs might be spread apart.  It indicates dominance and comfort.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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Stardust chairs or stardust seating positions: These are the seats flanking the head of the table which are those with the second most powerful. They are called stardust because they are close enough to the leader that his star power or “dust” is likely to rub off on them.  When these chairs are usurped it signifies that a person is a wannabe leader rather than one deserved based on performance.

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Stare or gaze fixation or eye threat: An offensive eye pattern where the eyes often remain unblinking and threatening or leer at another person for an uncomfortable length of time.  It is as if the eyes are assaulting and of which the eye contact is done without permission and of which violates the moral looking time and so produces, and is the result of, negative (but sometimes sexual) feelings.

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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.

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Starter’s position (the) or Sprinter’s position or knee clasp (the) or Sitting at the edge of the chair: A readiness gesture and an intension movement 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.

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Stature and height: One of the most important physical qualities in maintenance and creation of dominance especially in men.  Studies show that the relative height of a man translates directly into earning potential and sexual attractiveness as defined by women.  Women are also affected by height, except in a much different way.  Women who are taller are seen as less desirable by men, but also as more dominant.

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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.

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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.

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Step to the right handshake technique: A method of thwarting the palm-down dominant handshake presented by a power player.  It involves stepping forward with the left foot as you reach to shake hands, then stepping forward with the right foot so as to move across the body and into the other person’s personal space while twisting their hand from downward facing, to even and then upward facing.  Finally, the left leg is brought forward.  The goal, and the result of this technique, is to turn what would have been a submissive palm up handshake into a palm even or palm down dominant handshake.

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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.

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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.

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Stiff upper-lip (the): Done by compressing the lips tightly and indicates thought process when someone is trying to come up with an alternate idea.

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Stroking body language: Gestures that include touching the face, cheek, head, neck, shoulder, arm, hand or leg in response to negative stimulus in order to create comfort and to pacify.

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Stride (the): A cool but dominant gait type characterized by unusually long strides.

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Strutting: A swagger while walking that displays confidence, dominance and usually sex appeal.  Men are said to strut when trying to appear masculine in the eye of women.

Women can also strut, but it’s not as typical as it is for men.  Shoulders back, head up, as if swimming through the air moving the upper body back and forth.

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Stubborn or stubbornness: An emotion delineating a lack of desire to cooperate conveyed through body language by gestures and postures.  The cues include arm crossing, a closed leg posture, staring eyes or down-turned head, a tight mouth and sometimes even pouting.

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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.

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Substituting: One of the six main categories of body language.  This is body language that is used to directly replace verbal words.  A person might use body language rather than words when the words are embarrassing to speak, too difficult to speak, a person can’t find the right words so uses gestures or wishes to avoid conflict.  Substitution includes such body language as turning the toes and torso away from a person when wishing to end a conversation.

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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.

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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.

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Sudden nonverbal changes: Are nonverbal patterns that, in a moment’s time, change.  They indicate the presence of a telltale stimulus and one worth noting to the body language reader.

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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.

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Suprasternal notch or neck dimple: 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.

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Super female signals: The exaggeration of features that are characteristic of the female sex, and of which men find particularly appealing.  For example, super sexual signals include breasts that are not only large, but very large, feet that are not only small, but very small, hips that are not only wide, but very wide.  This extends to long hair, long eyelashes, long legs and hairlessness (except the head).

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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.

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Suppressed expressions: Facial expressions that appear subconsciously, but are quickly impeded or modified so as to conceal them from view and present a more desirable expressions.  Reading these cues can indicate honest feelings.

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Surprised body language: A state of mind usually accompanied by fear, excitement or pleasure.  Body language indicating surprise include stepping backwards or away to avoid the stimulus, ducking or head covering, extending the arms and legs outward, jumping upwards, dropping the mouth, widening the eyes, gasping or screaming.

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Surprised facial expression or surprised:  Characterized by an upward curve of the eyebrows, widening of the eyes to reveal the whites and a drop of the jaw.

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Suspicious body language or suspicion: Nonverbal cues that indicate that a person is wary of another’s motives and so is pensive.  Eye squinting and having focused eyes that track a target are two ways suspicion is conveyed.  Other body language indicating suspicion includes furrowed brows, turning the head sideways then upwards as if thinking, peering over glasses and tightening of the lips.

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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.

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Sweating: A limbic response due to high stress or anxiety.  It usually occurs in the armpits, hands and often the forehead.

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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.

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Symbols: Learned gestures that represent particular sentiments.

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Symmetry: Having equal proportions from the right to the left side.  Extensive scientific research shows that symmetry is a key element to beauty, especially as it applies to the face.

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Synchrony: When the body’s of two people seem to have a flow or to be moving in unison.  Synchrony happens when the arm and leg movements mirror or echo the person or persons they are interacting with, when verbal cues are copied, or even when attire is matched building commonality.  Synchrony indicates agreement of ideas and that a common ground has been established.

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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 – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.

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Radical hair styles: A person who’s hair is far beyond ordinary.  This person is usually rebellious, adventurous, trendy, a nonconformist, artistic, expressive, is trying to fit in with certain peers, has no regard for personal appearance, has a need to be different or is being affect by their culture.

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Rapid speech: A voice trait when the rate of speaking occurs at an above average rate making what is being said difficult to follow.  Talking fast can be due to lying (fast talking salesman), a reaction to growing up in a house where it was hard to get a word in, a basic insecurity, poor self-esteem, efforts to gain attention, nervousness, impatience, anxiety, insecurity, excitement, fear, drugs or alcohol use, anger, desire to persuade or being caught in a lie.

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Rapport or rapport building:  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.

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Raspy voice: A raspy voice is a trait usually found in people who smoke, but it can also be due to a cold, bronchitis or physical ailment.  Other times a raspy voice is due to overuse or misuse of the vocal cords.

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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.

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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.

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Reading readiness: When a nonverbal reader has the foundation, understanding and awareness to predict behaviour in other people.  It involves knowing the catalogue of body language cues in addition to their meaning, and then carefully observing them in others with an unbiased, objective eye to decipher hidden meaning.

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Recognition gestures: An indication that a person has identified someone familiar.  The signals include a smile, eye widening, eyebrow flash, waving and so forth.

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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.

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Regal stance: A standing body position whereby the arms are placed behind the back.  It signifies a desire not to be touched and a haughty attitude.  Royalty and those of high rank will be seen performing this stance.

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Regulating: One of the six main categories of body language.  This category of body language carries all that is aimed at controlling the pace of a message.  It includes all body language used in proper turn-taking such as head nodding, mouth gapping to indicate a desire to speak, eye contact, and so forth.

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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.”

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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.

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Rejection body language:  Cues used to repel others such as turning the head away and body away, holding an expressionless face, staring blankly, bringing the hand up to stifle a false or real yawn, sneering, fidgeting or picking the fingernails, open rejection of conversation, and so forth.

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Regional style: Fashion and apparel that provides cues to a person’s heritage.  They can include male bikini style bathing suits, cowboy hats, distinctive jewelry or other accessories, big hairdos and so forth.

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

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Relaxed body language: Relaxed includes a letting down of defensive and closed body language that is typically guarded and rigid for a more open or loose form body language as a person becomes more comfortable.  Examples of relaxed body language include a loose body, leg spreading, removing attire, increasing proximity and gesticulation.  More extreme relaxation includes laying down or throwing a leg over the arm of a chair.

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

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Remotivating or remotivate: Nonverbal gestures used to control the reaction of others.  When a women displays sexually to gain an advantage she is said to be remotivating her target.  Acting submissive to dominant individuals is also a form of remotivating.

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Repeating: One of the six main categories of body language.  Repeating says that body language is used to convey the same meaning as what was just iterated verbally.  If one says “move that over there” then, after a moment pointing in the direction to which one wants something moved, then body language has served to repeat a thought.

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Reptilian brain (the) or the honest brain: The reptilian brain produces visceral bodily responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, circulation, respiration, digestion, and reproduction.  The reptilian brain is the brain stem.  It produces nonverbal body language that is deemed more truthful than that generated by the neocortex which is capable of producing conscious movements.  When a person defense their territory and competes for dominance it is due to the reptilian brain.

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Resentment body language or resent: A set of signals that forms the backdrop to anger or jealousy that happens when someone has had something taken away from them of which creates envy and negative feelings toward that person.  The body language of those with resentment habitually involves some form of distancing from the stimulus which has caused the emotion.  Resentment body language includes crossing the arms, stiffening of the body, grimacing, pouting, avoidance, looking away and various anger signals.

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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.

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Restraint, restrained, restraining or restricted behaviour: Nonverbal language and movement that is more limited than a person’s baseline.  It often indicates a fear response due to anxiety and sometimes predicts lying.

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

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Risorius: Muscles located at the corners of the lips which stretch the mouth toward the ears in the false smile.

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Ritual gestures: Movements that are created between two or more people to build a connection.  They can include blowing kisses from mother to infant, silly dance moves, or secrete handshakes.  These can extend into adulthood through sports such as end-zone celebrations and other elaborate signals.  These gestures are aimed at building relationships and connectivity since they are formulated between close knit people in an exclusive setting.

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Rocking: A rhythmic motion of the torso from side to side or from front to back.  Usually rocking signifies a negative thought and based on its intensity and persistence spells to what degree it is felt.  High intensity rocking is found in the mentally ill, and low grade rocking can be found in infants who are bored.  Rocking also indicates nervousness and can be found in people preparing for sporting events, or to take stage.  In this case, rocking is a substitute for pacing.

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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.

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Rolled up sleeves (on men): Most powerful when done in a shirt and tie, this gesture symbolizes a desire to get down to business in a less formal manner.  Barack Obama can be seen doing this when speaking on change and action.  Women usually perceive this body language as masculine and sexy since it puts the forearms on display.

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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.

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

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Roving eyes: Eyes that wander all over the room making a person seem disinterested and superior.

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

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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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Rule of mixed signals (the): This nonverbal rule says that when there is a mismatch between someone’s body language and their words, rely more heavily on the body language when trying to accurately read a person.

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Rule of negative body language (the): This nonverbal rule says that when a person mixes positive and negative body language rely more on the negative cues than the positive cues.  The rule is designed to account for the fact that a person is habitually hiding negativity so as to appear more in control and less abrasive in the eyes of others.

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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 – The Body Language Guide to Dating, Attraction and Sexual Body Language.