Tag Archive for Eyebrows

Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary ::S::

by Christopher Philip • March 28, 2010 • 0 Comments

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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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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Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary ::O::

by Christopher Philip • March 26, 2010 • 0 Comments

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Oblique eyebrows of grief: In this facial expression the eyebrows are pulled upward more so than the otter ends.

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Observation: Observation in body language reading implies that one actively watches the entire disposition of a person from their head to their toes including all their verbal and paraverbal cues. There is a big disparity between just seeing something and actively evaluating what is being seen and this is what separates an average body language reader, from an expert.

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Oddball handshake: A handshake that often includes bumps, slaps, flicks and clicks. Meant to display a relaxed casual atmosphere and has its place to forming intimate friendships and bonds.

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Offensive gestures: Culturally specific gestures that produce negative feelings in others such as the middle finger in the West and the okay signal in Europe.

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Offered (the): The hands are palm up as if giving a gift. This is a beggar’s plea where agreement is desperately sought from the audience.

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Office artifacts or office props: Office artifacts include any objects that take up space in the place of work. They can be used to display status such as the use of trophies, plaques, certificates or interests such as model cars, sports memorabilia or pictures hung on walls such a nature or fishing adventures. Lawyers are usually portrayed in front of a large library of books which is a nonverbal signal of the mountain of knowledge that “backs them.”

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“OK” gesture: Done by placing the thumb against the index finger forming an opening with the remaining fingers flared out. It is considered more thought provoking and honest when compared to finger pointing because it place emphasis onto the speech rather than the listeners. In Belgium and France however, it means that something is worthless, in Tunisia, Sicily and Southern Italy is an insult, and in Japan that they wish their change returned in coins.

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Ok personality: People that are psychologically comfortable with who they are. They usually have upright posture, with shoulders firm and square, head raised and their body is balanced.

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Olfactory processing: A secondary way of processing information like visual and auditory except the primary means involves the sense of smell. It falls out of the normal realm with which people process information they receive but is occasionally referred to as a vestige. People will use terms such as the following when they refer to their olfaction: This deal stinks. Something smells wrong here. Did you get a whiff of that? This is fresh.

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Once over (the): A sexual or competitive eye pattern that follows the body over its entire form from the toes to the top of the head stopping at the buttocks, breasts and face, typically performed by men. Women are rarely caught looking men over due to their superior peripheral vision. Men have hunter eyes and focus intently on smaller areas. When it signals competitiveness it is usually done by women onto other women looking for a “cat fight.”

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Open body language or openness: Any and all body language that shows that a person is ready to communicate and accept ideas from others. It happens when no part of the body covers the midway-point of the bisected body. The arms and legs are not crossed and the palms are up. Even clothing might be relaxed such as shirt collars being unbuttoned, the pants might hang loose and certain articles like jackets might be removed. Other signals of openness includes increased proximity, prolonged eye contact, warm and relaxed smile, intimate greetings such as hugs and cheek kissing.

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Opposite body language: A pick-up technique where men play hard-to-get by displaying teasing nonverbal cues or even outright disinterest. The object of opposite body language is to appear “chase worthy” in the eyes of women by appearing to be superior to them and avoid appearing “needy.”

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Oral displacement activities: An unconscious gesture aimed at self soothing by using parts of the body such as fingers or hair, or inanimate objects like pens by mouthing them. Scientists have speculated that it is a developmental throwback when we would suckle as infants. Oral displacement can include biting finger nails, sucking pencils, mouthing the stems of the glasses or passing hair through the mouth. Smokers can also be said to have oral displacement fixation where they habitually place objects in their mouth to sooth.

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Orbicularis oculi muscles: One of two muscles that produce smiling. These muscles serve to pull the eyes back to produce the honest smile through what is called “smiling eyes”. Smiling eyes, also called “crow’s feet”, where a classic wrinkling appears in the corner of the eyes is an indication of true happiness.

Oscar Pfungst: Psychologist who uncovered that the skills under which Hans the horse was able to perform simple math had nothing to do with his intelligence, but rather his ability to read body language. He noticed that there were differences in breathing, posture and facial expressions as Hans tapped out his answer. As Hans neared to correct answer, the handlers would increase the tension they held in their body language which would tip off Hans. Once the final tap had been made, the tension suddenly disappeared from the person and so Hans took this cue to mean it was time to stop tapping.

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Orienting reflex or orienting response (a): The phenomenon whereby people turn and move toward stimuli or people they are attracted to, or agree with, rather than away from them such as those we fear or disagree with. (b) The instinctive survival instinct whereby a person orients toward movement. As it applies to nonverbal communication, the orientation reflex controls distractions in business, to maintaining the attention of children with toys, and even to the freeze response where people stop moving in order to put themselves under the radar.

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Ownership gestures: Body language that indicates that a person is in control of something. Ownership gestures are usually performed on objects, but can also be done to people. Propping the feet up on a desk or car bumper or wrapping an arm around a lover or child, are ways to show who they belong to.

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Oxytocin: A natural chemical released by the body due to touching that helps create bonding between people especially in women. In men, sex is the primary releaser of oxytocin which surges up to fives times that of normal just before reaching orgasm. Oxytocin serves to eliminate internal tensions, reduce anxiety, creates feelings of contentment, calmness and trust, and provides reassurance. The hormone is partially responsible for pacifying behaviours that include self touching.

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

For more information on Body Language 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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Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary ::G::

by Christopher Philip • March 23, 2010 • 0 Comments

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Gait or bipedal gait: Refers to the style or mechanics of locomotion in humans and animals. Scientists have identified thirty six different types of gait in the human species. They include the hobble, the mince, the glide, the bounce, the stride, the wiggle, the dart, the prance and the run.

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Gazing adoringly: An eye pattern that stems from infatuation and deep love and affection that lacks any negative emotion whatsoever. The eyes and eyelids relax and move freely from each eye to the mouth and lips, with brief glances to the rest of the face including hair and ears. Gazing adoringly happens during courtship between couples and between mothers and their newborn infants as they bond to each other.

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Gaze avoidance or averting eyes: When a person purposely prevents or avoids eye contact, either to show disinterest, to scorn, or to show a difference of opinion or even submission.

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Gazing: A gaze is an inviting display of warmth where positive emotions are attached to the face making it appear softer. Opposite to the gaze is the stare which acts like daggers shooting invisible arrows into the face of another. Eye gaze reveals cues to interest, attention, affiliation, intimacy, approval, dominance, aggression and openness to personal involvement.

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Gaze omission: Defined as a failure to look at someone without intending to (rather than avoidance).

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Gravity defying body language: Body language that is a measures a person’s exuberance and demonstrates that they feel happy. It includes raising the arms, having a bounce in the step, swinging hands while walking, having an upright posture and so forth. When sports players score a goal, they celebrate by expending energy that seems to be in no short supply by flinging their arms in the air.

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Genital framing: A posture where the hands and fingers draw attention to the genitals. Men can genital frame by placing their thumbs in belt loops and aiming the fingers toward their penis and women can place their hands on their hips aiming the fingers in the same direction.

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Genuine emotions: These are facial expressions that usually only last a fleeting moment, only to quickly disappear. Facial expressions that last too long and are poorly timed with events are usually insincere.

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Gesticulation: The use of the hands to add colour and meaning to language. Gesticulation includes movements of the hands such as hitting motions, cutting, begging and so forth.

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Gestures or gesture: A form of nonverbal communication or body language that produces specific messages and meaning. They include movements of the hands, face, and body, but do not include other facets of body language such as proxemics, facial expressions and postures, which are ways in which the body holds itself to display meaning. Gestures include emblems, that are used to replace specific words in speech, and illustrators which are used to colour language, in addition to sign language which is an entire set of body movements used to replace verbal speech altogether.

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Glide (the): An elegant gait type characterized by short but deliberate movements of the feet.

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Greeting gestures: These includes motions designed to greet others and are different across cultures. They include handshaking, bowing, waving, full salaam, namaste, cheek kissing, hugging, hand kissing and so forth.

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Greetings: These include gestures aimed at welcoming someone after a separation or done upon meeting someone for the first time. They include waves, handshakes, hugs, salutes, bows, curtseys, and so forth and are culturally specific.

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Grief muscle: The French call the area between the brows, the “grief muscle” and is activated to pull the eyebrows together to express both pain, as well as when you wish to inflict it. This muscle is sometimes flashed across the face as a microexpression.

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Grief or sorrow: A general lose of positive energy which tends to override other emotions. Signs of grief include tears, listlessness, inability to complete common tasks, isolation, apathy, downcast eyes, relaxed facial muscles, slumped body, motionless or slow movement.

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Grin or smirk: This smile indicates smugness and arrogance. It is a tight lipped smile with the addition of a degree self satisfaction for good measure. The smirk has accompanying dominant body language such as head back, shoulders back, open postures along with dialogue riddle with exuberant pride.

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Grinder, John, T.: Graduate of the University of San Francisco in the early 1960’s and bests known for his work in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) with Richard Bandler.

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Grooming and preening: These have two unrelated message in body language. One meaning says that a person is keeping their bodies clean and presentable to show the world that they are in good mental health since it is one of the first characteristics that becomes lax when disease sets in. Preening can also be used to show detachment from conversations through eye contact avoidance and attention displacement which is the case when eyes avoid contact with another in order to remove imaginary lint.

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Group dynamics: The study of how people interact in clusters drawing on fields such as psychology, sociology and communication studies including nonverbal body language. When nonverbalist examine people in groups, a complex array of body language occurs of which is not present in dyadic situations. When looking at groups it is possible to determine hierarchy, social status, friendliness or lack thereof, attraction and repulsion, amongst many others.

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Guiding body language: Using a hand to lightly push on another person’s back to move them in a desirable position, pulling someone in when shaking hands, using a finger to beckon someone closer, or using alluring eye contact are all ways to influence people to move in ways desirable.

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Guillaume Duchenne: French researcher Guillaume Duchenne was first to research smiles using electrodiagnostics and electrical stimulation to distinguish between real and fake smiles. The honest smile has also been named after him; the “Duchenne smile.”

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Guilty knowledge: Nonverbal body language that shows discomfort such as hand wringing, foot and hand withdrawal, pacifying behaviours, leaning away, stiff postures and movements, unsmiling lips, furtive looking about, restlessness and tension due to the stress associated with lying.

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Gustatory processing: A secondary way of processing information like visual and auditory except the primary means involves the sense of taste. It falls out of the normal realm with which people process information they receive but is occasionally referred to as a vestige. People will use terms such as the following when they refer to their gustatory sense: This just rolls off the tongue. This deal is sweet like candy. Don’t be so bitter. What a juicy story.

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

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

Share and Enjoy:

Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary ::D::

by Christopher Philip • March 21, 2010 • 0 Comments

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Dart (the): A type of gait characterized by short, yet indecisive burst. It signifies indecision and lack of direction.

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Darwin, Charles R.: Born 1882, Darwin was an English naturalist who proposed the mechanism of natural selection within the theory of evolution. It stated that all species of life descended from a common ancestor through decent with modification. He explained his findings in his 1859 book “On the origins of species.” In 1872 he published a book titled “The Expression of the emotions in man and animals” that discussed how animals and humans express their instinctive behaviours. In his book, he covers how man and animals both express similar states of mind by the same movements. Darwin covered “low spirits” such as anxiety, grief, dejection and despair, “high spirits” such as joy, love, tender feelings and devotion, along with hatred, anger, disdain, contempt, disgust, guilt, pride, helplessness, patience, affirmation, surprise, astonishment, fear, horror, shame, shyness, modesty and blushing.

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Death grip handshake: A macho bone crushing grip indicating aggressive personalities who intend to try to dominant you from the start.

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Debbie downer: Term used to describe a person who drags other people down simply by portraying negative body language or topics. We say these people are pessimistic and they bring us down because all people tend to mirror those around them. Therefore their negative attitude produces negative feelings around them serving to drag others down as well. Even nonverbal language where no spoken words exist can spread from person to person.

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Decoding: The act of extracting useful and accurate information based on visual nonverbal cues emitted by another person or persons.

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Defensive body language or defensiveness: Defensive body language is a set of postures that make the body feel protected, secure and comfortable in awkward situations. Defensive body language is also similar to submissive body language in that the postures are aimed at protecting vulnerable parts of our bodies, or in size reduction turning our bodies into smaller targets. Examples include crossed arms, gripping crossed arms, partial arm crosses or masked arm crosses, leg crosses, ankle crosses and foot locking, clenching the teeth, jaws or lips, averting the eyes, hands on the hips, quick exhalation and exiting from a situation.

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Deliberate body language: Body language that is consciously emitted and controlled so as to create a desirable impression. When a person feigns politeness when they really feel anger, rage or dislike, they are using deliberate body language. Deliberate body language is usually used to maintain social norms, hide negative feelings and display confidence. Deliberate nonverbal language is less useful than spontaneous nonverbals because it represents the image a person wishes to convey rather than true underlying emotions. The nonverbalist will be careful to study these as well however, since they provide clues as to how a person wishes to be perceived by others.

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Democratic bosses: Democratic bosses are most often female and their most popular sentiment is to make others feel welcome and comfortable. They will try to build personal relationships and welcome new ideas and thoughts to the conversation. Their office will have informal meeting places and the door will ‘always be open’. Other signals of the democratic leader, is her desire to build rapport, she will use touch more often if possible. To work with this type of boss, mirror their language. Use open body language when she does, and feel free to chat with her when necessary.

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Depressive body language or depressed body language or depression: When the body is weighed down by gravity such as slumping the head and shoulders, it is an indication that a person does not feel well emotionally. Depressive body language also includes desire for isolation, poor concentration, inability to focus on tasks or plan ahead, low and quiet speech, relaxed or slack body, downcast eyes, poor grooming, dejected facial expressions and inexpressive eyes, slow and deliberate movements, change in appetite, forgetfulness. Those with negative feelings lack a characteristic bounce and enthusiasm in their body movements.

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Designer labels: When a person tends toward wearing or carrying items that include prominent logos. These are clues to a person’s values and lifestyle and can outline a person’s hobbies or their desire to display wealth. The nonverbalist should make note of apparel because it is not randomly chosen, but is a reflection of a person’s character and goals. Prominent logos indicates image conscious who lacks confidence who is trying to buy credibility, souvenir t-shirts reveal a person who is trying to appear worldly, sports shirts indicate team affiliations. These themes are more meaningful when they are repeated from day-to-day.

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Dilated pupils: In body language dilated pupils indicate that a person is aroused, be it from fear or attraction. When the eyes view something stimulating, they dilate or open so as to allow more light to penetrate making seeing easier. Various studies show that our pupils also respond to positive stimuli by constricting when a person sees unpleasant or uninteresting stimuli. For example, pupils constrict when viewing nude images of the same sex but dilate when viewing images of the opposite sex.

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Diminutive movements: Movements motivated by submission which render the body less expansive and more compressed. Women are habitually seen performing this stance when trying to appear attractive to men and men will use the gesture to reduce punishment. It is performed by head lowering or bowing, pulling the arms in, crossing the legs instead of spreading them, lowered eyes and curling up. Gesturing is also reduced and when it happens, the limbs remain close to the body rather then form sweeping motions.

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Disappearing lips: When the lips are compressed tightly due to stress, anxiety and negative thought processes. It is opposite to full expressive lips that show contentment.

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Disapproval cues: Nonverbal signals that are culturally specific that serve to indicate that a behaviour is not permitted. These usually emanate from the face (“the look”), but can also stem from the body such as arm crossing, finger wagging, distancing behaviours, body orientation or ventral denial.

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Discomfort body language: Includes any body language that says that a person feels threatened. It includes body language such as ventral denial, reduced proximity, erecting barriers, freezing or reduced movement, lack of mirroring, increases in heart rate, breath rate, sweating, a change in normal colour in the face or neck, trembling or shaking in the hands lips, or elsewhere, compressing the lips, speech errors, unfriendliness, withdrawal, anger, nervousness, fidgeting, drumming the fingers and other repetitive behaviours.

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Disengagement: Body language that shows that a person wishes to exit a conversation or topic. It is usually signaled by orienting the body away from the speaker or by creating distance such as stepping away or leaning backward.

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Disguised gestures: A form of partial gesture that is incomplete and abbreviated yet hidden from view or stymied. For example, hands that rest of the lap can be turned palm upward signifying that ones doesn’t know or the shoulders might raise only a fraction of a degree to indicate that one is unsure.

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Disgust: One of the six main universal facial expressions characterized by eyebrows that are turned inward, raised upper lip, winkled nose and a raise in cheek muscles.

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Dislike (nonverbal): Nonverbal communication that shows a person lacks a connection and is in disagreement with another person. Dislike is conveyed through reduced or nonexistent eye contact, neutral facial expressions or scowling, polite smiles or non at all, ventral denial, head shaking, reduced proximity of leaning away, lack of touch or touch avoidance, hand withdrawal.

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Displacement behaviour: Displacement behaviours include actions set to preoccupy in order to dehumanize the outside world – especially in more crowded areas. The list of behaviours included nail biting, gum chewing, grooming, tapping the does, head scratching or playing with jewelry, but can also mean looking and acting ‘out of touch’ or closed off.

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Distancing or moving away: When the entire body, or part of the body moves away, rather than toward, someone or something. Distancing indicates that a person is not in tune with whatever it is they are being repelled by. In other words, arms or legs can be pulled away from people when there is a lack of agreement.

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Dodpi: Abbreviation for The Department Of Defense Polygraph Institute.

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Dominant body language: This is any body language that increases the area the body takes up. Shoulder up and back, head held high, arms out and relaxed, legs apart. The greater the area the body takes up, the more dominant the body language.

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Dominant male stance: A stance where the feet lie flat on the ground, weight is across both feet, the arms are placed to the side rather than in pockets and hands do not prop up against a wall or table. The hips are forced forward slight, with the legs just wider than shoulder width.

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Dominator (the): A type of client who makes strong eye contact, is suspicious of the salespersons motives, uses a firm voice, neutral or negative facial expressions, may be grabby and uses touch to influence the salesperson.

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Double arm hug or self hugging: Hugging ones self is both defensive and a closed body position. Hugging can be done by grabbing both arms across the body or by clasping one arm onto the arm on the opposite side. People who hold this posture exclaim that they are cold, but in reality, the cold sensation stems from feeling awkward.

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Double gripper politician handshake or double hander (the): Both hands are used to sandwich the other person’s hand. It is an intimate handshake but in the wrong company can be taken as insincere and create negative feelings.

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Doubt or disbelief body language: Nonverbal cues that signify that an idea or thought is being reject. Body language revealing disbelief includes looking down, away, or upward, rubbing the eyes or lightly touching the inside corner or the eye, eye rolling, looking askance, twitching the nose and grabbing the ears, head shaking, grimacing, turning the corners of the mouth and exhaling quickly through the teeth.

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Dowdiness or rumpled or unkempt: A nonverbal term referring to a persons dress that is wrinkled but otherwise fairly clean, shapeless, outdated, bland, messy, unflattering, out-of-date and well worn. It signifies a low socioeconomic background, that a person is artistic, intellectual, or is the absent minded professor, is preoccupied or is just outfight sloppy. This type of person is usually preoccupied with other passions and lacks the interest to put anything into their look. Other times they are just outright slobs and don’t care.

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Downtime: Occurs roughly every three seconds whereby our minds ‘slip away’ and out of consciousness to give our minds time to relax and process information and to think about what we want to say next.

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Down-turned smile or reverse smile: Happens when the mouth is inverted into a down-facing “u” shape. It indicates high stress, unhappiness, anger, tension and depression.

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Downward gaze or eyes down: Eyes that are averted by looking down. Indicates submission, coyness, lack of certainty, defeat, guilt, shame or embarrassment.

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Dominance quotient: Abbreviated DQ is the relative desire to dominate situations and others. There are three types, they are a) low dominance and uncomfortable with power, b) accept power, but don’t go after it and resist it from others c) go after power whenever possible.

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Double wink: The double wink is done by blinking both eyes at the same time and holding them closed for a slightly longer period of time than that which is found in a natural blink. It is a less aggressive form of the single wink which some women find off-putting.

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Dressing for context: Consciously planning attire so as to carefully match or exceed (within limits) the dress of those in your immediate company so as to impress. It means avoiding clothing that is far too dressy or far to relaxed. This technique will yield the best possible results.

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Dressing for respect: Exceeding, or at least matching the fashion of those whom are in your immediate company so as to build authority. Wearing polished suites, shoes and being well groomed in the presents of more casual wear will yield leadership qualities whereas dressing similarly, like mirroring will help build rapport. Dressing for respect also says that wearing clothing that is stylish demonstrates respect for other people because it implies that one cares about the opinions of others.

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Dressing to impress or dress to impress: The act of consciously planning and coordinating attire to suit a given function such that it creates positive feelings in others. When done properly, dressing to impress commands respect and authority from others.

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Dry coughing: A nervousness becomes more intense a person can be heard dry-coughing. This is a limbic response to a reduction in salivation.

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Duchenne smile: This smile is called the honest smile and its giveaway is the appearance of crow’s feet at the corner of the eyes. It draws its name from the French researcher Guillaume Duchenne who used electrodiagnostics and electrical stimulation to istinguish between real and fake smiles.

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Duping delight: Paul Ekman coined the term “duping delight” to explain possible reasons for an increase in certain cues while lying was taking place. For example, fear and guilt associated with lying should decrease nonverbal cues such as eye contact and smiles, but the research shows us that eye contact usually increases during lying. Two possible explanations exist for an increase in eye contact and smiling. One is that smiling happens more often because the liar is experiencing pleasure with the act of lying which has been extensively proven through research on psychopaths, con-men and pathological liars, the second says that a smile is in fact due to stress and embarrassment which causes a stress smile.

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

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

Share and Enjoy:

Non Verbal Body Language Dictionary ::A::

by Christopher Philip • March 19, 2010 • 1 Comment

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Absorbed actions: Body language that is passed from one person to another through culture and hence observation. It is a form of mirroring and happens unconsciously. These sets of nonverbal movements vary from culture to culture and group to group. Take the “gangster” walk by example where an exaggerated bounce is added to the step – this is absorbed from others.

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Abrazo: A term originating in Latin America that describes a brief hug between men. It says “I like you.” It is done by pressing the chests together and engulfing the back of the other with the arms.

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Accenting/Moderating body language: One of the six main categories of body language. This type of body language is aimed at enhancing, amplifying or emphasizing a specific verbal message. In other cases it can be used to soften a point and make it less salient. Gestures include pointing, using the hands to show how big something or an idea is, using a fist chopping action in unison with an important point, fist pounding to display anger, or a honest smile and a bounce in the step to display happiness while speaking of a loved one. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Accidental touching: Touching that happens without meaning between random people usually in busy or crowded environments, or alternatively, done out of conscious awareness but of which is laden with meaning such as a woman might do on a man she finds attractive by brushing up against him.

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Active listening: The opposite of passive listening where a person reflects on what is being said through nonverbal indications. An active listener holds good eye contact, orients toward the speaker with their head or torso and nods their head appropriately demonstrating undivided attention. When listening is done to the extreme it is called emphatic listening. Active listening also usually has so form of light touching to build a connection.

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Achiever (the): One of three types in business. They arrive on time and won’t want to waste a minute. They keep time, don’t stray off topic and leave as soon as the meeting is over.

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Acting (a): A poker term whereby players act weak when they have a strong hand, and act strong when dealt a weak hand. It is a beginners strategy and unsophisticated.

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Acting (b): A nonverbal term that describes a person who is playing a role that misrepresents their true honest selves. We say that politicians are “acting” when they display honest body language when they are in fact lying, or when a person who is shy and timid acts confidently during a job interview. Acting does not always involve polar opposites, and can be done by a person in more minute and specific situations. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Active attraction: A man or women who oozes attraction signals without effort. Men who have active attraction will seem to have high confidence and physical attractiveness such as ideal build and height, have style, personality and especially good body language such as excellent eye patterns, will walk with confidence, be relaxed and hold their ground. Women who have active attraction will exude sexual cues, they will have above average looks such as hour-glass figures, large breasts, will dress provocatively and have social personalities, they will also emit flirty nonverbal sexual signals regardless of a attempt to attract. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Adaptational mirroring: Mirroring that is done intentionally and with consciousness to either put someone at ease or to create discomfort. The goal of adaptational mirroring is to manipulate someone else’s emotions for their own benefit.

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Adaptors: Include variations such as postural changes or other movements that occur at such a low level they often happen without awareness. They are frequently made to adjust ones body and to make someone more comfortable by relieving physical stress. Plenty of unwarranted emphasis was placed on adaptors as hidden meaning but today we see them as merely movements which serve a purpose. An example includes scratching the nose to satisfy and itch which is a movement of purpose, it doesn’t have any hidden meaning. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Adornments: Decorations of the body including tattoos, jewelry, make-up, elaborate clothing and so forth. Adornments are designed by the individual in order to portray a specific quality and character.

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Adrenal glands: Also called suprarenal glands, the adrenal glands are located on top of the kidneys. This endocrine gland is responsible for producing the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline (epinephrine). These hormones are linked to the flight or fight response and so are connected to visceral body language.

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Affect displays: Occur in synchrony and within the rhythm of speech and emphases certain words or phrases and are integrally connected to our speech and thought. They are used to reveal our emotional state and can show enthusiasm if we are happy, or if relaying somber information sadness. Examples of affect displays include facial expressions such as smiling, laughing, crying or frowning.

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Affection (nonverbal) or affectionate or loving: Nonverbal signals that display liking such as hugs, kisses, back rubbing, adoring eye contact, handshaking, blowing kisses, increased proximity and submissive body language such as head tilting and neck exposure. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Affiliator (the): One of three types in business. The affiliator is generally a woman or sociable man who is focused on group cohesion and building relationships. They arrive early and make a point of checking in with everyone and making sure everyone is happy and taken care of. They will set up meetings to foster cooperation and will often stay behind to answer any questions. They make lots of eye contact, smile often and will show tension if signals of conflict arises. Their voice will often be calming and hand movements will be used to appease everyone.

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Aggressive body language: Aggressive body language includes nonverbal language that prepares the body for a real or figurative attack. It includes making the body loose or tenses and making the body appear larger and more threatening. Aggressive body language can happen by clenching the fists, finger pointing or flared nostrils and so forth.

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Agreement indicators: Nonverbal communication serving to show that a likeness of mind is present. Agreement is shown through open body language such as arms uncrossed, leaning inward and ankles unlocked. Not all times do nods, “mhums” and smiles, show agreement however, sometimes they merely indicate that a person is being heard.

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Alerting or announcement gestures: Those nonverbal signals that tell others they wish to speak such as raising a hand or motioning, taking in air or making eye contact.

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Alpha female: Similar to the alpha male, other females in their community or sub-community look up to her, she makes decisions for the group and other women look up to her. In humans, the alpha female will be the most listened and obeyed socially as dominant body language for women is much less potent although some dominant body language will still appear.

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Alpha male: Found in all social animals. The alpha male is the individual in the community or sub-community whom others defer to and follow, he makes the decisions for the group and other’s look up to him. In animals, the alpha is sometimes the only one who secures breeding rights. In humans, the alpha male is that which holds dominant body positions. He is normally relaxed, with open postures, he may form a steeple with his hands or rest his arms at the back of his head to display his superiority.

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Alpha you (the): The conscious manipulation of the self to produce the best possible person in the view of others. It includes various nonverbal, people and sales skills to yield above average results in personal relationships, business and life in general.

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Amygdala: A region of the brain that in accompaniment with the hippocampus and thalamus influences fear, rage and aggression along with friendship and love. It has been shown to be a key player in the creation of emotion and closely tied to our bodies. Fear responses are carried to the thalamus which then produces anxiety and alertness within the freeze response. The amygdala decodes the information received from our senses and initiates adaptive behaviours through connections to the motor system (our body). Research shows how this area of the brain is particularly adept at reading facial emotions and decoding them. The amygdala is responsible for various nonverbal signals due to the root emotions it creates.

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Androstadienone: A chemical signal released by men and found in their perspiration said to affect women and homosexual men in a sexual manner. Researchers have found that androstadienone is able to change mood, sexual arousal, and even brain activation. It also commonly added to male perfumes and fragrances. While the chemical itself lacks a direct link to overt behaviour it does affect underlying physiology include hormones and psychological patterns providing root causes for behaviour. Thus, the chemical itself is the nonverbal message.

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Anger: Characterized by a downward pull of the eyebrows and narrowing of the eyelids. Lips may tighten or press together and the nostrils may flare.

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Ankle lock or foot lock (the): Happens when the top of one foot locks around the leg of the other while seated or standing or when the legs are wrapped around the legs of a chair. It indicates a negative and defensive attitude.

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Ankle lock (standing): Done by raising and locking the ankle behind the calf of the supporting leg. This is a mainly female posture and one that spells defensiveness.

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Ankle cross or scissor cross or ankle-ankle cross: Indicates that the person is holding a negative emotion, uncertainty, fear or is generally uncomfortable or timid. Adding to this, the feet might be pulled in under the chair withdrawing emotionally even further. In other context it is modest and formal.

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Annoying alpha (the): A man/woman who is overly concerned about coming across as the main alpha, yet instead of appearing confident, really comes off as cocky. They might take up too much space, become boisterous, and order people around.

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Anthropology: The study of humans in all respects, from socially, evolutionarily, behaviourially and especially culturally. Anthropology is a source of study for body language as it provides context and origins of movements as it relate to purpose.

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Apocrine glands: Located in the groin, armpits, mouth, eyelids, back of the knees, wrists, and palms. These glands release a chemical called androsterone in men, which is chemically related to testosterone, the male sex hormone. Androsterone is (weakly – not strongly proven) linked to sexual attraction and is unperceivable consciously, when it is effective it works without awareness.

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Apologetic smile or lopsided smile: When there is unevenness across the face and the context is appropriate it says “Wish I hadn’t made that mistake.”

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Appease: Refers to the desire to concede to an aggressor through submissive or compliant body language such as shoulders turned inward and head down. Smiles are often referred to as appeasement expressions.

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Argyle, Michael: Born 1925, he was recognized as a social psychologist. His interests compelled him to study gaze and other nonverbal communication, social skills, happiness and social class and his book “The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour” became a best-seller.

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Arm crossing: Arms as they relate to non-verbal meaning are like shields. They can block and shank ideas from entering just as well as they can protect against swords and arrows. Using the arms across the body in a fold is like cutting off access to our core where our heart and lungs are present.

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Arm crossing with clenched fists: Happens by crossing the arms and clenching the fists underneath them. This posture indicates defensive hostility and anger nearing outright aggression.

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Arm freezing behaviour: A fear driven response that reduces or eliminates movements by the arms. In children, it can indicate the presence of abusive parents or relatives, and in adults indicates that a stressful or emotional stimuli is present.

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Arm gripping or gripped crossed arms: Happens as the person grabs each arm with the opposite hand as they cross their arms. It symbolizes tension and is common for people waiting for bad news or waiting for a dentist appointment. It is similar to other forms of self-hugging as it protects the body from exposure and provides comfort. This posture shows both negativity and restraint, meaning that a person is ready and expecting to face a negative outcome and isn’t going to relax until that news comes.

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Arm over the shoulder: A type of hug gesture done by tossing the arm over the back of another. It is a friendly type gesture signifying camaraderie.

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Arms forward: A signal that contains a context specific message. Having the arms forward can mean that a person wishes to hug, to fight if fists are clenched, to repel if the palms are facing vertical toward an opponent or begging if palms are turned upward.

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Arms up posture: A gravity defying nonverbal cue done in triumph or victory such as winning a match or scoring a goal. It is done usually quickly and short in duration where the arms are thrust stiffly upward into the sky so as to draw as much attention to the victor as possible.

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Arm twister handshake: Part way through an ordinary handshake the hand is twisted underneath into the submissive palm up position. Someone who does this is absolutely committed to being on top and dominating.

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Arm withdrawal: When the arms are pulled inward toward the body rather than away. It indicates a lack of agreement or a difference of opinion.

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Arousal: Defines changes in the autonomic nervous system including changes in heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, temperature, breathing, flushing and blanching. Arousal can be due to negative and positive stimuli.

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Arrector pili muscles: Microscopic band of muscle tissue that connects hair follicles to the skin that when stimulated by cold air or fear, stand on end. When we have feelings that send shivers down the spin, the arrector pili muscles are being stimulated.

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Arrogance or arrogant body language: Body language that indicates that a person feels superior to others and that one wishes to separate themselves from the crowd. An arrogant person wears expensive clothing or dress more formally, will act aloof, bored or pretentious. Arrogant people often preen, glance in mirrors to check their appearance, trying to be the center of attention, make grand gestures, keep greater distance from others, stop listening to the conversation of others, make sexually suggestive movements, boast of accomplishments, avoiding eye contact on purpose and holding the head high with the nose pointed upwards. Arrogance indicates that a person is insecure with themselves and is often over-competitive with others.

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Artificial smile or pretend smile: A fake smile where the muscles surrounding the eyes play no part.

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Asymmetry: Gestures such as shoulder shrugs, or facial expressions such as smiles, that are not equal on both sides indicating incongruency or dishonesty.

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Asynchrony: A barrier to good communication. It is a lack of synchrony, or the relative similarity, in the bodies of two people. It shows a difference of opinion.

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Attraction triggers: Cues in men and women that produce feelings of attraction within the opposite sex. These cues stem from fertility in women and resource acquisition in men and are tied to social value. They are evolution in origin brought about through sexual selection. Attraction triggers include physical looks including fertility, personality, social alliances, and nonverbal signals of confidence, charisma, and overall worth to the opposite sex. The value placed on these triggers is relatively person specific and highly sex specific.

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Attentive body language or attentiveness or pensiveness: Cues that indicate that a person is actively paying attention, is interested and engaged. They include such factors as head tilted at forty-five degrees, leaning inward, proper eye contact, greater stillness, chewing a lip or pencil, furrowing the brow, stair into space in concentration, looking upward and scratching the head.

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Audience eye contact: Eye contact that is directed toward a large group of people to create interest in them and liking as well as to create a more authoritarian and effective presentation.

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Auditory learners or auditory communicators: Account for about 25% of the population. This group of people prefer to hear the information through oral presentation, lectures and speeches. Oral learners can be identified because as they learn, they will play music, listen to a television or radio or if that is distracting to them in particular they will play sounds containing white noise by running a fan or listening to soothing sounds of the ocean. Auditory communicators use phrases such as: Maybe we should tone thing down. Here me out, okay? That sounds right. Listen to the plan I have in mind. We can’t whisper a word to anyone about this. This has a ring to it. Can you speak to this? We should announce this to everyone. Are you listening? We should all voice our opinions. It’s like music to my hears. It’s clear as a bell. That strikes a cord with me.

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Authoritative body language or authoritative posture: Nonverbal communication that says “I am in charge.” It can include hand positions like palm down (rather than palm up), hand steepling where the fingers touch to form a bridge, head back and looking down on others, a lowered voice, raising height by taking a taller chair, sitting at the head of the table, or using compliance testing to see if someone will do as you indicate by taking the path of least resistance.

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Auto contact or self touching: A term used to describe gestures such as stroking the beard, rubbing the hands, tugging the ear, massaging the throat, pulling the fingers, rubbing the back of the neck and so forth, which is meant to sooth the body and create comfort. Women habitually use self touch far more often than men.

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Autoerotic touching: Touching that is done to the self driven by sexual thoughts. It is a term used to describe when women are seen stroking their own lips rubbing their upper arms, cheeks, thighs, hips and waist. Autoerotic touching is usually to satiate an internal desire by performing what one wishes to experience on ones self instead rather than having it done by someone else which is risky. It also creates interest through teasing and prepares the body for eventual touching by drawing blood to the surface creating sensitivity.

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Autocratic bosses: We can tell if our boss autocratic if they are attached to the status artifacts around them. Their desk will be used as a barrier protecting them from intruders, they will have cleaver title markings on their desk or door, and usually have trophies or accolades on their walls, their dress will be formal and expensive and their posture will be rigid and straight. Friendliness is the foe of the autocratic boss so he will keep you at arms length, keep conversations on task and hold expressionless faces. If you get out of line, he will use his body language to put you back in your place with harsh voice tones and eye contact. Often autocratic bosses are seen as unloving, unfriendly or inhumane.

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Automatic gestures: Motions of the hand that happen without conscious awareness, usually during speech to add emphasis and colour. Hands might motion when trying to explain something complex or when talking about something excitedly to add emotion. Automatic gestures can happen by down-stroking the mouth when uncomfortable, or wiping the nose with the index finger when stretching the truth. Often gestures that happen out of conscious awareness tend to be more reliable and honest.

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Autonomic nervous system: The ANS is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as the control center for various operations in the body below the level of consciousness. It controls visceral operations such as heart rate, digestion, rate of respiration, salivation, perspiration, pupil diameter and sexual arousal. The ANS is extremely important to the nonverbal body language reader specifically because the operations occur without the permission of the conscious mind making them very honest and reliable cues. While the ANS controls inner functioning, the consequences are seen externally and can be read.

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Autonomic signals or automatic signals: Involuntary stress-induced physiological behaviours that includes shaking, increased heart rate, pupil constriction, vomiting, fainting, blushing and breath rate. These are nonverbal cues that are impossible to consciously control under normal circumstances with the exception of heart rate which some individuals have conscious control, and breath rate, which almost everyone does despite a propensity for breath holding under high stress or hyperventilating.

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

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

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