Looking at this picture, you will immediately realize that there is an elephant in front of you. Just looking closely, you will notice that the elephant is drawn wrong. When people look at others, they immediately catch the general mood, and small details become apparent only when they are pointed out. The same thing happens with body language. Communication with the help of body language has been going on for a million years, but only recently scientists began to carefully study this science. Today, more and more people are discovering body language. This subject is included in the program of training and business retraining worldwide. The final section of the Body Language is devoted to communication in a business and informal setting. We will give you the opportunity to test how well you have learned to read non-verbal signals. Before you read the comments, carefully read each picture and identify the signals of the body language that you understand. Score yourself a point for every big signal you see, and at the end of the exercise, summarize. You will be amazed at how much your susceptibility has improved. Remember that in this exercise we analyze gestures that are isolated from each other. In real life, you will have to analyze the chain of gestures, take into account the context and national traditions.
Test of body language knowledge
How well did you learn to read between the lines?
1. What are the three signals you see in this figure?
Our answers
This is a good example of a chain of openness. The palms of the person are fully revealed in the gesture of subordination, the fingers are set apart, which makes the gesture more convincing and indicates the absence of aggression. The man is fully revealed, showing that he has nothing to hide. This man shows complete openness and the absence of threatening intentions.
2. What are the five signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
This is a classic deception chain. A man rubs his eyes, looks to the side, his eyebrows are raised, which indicates distrust. His head is turned away from the interlocutor and slightly lowered - this indicates a negative attitude. In addition, he smiles dismissively with tight lips.
3. What are the three signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
Here there is a clear mismatch of gestures. The man pretends to be smiling confidently, but at the same time with one hand he protects the case, allegedly adjusting the clock. Thus, a partial barrier is formed. His smile clearly expresses fear. It can be concluded that he is not confident or feels insecure in an unfamiliar environment.
4. What are the five signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
This woman does not approve of the person she is looking at. She does not turn either the head or the whole body to him, but looks askance at him. Her head is slightly lowered (disapproval), her eyebrows are frowned (anger), her arms are crossed on her chest (defense). The corners of the mouth are also slightly lowered.
5. What are the four signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
Here dominance, superiority and territoriality are obvious. The “catapult” pose shows self-confidence and superiority. Feet on the table - this is the application for the territory. In addition, the high status of this man emphasizes the high-back seat, armrests, wheels and other accessories. A man sits in a defensive-rival pose.
6. What are the three signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
The child puts his hands on his hips to appear larger and more aggressive. The chin is set forward (challenge), the mouth is wide open so that the teeth are visible (aggression). Animals behave in the same way before an attack.
7. What are the five signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
The mood of the man depicted in this figure can be described in one word - negative. The folder is used as a barrier, arms and legs are crossed, which gives nervousness and defensive mood. The jacket is buttoned, and dark glasses hide eyes. The interviewee can not catch the signals of the pupils. Taking into account the fact that people form an idea about a person in the first four minutes of a meeting, it is unlikely that this man would inspire confidence and sympathy in himself.
8. What are the six signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
Both men use gestures of aggression and readiness. The man on the left put his hands on his hips, and the one on the right put his thumbs on his belt. The man on the left is less aggressive because he has slightly deviated from the interlocutor. The one on the right took a threatening posture, since his body was turned towards the interlocutor, and his back was straightened. The expression of the face fully corresponds to the general mood: the corners of the mouth are lowered.
9. What are the thirteen signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
The man sitting on the left straddled the chair, trying to gain control over the discussion or crush the one on the right. He is looking directly at the man sitting on the right. In addition, he clasped his fingers and joined his feet under the chair, which indicates depression and nervousness. It seems that he can not defend their point of view. The man in the center feels his superiority, as evidenced by the posture of "catapult." He folded his legs in four, which gives a rival mood. His chair speaks of a higher status, since it has wheels, it has a higher back and has armrests. The man on the right is sitting on a low status chair with fixed legs, no additional accessories and a low back. He crossed his arms and legs tightly, and his head was lowered (hostility). The body of this man is deployed to the side (lack of interest). We can say with confidence that he does not like what he heard.
10. What fourteen signals do you see in this picture?
Our answers
Woman demonstrates the classic courting pose. She put one foot forward, pointing her towards the man on the left, which indicates her interest in him. In addition, she put her hand on her hip and put her thumb in her belt (confidence, readiness). When smoking, she demonstrates the left wrist (sensuality). The smoke of her cigarette is directed upwards (confidence, positive attitude). She also looks askance at the man standing on the left, and he responds to her signals, straightening her tie (preening) and putting her foot in her direction. His head is raised (interest). The man in the center is clearly dissatisfied with the presence of an opponent. His body is deployed to the side, the man aggressively looks at the opponent sideways. His palms are not visible, and the smoke of a cigarette is directed downwards (negative mood). In addition, he leaned against the wall (territorial aggression).
11. What are the twelve signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
The man on the left uses gestures of excellence. He is very arrogant about the man sitting opposite. He uses a visual block so as not to see this man, his head thrown back to make his look even more arrogant. Obvious and defensive posture, because the knees are tightly connected, and the glass is held with both hands, which forms a barrier. The man sitting in the center is excluded from the conversation, because the interlocutors look at each other and do not form a free triangle. However, this man clearly feels very confident, as indicated by the fingers embedded in the pockets of the vest (superiority), free posture and demonstration of the groin area. The man sitting on the right, had heard enough. He is in the starting position (willingness to leave). His legs and body are turned towards the nearest exit. The eyebrows and the corners of the mouth are lowered, the head is slightly tilted, which gives a disapproving attitude.
12. What are the eleven signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
Men, left and right, took closed poses. The man in the center demonstrates his superiority and sarcasm. He took the lapel with one hand, with the thumb pointing upwards (excellence). The thumb of the other hand, he points to the man standing on the right (mockery). The man on the left took up a defensive posture. He crossed his legs. But at the same time, the hand behind the head speaks of self-control. He looks sideways at the man standing in the center. The man on the right doesn’t care about the attitude of the person in the center. He crossed his legs (defensive position), crossed his arms behind his back (unwillingness to participate in the conversation) and looks at the floor. Apparently, he is pretty bored with this conversation.
13. What are the twelve signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
The atmosphere is clearly tense. All three men sat back in their seats to maximize the distance from each other. The main source of the problem is the man sitting on the right, since his gestures are negative. He touches the nose (deception), and covers the hull with his right hand, forming a partial barrier (defensive position). The lack of interest in the opinion of the interlocutors is given by the leg, abandoned on the arm of the chair, the demonstration of the groin area and the turn of the body from the speaker. The man sitting on the left does not approve of those who sit on the right. He shakes imaginary fluffs from the sleeve (disapproval), his legs are crossed (defensive position), and the body is turned away from the interlocutor (lack of interest). A man sitting in the center would like to say something, but keeps his opinion to himself. This gives out gestures of restraint - the hand clinging to the armrest of the chair, and the crossed ankles. He also vies non-verbally with the man sitting on the right, turning to face him.
14. What are the eight signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
We see that the man sitting on the left and the woman copy each other's gestures while sitting at different ends of the sofa. The couple is very interested in each other - this is indicated by the demonstration of the wrists and the crossed legs, directed towards the interlocutor. The man in the center smiles with compressed lips, trying to seem interested in the words of his neighbor, but this smile is contrary to other signals of the body language. His head is lowered (disapproval), the corners of his mouth are lowered, his eyebrows frowned (anger). He looks at the man sitting on the left sideways. The hands and legs of the man sitting in the center are tightly crossed (defensive position), which indicates his sharply negative attitude to what is happening.
15. What are the fifteen signals you see in this picture?
Our answers
The man sitting on the left demonstrates openness and honesty — open palms, a leg thrust forward, a raised head, an unbuttoned jacket, not crossed arms and legs, a smile. Unfortunately for him, the woman was not too interested in his story. She leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs (defensive position), covered her body with her hand (defensive position), clenched her fist (tension), lowered her head and critically propped her chin with her hand (critical assessment). The man sitting in the center, folded his hands in the "spire", showing self-confidence. He folded his legs "four", which speaks of a rival mood. It can be assumed that he is negatively adjusted, as he lay back and lowered his head.
16a. What are the nine signals you see in this picture?
Three subsequent drawings will show you typical chains of defensive and aggressive gestures, as well as courtship gestures.
Our answers
In the first picture, we see that all three interlocutors crossed their arms. Two of them crossed their legs (defensive position). All interlocutors are turned away from the others, which means that they met for the first time. The man on the right is clearly interested in the woman, since his right leg is pointing in her direction. He squints at her. His eyebrows are raised (interested). He smiles. The man standing on the right, directed the upper part of the body towards the woman. She is currently closed to both men.
16b. What eleven signals do you see in this picture?
Five minutes later
Our answers
The woman straightened her legs and stands in a pose of attention. The man on the left also straightened his legs, directed one foot toward the woman (interest) and leaned slightly toward her. He laid his fingers on the belt, which can be seen as a gesture of rivalry towards the man on the right. In this case, the man on the left has clearly aggressive intentions towards the other man and sexual towards the woman. He straightened up to look bigger. Apparently, his behavior scared the man standing on the right. He still holds his arms crossed. His eyebrows are lowered (disapproval), the smile is gone. He glances at his opponent's side.
16th century What are the fifteen signals you see in this picture?
Fifteen minutes later
Our answers
Now the relationship between the interlocutors and their mood finally cleared up. The man on the left put his fingers behind the belt and put one foot forward. His body is deployed in the direction of the woman. This is a clear signal of courtship. In addition, he wrapped his belt around with his fingers to emphasize his gesture, and straightened even more. The woman responded to the courtship in her own way. She is clearly interested in the interlocutor, as she straightened her arms, turned to him and set her foot in his direction. In addition, she straightens her hair, demonstrates her wrists, raises her chest so that the hollow becomes visible, and smiles. The smoke of her cigarette is directed upwards (confidence). This situation can not please the man standing on the right, since he is almost completely excluded from the conversation. He put his hands on his hips (aggressive readiness) and demonstrates the groin area to express his displeasure. Summing up, we can say that the man on the left completely captured the attention of women, and his rival clearly lost.
What are your results?
130-150 points You have a great intuition! You are perfectly able to communicate with others, understand their feelings and emotions. Continue in the same spirit!
100-130 points You know how to communicate with people and, as a rule, feel what is happening around you. Show perseverance, practice more - and you will be a great specialist in conducting negotiations and meetings. Yes, and in personal life these skills will be useful.
70—100 points Sometimes you feel the attitude of others to the conversation and to each other, but sometimes you understand the essence only in a few days. You need more practice in recognizing the signals of the body language.
Less than 70 points Have you read this book and failed to score 70 points? Looks like you should do computers, bookkeeping, or work in the registry where you don’t have to communicate a lot with people. Go back to the first section and read our book again. Do not leave the house and do not answer the phone calls.
In conclusion...
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Body language
Terms: Body language