Body Language Observation

Have you ever got in touch with the way other people feel? Probably, yes. But do you know that feelings are only 7% words, 38% tone and 55% body language? I personally was greatly surprised at this result of a psychological research conducted by Virginia University, USA, which displays the phenomenal importance of non-verbal communication.

I fully agree with the scientists that those who can interpret the nuances of body language have an edge over those who observe the world only through spoken words. Verbal communication tells us just what the other person wants us to hear. Still, those who know how to read someone by a combination of behavior that a person displays, often use it to their advantage to rate the intentions of other people. While some not necessarily take it seriously, others do it just out of interest. At any rate, learning to read body language of our social environment makes us more alert of those around us.

I became convinced of this while doing my own small research on my group mates. Bear in mind, I dreamt my observation up in an unusual way trying to make it completely subtle. It was quite a difficult task not to make generalizations and, alongside that, not to misinterpret the behavior of my peers. To tell you the truth, at first I thought I was hopeless at observing people, because you can never tell what some gesture or posture may mean in a particular situation. Anyway, I hope it will be interesting for you to see the results of my mini-research and gain some new ideas on how to become more observant and open-minded.

To begin with, the first “victim”, so to say, was my desk mate at the lecture of World Literature, who looked a bit tense and nervous. I jumped to such conclusion as she was constantly looking down and avoiding eye contact with teacher as well as with the students sitting next to her. The girl also drummed her fingers, sometimes folding her arms. Putting one leg on the other is generally perceived as the most defensive posture, so I suppose, she tended somehow to isolate herself from the rest of the group.

The behavior of another girl, as for me, implied openness and friendliness. She kept her arms relaxed at the sides of the body, showing how receptive she was. She also maintained good eye contact with the lecturer and nodded to show her interest and respect.

As for the boy in the café, I found his behavior pretty much romantic and flirting. I kept my focus on the lad, and noticed how his eye brows quick raised when he viewed the girl he probably liked. He removed his left hand from his pocket and made a well-known “Elvis’ gesture”. A sincere smile bared his teeth, lifted cheeks and wrinkled the corners of his eyes when she leaned towards him. Hey man, you’re only young once, so love and be loved!:)

How do you find my observations? Hope you enjoyed them and the next time you’re in the Academy, you will as well keep an eye for these fascinating non-verbal displays.