Online Class: Kinesics 101 - Learn to Read Body Language

Reading Body Language, Using it to Your Advantage

 In this course you will learn what body language is, about different emotions, how to read body language and how to use the information to your personal and career advantage. You'll learn about cultural differences as it pertains to body language, the power of first impressions and intuition and how to ask the questions and be an active listener when you get responses. Don't shake another hand until you have learned all you can from the information in this course!

Courses Frequently Bought Together:

Conflict Resolution 101

Negotiation Skills

Memory Improvement

Course Motivation

When you talk to someone by waving your hand, nodding your head, or even crossing your arms, you are communicating. Body language is the phrase we use for these movements and gestures. This also incorporates the most subtle of movements that people may not be aware of, including winking, the slight movement of the eyebrows, and other facial expressions.

People send and receive nonverbal messages and signals all the time without even knowing it. In the grocery store, you may see a woman pick up a green pepper and frown. She's not aware that the signal she's sending out is one of disapproval. Some people see it and some people don't. These signals may indicate what a person is truly feeling. The technique of "reading" people is used quite often. For example, we teach our children from an early age to look people in the eye when speaking. Children tend to look up and down, everywhere except into the other person's eyes.

Maintaining eye contact is an indicator that the person is positively thinking about what is being said to them. In other situations, it can mean that the person doesn't want to take his eyes off the other, which can mean a sign of distrust. A person who makes direct eye contact, but plays with the chipped paint on the table at the same time, or plays with his hands, may not be really paying attention to you; he's distracted and his attention is elsewhere. There are also those individuals who have been diagnosed with an attention deficit disorder and cannot continuously maintain eye contact; they are simply unable to do this. So, you don't want to make a hasty judgment without considering all of the factors to the situation.

The most basic and dominant form of body language occurs when a person crosses their arms. This particular gesture can be interpreted in many different ways. Sometimes it can mean they are putting up a wall between themselves and others, sort of like protection. It can also indicate they are cold, and are crossing their arms for warmth. Maybe you are in a business meeting and the man across from you crosses his arms. This doesn't always mean he's trying to put a barrier between himself and the speaker; rather, it could mean he's listening intently and taking in all of the information. On the other hand, it could be looked upon as a warning signal that the person is very upset. If he is leaning back in his chair and has a frowning or callous expression on his face, this may be a good indicator of hostility. Such a person is not an ally, and may have controversial motives.

Disbelief can be indicated by a gaze that wavers around a speaker's head instead of looking them directly in the eye. When someone rubs their chin or touches their ear, this can also mean they don't believe what is being said. When a person is not being convinced by what someone is saying, their attention invariably wanders, and the eyes will stare away for an extended period.

You will know right away that you've encountered a bored person, as they will be looking at anything but the speaker. They are likely to tap the table with their fingers or tap their feet. Sometimes they do this repeatedly. You will most likely see them looking around the room from the speaker to the clock on the wall and back again. They might fidget in their seat, play with their hands, or tilt their neck.

By enrolling for this course, you have demonstrated your interest in understanding body language. And you are not alone. There are many people who are fascinated by the idea of being able to read someone's body language once the concept is introduced to them. One of the things that may surprise people is that body language, or nonverbal communication, makes up more of what we usually say than does verbal language.

Being able to understand and read body language is a very useful tool. You will be pleasantly surprised to learn that you can use the art of reading body language to: 

• understand what someone means, even when they aren't saying it
• use it to your advantage for employment and interviews
• avoid aggressive situations that can become more heated
• learn what factors can affect body language, such as alcohol
• put your best foot forward for presentations and meetings
• discover patterns in someone's body language
• use self reflection to avoid negative behavior to be seen by others

Those are just a few things that one can learn from understanding how to read body language. At first it may seem complex, but once you learn some of the common things that people do in varying situations, it will become easier to detect and respond to someone's body language. 

Body language is a non-verbal way of speaking. It is an unspoken language that often says more than what is being said verbally. It is a form of body communication that looks at what is being said beyond the verbal language. Body language is a subcategory of paralanguage, which is the area of human communication that is nonverbal. It can include such things as raising the eyebrow, winking, or a number of other facial expressions.

When considering body language it's important to keep in mind that some of it can be voluntary, while some is involuntary. Voluntary body language would include things like the way someone stands, folds their arms, or smiles. Involuntary body language is a little more complex, as it includes such things as blood rushing to the face when someone is embarrassed. This involuntary form of body language often covers facial expressions that someone does not deliberately make.