Nonverbal communication paper

How do people act on a date, in a job interview, or just in a club with their friends and observing an attractive person across the room? What does a best friend look like when angry, and how can parents tell when their kids are lying? Body language is at the heart of nonverbal communication, and psychologists say it accounts for more of the messages we pass to one another than all the things we say combined. John Napier, a famous Scottish mathematician and theologian, said “If language was given to men to conceal their thoughts, then gesture’s purpose was to disclose them.” Here we’ll take a look at female body language, male body language, workplace body language, friendship and social circles body language, and everything in between.

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Female Body Language

Merriam-Webster defines body language as “the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or animal communicates with others.” (Although animals communicate with body language frequently, here we are speaking specifically of body language as it concerns only the human animal.) While much body language is the same or similar between men and women, there are differences between the how the two express themselves. Men and women display body language which is the most diverse in courtship behavior – in other words, flirting. There are many versions of body language which are flirtatious – Vanessa Van Edwards, author of Human Lie Detection and Body Language 101, noted that the “come hither” looks women are famous for are simply explained. Raising eyebrows and lowering eyelids, glancing over the shoulder, pushing hair back over the shoulder, touching the neck, and tilting the head to one side all release pheromones, which men then detect. Van Edwards also stated that limp wrists, plucked eyebrows, and smaller stature all combine to produce a more vulnerable, and therefore more desirable, woman. Large eyes, small noses, full lips, and high cheekbones also indicate high levels of estrogen, meaning that a woman is more fertile. Men are more attracted to women with open personalities than they are to women with a certain face shape, as well. So how will all this help women when they see an attractive man? Van Edwards says that men miss three out of four body language courtship signals on average – meaning that a woman has to be persistent, so maybe flip her hair over her shoulder, raise her eyebrows, expose a wrist, and look down at the same time…and then do it twice more while he’s looking. That should get a woman some digits or a free drink, at the very least. Despite Van Edwards’ ideas on submissiveness, being assertive is not necessarily a turn-off for men, and standing with feet spread apart can indicate greater confidence.