Body Language Essay summary
Whether in a foreign country trying to enjoy your holiday where you find language barriers an issue, or on Wall Street where its all about diplomacy and encountering real people, body language plays a critical role in our every day communications. Body language is practiced in each and every part of our world, consciously or unconsciously. As a matter of fact, there are seven universal body language expressions, which express different moods. But before going any further, what is body language? How does it work? Do we develop it over time, or is it in our nature? First of all, the definition of body language is the process of communicating non-verbally through conscious or unconscious gestures and body movements. In other words, body language is when people communicate to each other nonverbally using facial expressions, gestures, and/or body movement. Body language is used in our every day life, without even knowing it sometimes; 65% of our communications are done non verbally. That's why talking on the phone using a language other than your mother-tongue's could be difficult sometimes. Body language is in the nature of human beings; it is not something that we develop. Yet, most of us are not aware of the body gestures that we show, which could send the wrong message to the person we are communicating to. That’s why being able to control your body language, and read and interpret other’s body language is an affective skill that is said to be the key to success. Is there a universal body language? As I mentioned before, there are 7 expressions of Universal Body Language. These 7 expressions of Universal Body Language express: 1) Sadness. 2) Fear. 3) Boredom. 4) Anger. 5) Disgust. 6) Happiness. 7) Surprise. Along with these different expressions, a set of different movements is carried. For example: Happiness à smile. Although we might not experience all these different emotions in a single day, we do experience them very often over the course of a life-time, That’s why we can read the body language that accompanies these emotion very easily. Beside these, there are other body gestures that could be considered “universal”, such as eye contact for example (which usually is a sign of respect). Linda Talley, an expert on body language says: “This is the universal gesture of validation, and when sincere, it builds a lot of bridges toward achieving the results you want." Solid handshakes, which give a message of confidence & intelligence, in my opinion are “universal”. They immediately send a message to the other person that you are confident, intelligent, and willing to build a relationship. Research shows that it takes an average of three hours of continuous interaction to develop the same level bonding that you can get with a single handshake.
Definition: the process of communicating nonverbally through conscious or unconscious gestures and movement. · Gestures · Facial expressions · Body movements
Question: Is there a universal body language?
7 universal body language expressions: · Happiness, · Sadness, · Anger, · boredom, · surprise, · disgust, · and fear.
Talley, Linda. "LOUDER THAN WORDS." T+D 63.11 (2009): 30-33. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 6 June 2010.
Yeşil, Rüşt. "EVALUATION OF BODY LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR IN A CLASS DEBATE." Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 36.7 (2008): 893-902. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 6 June 2010.
Essay summary
Whether in a foreign country trying to enjoy your holiday where you find language barriers an issue, or on Wall Street where its all about diplomacy and encountering real people, body language plays a critical role in our every day communications. Body language is practiced in each and every part of our world, consciously or unconsciously. As a matter of fact, there are seven universal body language expressions, which express different moods. But before going any further, what is body language? How does it work? Do we develop it over time, or is it in our nature? First of all, the definition of body language is the process of communicating non-verbally through conscious or unconscious gestures and body movements. In other words, body language is when people communicate to each other nonverbally using facial expressions, gestures, and/or body movement. Body language is used in our every day life, without even knowing it sometimes; 65% of our communications are done non verbally. That's why talking on the phone using a language other than your mother-tongue's could be difficult sometimes. Body language is in the nature of human beings; it is not something that we develop. Yet, most of us are not aware of the body gestures that we show, which could send the wrong message to the person we are communicating to. That’s why being able to control your body language, and read and interpret other’s body language is an affective skill that is said to be the key to success. Is there a universal body language? As I mentioned before, there are 7 expressions of Universal Body Language. These 7 expressions of Universal Body Language express: 1) Sadness. 2) Fear. 3) Boredom. 4) Anger. 5) Disgust. 6) Happiness. 7) Surprise. Along with these different expressions, a set of different movements is carried. For example: Happiness à smile. Although we might not experience all these different emotions in a single day, we do experience them very often over the course of a life-time, That’s why we can read the body language that accompanies these emotion very easily. Beside these, there are other body gestures that could be considered “universal”, such as eye contact for example (which usually is a sign of respect). Linda Talley, an expert on body language says: “This is the universal gesture of validation, and when sincere, it builds a lot of bridges toward achieving the results you want." Solid handshakes, which give a message of confidence & intelligence, in my opinion are “universal”. They immediately send a message to the other person that you are confident, intelligent, and willing to build a relationship. Research shows that it takes an average of three hours of continuous interaction to develop the same level bonding that you can get with a single handshake.
Definition: the process of communicating nonverbally through conscious or unconscious gestures and movement.
· Gestures
· Facial expressions
· Body movements
Question: Is there a universal body language?
7 universal body language expressions:
· Happiness,
· Sadness,
· Anger,
· boredom,
· surprise,
· disgust,
· and fear.
FINAL PRODUCT
Articles & Books
Article 1: Body Talk
By: Linda Talley
Article 2: Watch Your Language
By: Carol Kinsey Goman
Article 3: Louder Than Words
By: Linda Talley
Article 4: Evaluation of Body Language Behavior in a Class Debate
By: RÜŞTÜ YEŞIL
Article 5: Universal Body Language
http://positivearticles.com/blog/2106/universal-body-language/
Article 6: Universal Body Language Features
http://www.bodylanguageexpert.co.uk/universal-body-language-features.html
Book: The Definitive Book of Body Language
By:
Allan Pease and Barbara Pease
Bibliographical Citations
"Universal Body Language." Self Improvement Articles from PositiveArticles.Com. Web. 06 June 2010. http://positivearticles.com/blog/2106/universal-body-language/.
"Universal Body Language Features - Body Language Expert (UK)." How to Read and Use Body Language at Body Language Expert (UK). Web. 06 June 2010. <http://www.bodylanguageexpert.co.uk/universal-body-language-features.html>.
Pease, Allan, and Barbara Pease. The Definitive Book of Body Language. New York: Bantam, 2006. Print.
"body language." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 6 Jun. 2010 http://www.encyclopedia.com.
"BODY TALK." Career World 38.6 (2010): 5. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 6 June 2010.
Goman, Carol Kinsey. "Watch Your Language." T+D 62.8 (2008): 94-95. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 6 June 2010.
"Examples Of Body Language." SPARC - Divorce and Custody Help. Web. 06 June 2010. <http://deltabravo.net/custody/body.php>.
Talley, Linda. "LOUDER THAN WORDS." T+D 63.11 (2009): 30-33. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 6 June 2010.
Yeşil, Rüşt. "EVALUATION OF BODY LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR IN A CLASS DEBATE." Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 36.7 (2008): 893-902. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 6 June 2010.