Introduction to body language

Why give interest  pay attention to body language?

Human beings are always searching for new discoveries. We are always trying to improve what we have and what we know. Addicted to progress, we are bound to advance in a direction to continue our conquests.

Unfortunately, this surge for progress leads us astray from a deep understanding of ourselves. Only a reflection on what we originally are and on our original modes of expression can help us apprehend and better construct our identity. This is the mandatory path to rich and expressive communication with others.

The s  Spoken language is symbolic of the intelligent being, capable of dissimulation. It constitutes the principle principal way of communicating, but the body too expresses itself... At every new meeting with somebody, the body will express itself freely and spontaneously. It is the reflection reflect  of our own desire, feelings, will and intentions.

We thus have to understand the language of our body and  that the one of the others in order to apprehend these spontaneous signs. This will make it possible for us to enrich our knowledge, to harmonize our relationships and to progress on the path of authentic communication. To Aanswer the numerous questions about the body language is the goal of the science of synergology.

What is the body language?

When we speak about body language, we assume that the body communicates and that we have to understand what it is telling us.

Can we consider this communication as a language?

As soon as there is someone to perceive the signs of the body and to answer it, there is language. Our body expresses our conscious and unconscious desires.

Is our body expressing a demand?

It can express a demand or a refusal. The expression of an intimate need will always be positive, because it corresponds to a desire, whereas the reaction to external proposals can either be positive or negative. We call body language the signals sent by the body in both situations.

The face of the guy is here inexpressive. His arms by his sides, he does not invite his partner to react. She steps back and rests on her right foot. She does not make a move in his direction and crosses her arms as a barrier

Here it is different. The guy is leaning in the direction of the girl. He gets close to his partner, but as his position is open (arms and hands open, his torso is offered), it does not arouse a defensive attitude from his partner. 

His left arm is raised, it is the hand of affectivity (the left one). The movement of his thumb and of his index indicates that it is about something pleasant, which also is also suggested by the  suggests the expression on his face.

He thus gets an open attitude from his partner. Her arms are no longer crossed and her  weight is not entirely body does not entirely weight on her right foot anymore.

Are the body signs originally intended to communicate?

No. Many movements only express a mindset or a posture. By observing the signals emitted by the body, one can for example see if someone is sad or happy, weary or mindful, but those signals are not supposed to receive an answer.

Are not these states an invitation to communicate?

They are indeed. Even if they were not, being able to recognize a certain feeling on somebody's face always arouse an attitude of communication, because it reminds us of a feeling we experienced in the past.
For example, someone is sitting on a bench and his expression clearly indicates that he does not want to be disturbed. An other person passes by and sees him. This person is then confronted with two choices: first he can respect the isolation of the first person, or he can feel the social need to ask what is wrong and what he can do to help.

What is the good attitude?

 It is hard to say. Does the lonely person want somebody to pull him out of his numbness? Or will he feel disturbed because his firm intention was to be alone? The answer can only come from his reaction towards us.

How to measure our impact on others?
We first need to have an impact. Some signals are too weak or to ambiguous to be understood and thus have no impact. The first question to ask is: "How to check if we have an impact on others?".
It is easy: if we have an impact, something noticeable must change in the other's appearance. It can be a movement, a brief expression on the face or even a blushing.

How to know if our signal as a positive or a negative impact?
In case of a positive response, the body of our interlocutor moves freely. His movements are supple and open and he shows signs of relaxation. He can for example lean back, the head slightly aside, or open his arm and smile to us. His movements are executed harmoniously.

What are the signs of a negative impact?
The body is suddenly tensed, sometimes it is almost unnoticeable. The body contracts to become smaller and lacks vivacity.

The gestures of domination are part of the behaviors of intimidation. Here the man stands negligently on one leg. However, he still needs a support, which diminishes the impression of strength. His left hand (the hand of affectivity) is hidden. He tries to hide is true feelings.

As we try to to intimidate, we can also want to convince. By breaking with the social conventions, for example by putting one's leg on a chair, this man tries to convince us of his strength. The right hand is ready for action, while the left one is hidden.

Can we talk about fundamental body reactions? We can indeed make it a basic assumption that these reactions are fundamental. For example, let us consider the simplest forms of movement: the opening and the isolation from the world. The movements of opening to the outside world are always triggered by a positive stimulation: we open to the world because we have nothing to hide nor to fear. It is as if the doors and the windows of our heart were wide open, without fear of thieves nor unwanted spectators. The body seems relaxed and the arms open in an ample gesture. We do not feel the need to protect with our arms our torso or our belly, which are the vulnerable parts of the body. On the other hand, stillness and muscle stiffness are the usual signs of distrust; on the contrary, the arms are placed in front of the body to protect it. How is the opening characterized? The palm of the hands is slightly offered. The arms are outspread from the body. We show that we do not fear our entourage. The torso is uncovered. This attitude is sign of blooming and opening. How is the withdrawal characterized? First the facial features contract and the muscles stiffen, which limits the movements. According to the situations and their seriousness, we can also duck our head into our shoulders, round our back and protect the body with the arms. In such a behavior of withdrawal, we tend to take up less space and we do not want to bump into people on the street. In an interesting TED talk, Amy Cutty explains that not only our body reflects how we feel and what we think, but that it can also change it. Indeed in an experiment she and her collaborator Dana Carney, researcher at Berkeley brought people into their lab and ask them to adopt high-power poses or low-power poses (see below) for two minutes. In low-power poses, you turn in on to yourselves and make yourself smaller. Touching the neck is a very strong sign of protection. Amy Cutty and her collaborator wanted the tested people to be feeling powerful. They then asked them, "How powerful do you feel?" and gave them an opportunity to gamble. Finally they took another saliva sample (they took one at the beginning of the experiment too). They looked at hormones. Powerful people tend to be, not surprisingly, more assertive and more confident, more optimistic. They actually feel that they're going to win even at games of chance. They also tend to be able to think more abstractly. They take more risks. There are a lot of psychological differences between powerful and powerless people. What they discovered though is that there are also physiological differences. Physiologically, there are differences on two key hormones: testosterone, which is the dominance hormone, and cortisol, which is the stress hormone. The results are presented below: They also found that high-power alpha males in primate hierarchies have high testosterone and low cortisol, and powerful and effective leaders also have high testosterone and low cortisol. So what does that mean? Power is not only about testosterone, but power is also really about how you react to stress. Indeed you probably want the person who is powerful and assertive and dominant not to be very stress reactive.

You can find the video here:

TED talk: your body language shapes what you are - by Amy Cuddy

Conclusion:We have seen in this small introduction to body language some examples of body expressions and their meaning. The section about synergology will give us more details on the scientific grounds behind those body language assertions. It will provide us with stable foundations on which we will build our comprehension of body language.