What is Body Language? Body language is nonverbal communication that involves body movement. “Gesturing” can also be termed as body language which is absolutely non-verbal means of communication, People in the workplace can convey a ‘great deal of information without even speaking; through nonverbal communication. Not all of our values, beliefs, thoughts and intentions are communicated verbally. In an ongoing communication, most of those are communicated non-verbally. In Non-verbal communication, our human body expresses our feclings and intentions through conscious and unconscious movements and postures, accompanied by gestures, facial expressions, eye contacts and touch. ‘This collectively forms a separate language of the body within the ongoing communication. ‘This is called Body Language. How Does the Body Speaks? Our human body speaks through the conscious and unconscious movements and postures, hand gestures, facial expressions, eye movements and touch. Each of these physical movements of the body parts could be seen as separate words and can be interpreted differently by other human beings within a given context of communication. Why is Body Language Important? Since interpretations of body language differ from people to people and cultures to countries it is important to learn about them, Body language alone comprises of 55% of total communication whereas spoken words comprise of 7% and tone of voice comprise 38%. Types of Body Language What types of body language can be distinguished? Body language is usually grouped along two lines. 1. Parts of the body 2. Intent So what types can be found in each group? Parts of the body From head to toe, here are the groups when grouped for body parts: + The Head - Movement and placement of the head, back to front, left to right, side to side, including the shaking of hair. ‘+ Facial Expressions - The face has many muscles (anywhere between 54 and 98, depending on who you ask) that move several areas of the face. Fach combination of movements of the following face elements communicates a state of mind: ‘+ Eyebrows - Up, down, frowning. + Eyes-Left, right, up, down, blinking, eye dialiation. + Nose - Wrinkle (at the top), flaring of the nostrils + Lips - Smiling, snarling, puckered, kissing, opened, closed, tight. + Tongue - In, out, rolled, tip up or down, licking of lips. + Jaw- Open, closed, clinched, lower jaw left or right. + Body Posture - The way you place your body and arms and legs, in relation to each other, and in relation to other people:Intent © Body proximity - How far or close to other people. © Shoulder movements - Up, down, hanging, hunched. + Arm placement - up, down, crossed, straight. + Leg and feet placement - straight, crossed, weight placement, feet towards speaking partner or pointing elsewhere, dangling of shoes. «Hand and finger gestures - How you hold and move your hands and fingures are particularly insightful in reading people + Handling and placement of objects (eg. pens, papers, etc). - The odd one out... technically not a body part, but objects do play a big role in reading body language. Another way to group types of body language is along Intent: + Voluntary/Intentional movements - Usually called "Gestures". These are movements you intended to make, like shaking a hand, giving the finger, blinking with one eye. + Involuntary movements - Usually called "tells', but "ticks" also fall into this category. Any body movement you have no cotrol over falls in this category. While technically not a body movement, sweating also applies. So where is Tone of Voice? While usually seen as body language, tone of voice and intonation are a separate group from body language For completeness sake, these are the groups that are found in tone of voice: + Pitch of voice - high voice, low voice, intonation. + Loudness - Everything from shouting to whispering. «Breathing - Slow, fast breathing, shaky voice The Body Language of Gestures “Tt is an expressive movements of a part of a body especially hands or heads”. It has vital effect or part in oral communication. Gesture of a person convey much more than what he speaks.Examples of gesture: * Waving of hand to indicate good bye or drav Examples of gesture: * Shaking Hands display the friendship Examples of gesture: * Shrugging of shoulders indicat Examples of gesture: «Pointing index finger indicates allegation or chargeExamples of gesture: + Thumbs up sign indicates wishing 4 ‘Good Luck I The Body Language of Posture ‘Means “an attitude or position of body * Fach mov nent of body has expressive & defensive functions © The way, in which we sit or stand, walk in walk out tells a lot about us ‘© A good posture indicates confident attitude A A Poor Posture Good Posture Poor PostureThe Body Lan, e of Movement Facial Expression * All facial organs on human face indicates facially expressive message + These are hair, forehead, eyebrows, eyes, mouth, chin, nose, lips, ears, teethe, tongue etc * Facial expressions comes naturally hence it is beyond the control of speaker. Examples of Facial Expression * A Smile expresses friendliness & affection Examples of Facial Expression * Raised eyebrows convey surpriseExamples of Facial Expression Examples of Facial Expression Frown shows dislike ¢ Dress & Appearance The kind of dress w © We influenced how ot ar status & 2Eye Contact * Eye contact has very much in face-to-face © Absence ommunication. eye contact shows lack of inte: st & understanding, © We look faster than listen or talk. © Eyes are human windows except them there is no life. ‘©The speaker must look in to the eyes of the audience from right to left & left to right this will built up the confidence & eliminate the nervousness. * It build the rapport between the speaker & the listener Silence Voice Modulation The speaker must use his voice effectively Someone wants to become a effective speaker, a good is must ( A good voice is natural gift One can take the training of phonetics to improve “speech is silver but silence is golden” It establishes the relationship between the communicators. Moments of silence - do not know how to continue