According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, the origin of body language comes from its relation to animal communication. Body language in humans may in fact represent a continuation of forms of communication that our non-linguistic ancestors in the animal kingdom already used.

As humans, we use body language to transmit a variety of emotions - both voluntary and involuntary. For example, when a person is overly excited when telling a story, he may purposely wave his hands in the air or point for emphasis. However, if that same person is telling a story and stretching the facts, he may look away from his audience or shift his eyes slightly to the left indicating the storyteller is lying.

Sales professionals learn early how to read a potential customer’s gestures and movements before moving in for the close. These seasoned sales personnel, often trained by body language experts, skillfully read subliminal cues and interpret how to move the deal in one direction or another. Business managers interviewing for a new position often use the same skills to discover more than their potential employee would like them to know.

In our daily lives, we encounter many types of body language gestures. Here are a few examples to keep you ahead of the competition:

·    Standing with hands on hips - readiness, aggression

·    Arms crossed over chest - defensiveness

·    Hand to cheek - evaluation thinking

·    Sitting with hands clasped behind head, legs crossed - confidence, superiority

·    Tapping or drumming fingers - impatience

·    Tilted head - interest

·    Pulling or tugging at ear - indecision

·    Rubbing the eye - doubt, disbelief

·    Fondling hair - lack of self-confidence, insecurity

Although the human race has come a long way from our knuckle-walking friends of the forest, sometimes it takes a just little more learning to accurately read the folks we encounter every day.

About the Author: Dana Persia is Owner and Principal Consultant of DP Image Consulting, a company specializing in individual and corporate image consulting. For more information visit www.dpimageconsulting.com

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