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Decoding Body Language Basics

This document discusses body language and its importance in communication. It covers several key points: 1) Body language forms a significant part of non-verbal communication and first impressions, with posture, positioning, gestures, eye contact, and tone of voice all playing a role. 2) Body language can communicate messages unconsciously and people often make assessments of others based on body language before words are even spoken. 3) Women are generally considered more intuitive readers of body language signals than men, with brain scan studies finding women activate more areas of the brain during evaluation of others. 4) Proper decoding of body language involves reading gestures in context and clusters rather than isolation, looking for congruence between verbal and

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Saba Asim
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27 views16 pages

Decoding Body Language Basics

This document discusses body language and its importance in communication. It covers several key points: 1) Body language forms a significant part of non-verbal communication and first impressions, with posture, positioning, gestures, eye contact, and tone of voice all playing a role. 2) Body language can communicate messages unconsciously and people often make assessments of others based on body language before words are even spoken. 3) Women are generally considered more intuitive readers of body language signals than men, with brain scan studies finding women activate more areas of the brain during evaluation of others. 4) Proper decoding of body language involves reading gestures in context and clusters rather than isolation, looking for congruence between verbal and

Uploaded by

Saba Asim
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Body Language -

Basics

Institute of Business Administration
University of the Punjab
Body language

 ‘It is not what you say, it is how you say it.’
 Body language is an integral part of effective
communication.
 Form of non-verbal communication.
 Your posture and position is pertinent to your first
impression, along with how you are dressed.
 Positioning yourself properly is significant,
especially for public speaking.
Body language

 Conscious or unconscious body movements and
postures –
 For most part, body language is unintentional
 Communication begins before you even start to
speak, people see you and start developing a
perception about you.
 Some people are more ‘perceptive’ or ‘intuitive’
about people. (Hunch, gut feeling)
Body language

 Women are considered more perceptive than men – hence
the phrase ‘women’s intuition’ has credibility in
communication.
 Women decipher and pick-up on non-verbal signals often
more accurately than men
 In a study, participants were asked to decode a silent movie.
Women were able to guess what was happening 87 percent of
the time, but men could guess correctly only 42 percent of the
time.
 MRI scans reveal that women have 14 to 16 active brain areas
while evaluating others, whereas men only have four to six
active.
Body language

 It varies according to the target audience – who you
are speaking to.
 You can use your body to communicate your
message effectively.
 Body language
 Encoding
 Decoding
Body language

 Body language varies according to the situation.
 Body language of the course instructor may be
different in a physical classroom and in a virtual
classroom.
 An online class or live session in presence of real time
students could result into bringing out much real body
language, as it will be interactive. On the contrary, a
recorded session in front of the camera for the same
students could look robotic or static, as a result of one
way communication.
Body language

 Facial expressions
 Body movement and posture
 Gestures
 Eye contact
 Touch
 Space
 Tone of Voice
Universal gestures

 ‘Smile’ when you are happy
 ‘Frown’ when you are angry
 ‘Nodding your head’ as yes or affirmation
 ‘shaking your head’ as no or negation
 ‘shoulder shrug’ as don’t know
Rules to read body
language - Decoding
 Rule 1 - Read gestures in clusters
 Mistake is to interpret a gesture as stand alone, in
isolation from other gestures and circumstances.
 Each gesture is like a single word and one word may
have several different meanings.
Rules to read body
language - Decoding
Rules to read body
language –Decoding
 Critical thinking
 Add on
 The other arm crossed around the chest
 Legs crossed
 Head and chin are down (negative/hostile)
 ‘I don’t like what you are saying’
 ‘I am holding back negative feelings’
 Judgmental
Rules to read body
language - Decoding
 Rule 2 – Look for congruence
 Non-verbal communication is five times more
important than verbal communication
 When two are incongruent, people disregard verbal
content and rely on the nonverbal message more –
especially women
 ‘It is what you don’t say that counts’
 Example: Sycophant
 Example: Freud – marriage, wedding ring
Rules to read body
language - Decoding
 Rule 3 – Read gestures in context
 Arms tightly crossed on a cold winter day (means cold
not defensive)
 In a meeting, when you are presenting your idea, it
has negative connotation
Misreading the body
language

 It is a common mistake – be careful, try not to judge
too quickly
 For instance, ‘limp handshake’ can have various
reasons – arthritis, artists, surgeons
 The key is to be able to differentiate the real gesture
from the fake one.
Avoiding body
languagemistakes
 Turning away from the audience – not facing them is a clear
sign that you are nervous, uncomfortable or not confident
enough about your message.
 If you turn away from the audience, all people can do is pay
attention to your body language, rather than what you are
saying.
 Being static – unnatural
 Position – standing in the farthest corner, rather than in the
centre of the room/stage.
 Don’t hold your elbows too close to your body, loosen up a
little bit.

Thank you

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