First Lieutenant Zebulon Hanley crosses the finish line and wins a marathon. You can read his sense of celebration simply from his facial expressions and hand gestures.
Body language is a word for all the cues people use to communicate without speaking. These movements can be expressions, posture, gestures, touches and how close someone is standing to another person.

Sometimes body language is used along with speech to emphasize what is being said. An example of this is when people move their hands while talking. Body language can also be used without words, like when people shrug their shoulders to mean "I don't know."

More than half of what we communicate to others is through body language alone. People tend to trust body cues more than spoken words. Most of us have probably asked people how they were doing, and have them reply: "I'm fine." However, their slumped shoulders and lack of eye contact suggested otherwise. Most people consider a spoken answer to be a cover for a deeper truth. Someone's true feelings are often shown by their physical behavior.

Each person's body language is unique and develops over many years. This means it can be difficult for someone to change his or her body language.

Different Types Of Body Language

Speaking in public often involves hand and arm gestures.
Expressions people make with their faces are the most easily recognized form of body language. Smiling, for example, can say many things about your mood before any words are spoken. Movement of the eyes, eyebrows, eyelids and lips also send signals. Facial expressions usually emphasize or even change what is being said. A wink might show that you are not being as serious as you sound, for example. Eye contact, or lack thereof, also sends signals about confidence and attentiveness, both on the part of the speaker and the listener.

Gestures and body posture are other ways people communicate without words. Some very common gestures are waving goodbye and giving the thumbs-up sign. Strong body posture, like standing upright with your shoulders back and head held high, shows confidence. Slouching and not making eye contact suggests the opposite.

What Messages Are Communicated Through Body Language?

People's body language often shows their true feelings. There also is usually a direct connection between what we feel and how we act. For example, hearing a sudden noise can make us jump in surprise. Our body language is a visible sign of how we are reacting to our environment.

Couple in the metro, showing similar postures.
Body language says a lot about who we are, what we are thinking and how we feel. A confident person often conveys body confidence by standing up straight, shaking hands firmly, touching people when appropriate and leaning in close to talk. These personal traits are revealed more through body language than when someone is speaking.

Techniques For Using Body Language Effectively

What messages are you sending with your own body language?

Body language is important in places like job meetings.
When you stand, what do you do with your hands? Are they in your pockets, at your sides, or perhaps clasped behind your back? Do you make firm eye contact or avoid someone else's gaze? Once you make a habit of noticing these things, it becomes easier to maintain constant awareness. This, in turn, will help you to decide which new body habits you want to adopt.

Thinking more about your body language does not mean you should become a different person. It is actually the other way around since your true self might not always be reflected in the way you act physically.

The Relationship Between Body Language And Emotion

Consider the body language of people in winning situations, such as a football player who has just scored a touchdown, a runner who is first across the finish line or a politician who has won an election. They typically raise their hands high over their heads in celebration. This is an almost universal reaction to winning.

It might be possible that certain poses create feelings too. For example, a confident body posture can lead to feelings of confidence. The next time you are about to do something important, try standing with your arms raised and head held high. Pose like an athlete who has just won a race, for two minutes. Just standing in this winning pose may help to create feelings of success. You might feel more confident thanks to your body language.

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