Introduction to Body Language

Have you ever been in a situation where you wished you knew what another person was thinking? You're sitting at a restaurant on a blind date. Sitting across from you is an attractive, well groomed, and financially secure man. You smile at him and ask questions and he responds with short answers, or he nods his head in agreement. You eat your dinner and sip your wine with polite smiles back and forth. Suddenly, you wonder if he is just the quiet type, or if you are more interested in him than he is in you. It would be very helpful to you if you knew what was going on inside his head, but you know that's not possible. So, you continue your date waiting patiently for some clue as to how he feels. Inevitably, you will know soon enough. It's the waiting that drives you crazy. At the end of dinner he drives you home, thanks you for a lovely time and says he'll call you. You think to yourself, "That's it?" You are no closer to knowing how he feels than you were at the beginning of your date.

The next morning as you are driving to work your cell phone rings. You pick it up to hear Mr. Blind Date from the night before. He tells you that he didn't really feel a connection with you and wants to continue his quest for the perfect woman. Your mind swims in wonderment as to what could have happened to make him feel this way. You wore your perfect red dress and shoes. Your hair was done perfectly and your perfume was light and not overpowering. He had complimented you on your appearance. You were polite, didn't chew with your mouth open or send your food back to be cooked longer (something you personally loath in others).

You decide to chalk it up to bad luck and swear an oath to never date again. It's probably an oath you will break, considering it was your first date in over six months and you truly liked the experience. You still can't get this out of your head and think to yourself, "If I could have known what he was thinking, things might have turned out differently." Maybe he was bored with the restaurant and wanted to go someplace more exciting. If you had known this, you might have said, "Let's get out of here and go dancing or to the movies."

Well, look no further. This course is your answer. It's all about reading body language, and it is your key in this situation. By watching another person's hand gestures, posture, facial expressions, hand movements and other subtle things, you can actually tell what they are thinking. More often than not, we tend to take body language for granted. There are people who specialize in this particular field, but the average person, like yourself, doesn't really pay too much attention to the subject.

Allow me to enlighten you; it can be helpful in a vast number of situations, even life-saving. It's as simple as an eyebrow movement, a lip curl, or a nose wrinkle. They can all mean very distinct things if you know what to look for. By knowing ahead of time what's going through another's mind, you can control a situation before it becomes out of control. It can allow the doors of possibility to open for you.

When you talk to someone by waving your hand, nodding your head, or even crossing your arms, you are communicating. Body language is the phrase we use for these movements and gestures. This also incorporates the most subtle of movements that people may not be aware of, including winking, the slight movement of the eyebrows, and other facial expressions.

Paralanguage is defined as nonverbal communication. Body language is a part of paralanguage and it has been studied in the psychology field by many experts, in particular, the involuntary body language like smiling and frowning.