tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/body-language-4071/articlesBody language – The Conversation2023-03-28T16:38:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2014182023-03-28T16:38:09Z2023-03-28T16:38:09ZBody language books get it wrong: the truth about reading nonverbal cues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516674/original/file-20230321-26-yxltlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C48%2C3546%2C2656&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Defensive, uncertain, confident, confrontational: can your body language reveal what you're thinking?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-wearing-teal-dress-sitting-on-chair-talking-to-man-2422280/">Pexels/Jopwell</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of us have heard the one about if you <a href="https://www.scienceofpeople.com/arm-body-language/">cross your arms</a> over your chest you’re feeling defensive or if you’re <a href="https://www.elitedaily.com/lifestyle/hair-twirling-playing-touching-psychologist">fiddling with your hair</a> while talking you feel nervous – but is there <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yqx1j8ynGfwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=body+language+research&ots=UgEWIy3m6l&sig=MCo0kkz0X0t4DOFafsMquERFYOo#v=onepage&q=body%20language%20research&f=false">really any truth</a> to some of these <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/spycatcher/202207/debunking-body-language-myths">body language stereotypes</a>?</p>
<p>Reading <a href="https://www.popsci.com/story/science/body-language-analysis/">body language</a> can be a <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110302028/html">useful skill</a> in <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED077060">understanding</a> how someone is feeling or what they might be thinking. But it’s important to remember that it’s <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/youtube-body-language/">not an exact science</a> and there can be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/body-language-around-the-world-2015-3?r=US&IR=T">cultural or individual variations</a> in how <a href="https://neuroclastic.com/autistic-body-language/">people express themselves</a> through body language. For example, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4340785/#:%7E:text=In%20fact%2C%20in%20Japanese%20culture,their%20peripheral%20vision%20%5B28%5D.">eye contact in Japan</a> can be considered an act of aggression or rudeness.</p>
<p>Indeed, you can’t trust everything you read in body language guides. For example, in a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1977-05780-000">book published in 1970</a>, author Ray Birdwhistell claimed that humans have 20,000 different facial expressions. But in the <a href="https://e-edu.nbu.bg/pluginfile.php/331752/mod_resource/content/0/Allan_and_Barbara_Pease_-_Body_Language_The_Definitive_Book.pdf">Definitive Book of Body Language</a> published in 2004 by Allan and Barbara Pease, that number suddenly increased to 250,000.</p>
<p>A quarter of a million different facial expressions – no wonder you need to read a guide on body language to decode those. More recent <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1322355111">scientific research</a> suggests that the real number of facial expressions is actually closer to 21.</p>
<p>There are body language books that promise success in the boardroom, the bedroom, bars and restaurants. They promise success at work and at home along with how to read the “tells” of your friends and neighbours. These popular books have two main aims (apart from making money) – they explain how to “expertly” read body language but also how to fake it for maximum effect.</p>
<h2>Dominant displays</h2>
<p>The Definitive Book of Body Language, for example, tells us that the crotch display (legs open, crotch slightly thrust forward, hand on the belt) is used by “macho men and tough guys”. It’s a powerful sexual signal the authors say and they claim it works. They write: “This gesture tells others, ‘I am virile – I can dominate’ which is why it’s a regular for men on the prowl.”</p>
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<img alt="Man standing with hands on hips." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516675/original/file-20230321-2285-d4qgd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A dominant crotch display or just posing with hands on hips? And is his smile even real?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/full-length-body-size-view-nice-1934401475">Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Millions of people buy these books and try to recreate the crotch display or the “catapult” – the seated version of the hands-on-hip pose, with the hands behind the head and the elbows “menacingly pointed out”. The authors say this is an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/books/chapters/0924-1st-peas.html">almost exclusively male gesture</a> “used to intimidate others”.</p>
<p>It’s hard not to find either display a little comical partly because these “secret” meanings have been so widely shared in these bestselling books and partly because they are just inherently ridiculous. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man sitting on an orange beanbag doing the catapult body language position." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517706/original/file-20230327-14-1geds5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Is this the catapult or just a shoulder stretch?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/full-size-body-length-happy-elderly-2113243046">ViDI Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>These books are full of static images of the body language of effective “communicators” – and that’s one fundamental issue because body language is dynamic: the body is in motion. You can’t stand in a crotch display or sit in the catapult all day.</p>
<p>But that’s not to say body language isn’t important. Its significance is immense, although it’s not 12 times more powerful than verbal communication – <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781351308724/nonverbal-communication-albert-mehrabian">as some have claimed</a>. </p>
<h2>Fake vs real</h2>
<p>In my book <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Rethinking-Body-Language-How-Hand-Movements-Reveal-Hidden-Thoughts/Beattie/p/book/9780415538893">Rethinking Body Language</a>, I argue that to read body language accurately you need to know where to look. There may not be 20,000 different facial expressions, but the face can still be very revealing of underlying emotional states. That is until the person starts to try to control it, for example, by masking emotions with a smile. </p>
<p>So how can you tell a fake smile from a genuine smile? A genuine one involves the muscles around the eyes and fades slowly from the face. A fake masking smile leaves the face abruptly, as the US psychologist, Paul Ekman, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00332747.1969.11023575?">has shown</a> in his pioneering experiments linking emotions and facial expressions. So to decode facial expressions more accurately, you need to focus on what’s going on when the fake smile disappears. It’s very brief but it can be very revealing.</p>
<p>Another problem with the static nature of these body language books is that speech and body language are intimately connected, as US psychologist and expert in psycholinguistics (the psychology of language), David McNeill argued in his 2000 book <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=DRBcMQuSrf8C&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=David+McNeill&ots=jEGX5yuqlm&sig=NLWoRpApXoRDC6P-RYkYDuBHXlc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=David%20McNeill&f=false">Language and Gesture</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Woman with fake smile." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516678/original/file-20230321-16-qgwbd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">‘I’m happy, honest!’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/put-on-your-smile-young-girl-1344659774">Shutterstock/RomarioIen</a></span>
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<p>When people talk they often make spontaneous and unconscious hand movements that illustrate the content of what they’re saying. There’s no dictionary for these movements but they’re generated alongside speech itself. My own research <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/semi.1999.123.1-2.1/html">has shown</a> that meanings are expressed in these movements – and when people can’t see these gestures they miss important information. </p>
<p>Sometimes the gestural movement and the speech do not match. A speaker might say “my partner and I are very close” but their hands indicate a significant gap, rather than closeness. Another person says “I have very high ambitions” but their hand doesn’t rise that far, which you would expect if a person really felt that way. </p>
<p>I have argued in Rethinking Body Language that, in cases like this, the unconscious gesture is often the more reliable indicator of the underlying thought. But you need to know what they’re talking about to read the gestural movements.</p>
<p>It’s much easier to lie effectively in speech than in the accompanying gesture because these movements have intricate timings linked to the speech itself. The hand movement starts just before the speech and then the meaningful part of the gesture coincides exactly with the relevant word. It’s hard to get these timings right when lying. Again it’s all in the movement and the timing – and the close and unconscious connection between speech and body language.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201418/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Beattie has received funding from the ESRC for his work on gesture.</span></em></p>Why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover: the limitations of reading body language.Geoff Beattie, Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2024052023-03-27T12:42:25Z2023-03-27T12:42:25ZLie detectors: body language tells us surprisingly little about whether someone is being honest<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517218/original/file-20230323-26-kvkctu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C44%2C7360%2C4858&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/male-hands-crossed-fingers-277073900">B-D-S Piotr Marcinski/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you ever wonder if you could pass a lie detection test or imagine what it would be like to read people’s body language? Reading body language may be great for adding tension to action movie interrogation scenes, however, the truth is, there isn’t much evidence you can detect lies by watching someone’s body language.</p>
<p>When you try to discover whether someone is lying in an interview, your sources are the behaviour the person displays or the information they provide. Nonverbal lie detection (body language) is more popular than <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2022.2035842">verbal lie detection</a> as people think that lie tellers can control their speech but not their behaviour. But verbal cues for deceit are far more telling. </p>
<p>People often assume lie tellers will be anxious. For example, that a lie teller might look away from the interviewer, fidget with their hands, sweat or swallow frequently. There is <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103135">no scientific evidence for this belief</a>. The problem is truth tellers also get nervous during interviews and may display the same behaviour as lie tellers.</p>
<p>Lie tellers are more concerned about their credibility, whereas truth tellers are more likely to think that the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10683160701645181">truth will shine through</a>. However, if lie tellers and truthful people opt for body language strategies, they will do the same thing: avoid displaying signs of nervousness. </p>
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<p>But the spoken tactics truth tellers and lie tellers use differ. Truth tellers are forthcoming and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/12/1644">willing to provide information</a>. They typically do not provide all the information they know at first, because they don’t know how much they are expected to offer. They may also lack the motivation to provide a lot of information. Truth tellers think their honesty is obvious to observers. Why put so much effort into providing details they think are irrelevant when the truth is clear? Plus, at first, they may be unable to retrieve <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/12/1644">everything that is stored in their memory</a>. </p>
<h2>Talking the talk</h2>
<p>Lie tellers try to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10683160701645181">keep their stories simple</a>. They are afraid what they say may give leads to investigators that they can check. They fear they won’t be able to repeat all they said when interviewed again later, or that an elaborate lie will require too much thinking time.</p>
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<img alt="Man with doubtful expression facing woman" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517219/original/file-20230323-2062-qy50xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517219/original/file-20230323-2062-qy50xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517219/original/file-20230323-2062-qy50xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517219/original/file-20230323-2062-qy50xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517219/original/file-20230323-2062-qy50xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517219/original/file-20230323-2062-qy50xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517219/original/file-20230323-2062-qy50xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Don’t waste your time reading someone’s body language if you feel unconvinced.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/doubting-dissatisfied-man-looking-woman-bad-1395298583">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Studies <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12555795/">analysing deception research</a> have shown that not only are verbal cues more revealing than nonverbal cues about deceit but also people are better at lie detection when they listen to speech than when they observe behaviour.</p>
<p>Interview protocols in most professions, such as border control and police, have been developed by deception researchers aimed at exploiting the different verbal strategies truth tellers and lie tellers use in interviews. The protocol interviewers choose normally depends on the evidence. </p>
<p>If the interviewer has independent evidence (for example, an email showing that someone attended an event) the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-06150-010">strategic use of evidence (SUE)</a> is the best choice. This is when interviewers ask questions about the event without revealing the evidence they have. Truth tellers who have nothing to hide will speak freely and provide details, whereas lie tellers will deny they attended the event, will be reluctant to give specifics and may deflect questions. Lie tellers are more likely than truth tellers to contradict the evidence.</p>
<h2>The professional approach</h2>
<p>Sometimes interviewers do not have evidence, but it is possible the interviewee can provide it. When using a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211368120300772">verifiability approach (VA) interview technique</a>, interviewers ask interviewees whether they can provide evidence the interviewer can check. VA research has found truth tellers are more likely to volunteer such evidence (for example, mentioning other people who were at the event) than lie tellers.</p>
<p>Suppose that the topic of investigation is not whether the interviewee attended an event but whether the interviewee tells the truth or not about what they discussed with someone at the event. SUE and VA are not appropriate for this situation. An email showing someone attended the event will not reveal what happened there. If the interviewee did not record the conversation, the interviewee won’t be able to offer verifiable information. In that situation, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/12/1644">cognitive credibility assessment (CCA)</a> can be used, an interview protocol that only considers the quality of a statement. </p>
<p>In a CCA interview, an interviewee is initially asked to report what happened during a narrow time period. The interviewee is then given prompts that raise expectations about what to say (let them listen to an example recording of someone giving the amount of detail you would like to hear), increases motivation to talk (by giving the impression that you listen to the best story you have heard in your life) or facilitates memory recall (by asking people to sketch out details of what they experienced while reporting their experiences). </p>
<p>In a CCA interview, interviewees are asked to tell their story several times over. CCA research has shown that truth tellers volunteer more extra information during these successive recalls than lie tellers who keep their stories simple. </p>
<p>It’s impossible to tell what information is inside someone’s head. For now, people’s thoughts are private as we simply don’t have the technology to unravel what someone is thinking. It may be less glamorous than a lie detector machine, but simply listening to the words someone says can reveal more about the state of their mind than they’d like.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202405/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aldert Vrij receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC, present) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI, present).
He also received many grants in the past including from:
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council;
Dutch Government;
Singapore Government;
Leverhulme Trust</span></em></p>But there are other techniques professional investigators use to test the plausibility of people’s stories.Aldert Vrij, Professor of Social Psychology, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1951182022-11-25T21:17:12Z2022-11-25T21:17:12ZMonkeys’ brains are wired to read body language – just like ours<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497300/original/file-20221125-14-6j56gr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C6%2C4354%2C2896&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rhesus-macaque-little-monkey-arunachala-mountain-1222575103">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic drove a surge in remote work and learning, videoconferencing apps such as Zoom saw their user numbers boom. Plenty of other options were available, but the exponential growth in videoconferencing underlines an essential aspect of human communication: to do it effectively, we need to see each other.</p>
<p>And it’s not just about facial expressions. Body language is also a very powerful form of social communication used to express how we feel to the people around us. </p>
<p>Indeed, body language is so important that a part of our brain called the visual cortex has dedicated areas tuned to different kinds of body postures and expressions. </p>
<p>And, as we show in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add6865">new research published in Science Advances</a>, humans are not alone in this: the brains of rhesus monkeys, like ours, are wired to react to body language, not only in members of their own species but also in humans and other animals.</p>
<h2>Brains watching bodies</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2566760/">Numerous</a> <a href="https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcs.1335">studies</a> have reported that the “body-selective areas” of our brains are more activated when we look at body postures conveying fear than when we look at more calm body postures.</p>
<p>However, we are the only primates that walk around on two legs with our arms normally free to wave and pose. This led us to wonder whether the capacity for recognising body language is unique to humans. </p>
<p>In our new research, we used a noninvasive technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity in four rhesus monkeys (<em>Macaca mulatta</em>) while we showed them pictures of different body postures. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-furious-body-cues-tell-us-more-than-faces-11029">Are you furious? Body cues tell us more than faces </a>
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<hr>
<p>These monkeys are our close evolutionary relatives. <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aam6383?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">Other studies</a> have examined how they process what they observe in social situations, but it has long been unclear how they process body language. </p>
<p>Like human participants in previous studies, the monkeys were first trained to sit comfortably in the scanner. Then, during the experimental scan sessions, they were shown photographs of monkeys that were either scared of something in their environment or calmly going about their business. </p>
<h2>The body language network</h2>
<p>Facial features in the photos were blurred, to ensure facial expressions could not contribute to the brain activity measured during the experiment. </p>
<p>To locate parts of the monkey brain (if any) that encoded emotional body language, we subtracted the neural signal observed when viewing calm monkey bodies from the signal observed when viewing scared monkey bodies.</p>
<p>As a result, we identified a network of body-selective regions located along a deep groove in the brain called the superior temporal sulcus. This closely resembles a network found in the human brain.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497316/original/file-20221125-22-cfvx65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A brain scan showing activity in yellow and red and an active area outlined in white." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497316/original/file-20221125-22-cfvx65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497316/original/file-20221125-22-cfvx65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497316/original/file-20221125-22-cfvx65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497316/original/file-20221125-22-cfvx65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497316/original/file-20221125-22-cfvx65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497316/original/file-20221125-22-cfvx65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497316/original/file-20221125-22-cfvx65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scans showed increased activity in linked areas (outlined in white) of rhesus monkeys’ brains when they were shown photos of other monkeys in fearful postures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add6865">Taubert et al. / Science Advances</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our finding establishes what neuroscientists call a “key functional homology” between humans and rhesus monkeys. In other words, both species have body-selective brain regions with the same visually evoked response to emotional body language. </p>
<p>From an anthropological perspective, this result suggests we are not the only primates that use body postures to communicate how we feel. </p>
<h2>Inter-species communication</h2>
<p>The most intriguing part of our results was the discovery that this response to body language was not limited to the bodies of other rhesus monkeys. Photographs of humans and even of domestic cats in both calm and frightened states evoked similar brain activity.</p>
<p>This is particularly interesting when you consider that the monkeys in this study were living and working with human researchers and caregivers, like many domesticated species (pets) and captive animals housed in zoological parks. Thus, these results open up the possibility that the animals we interact with and see around us have the capacity to recognise our body language. </p>
<p>This is a potentially important consideration as the human population expands and pushes into areas where we can expect frequent conflicts between humans and animals. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ancient-faces-familiar-feelings-expressions-may-be-recognisable-across-time-and-cultures-144729">Ancient faces, familiar feelings: expressions may be recognisable across time and cultures</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Non-human primates are highly adaptable, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3049098/">intelligent</a>, and dextrous, and they are <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/primate-sociality-and-social-systems-58068905">able to work together</a>. These qualities mean they present one of the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-011-3110-0_8">greatest challenges</a> to human–wildlife conflict mitigation and coexistence. </p>
<p>Indeed, in some places populations of monkeys are real threats. In Amboseli National Park in Kenya, for example, where a population of savannah baboons is attracted to man-made watering holes and wells, there has been escalating violence and a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320722002932">marked increase</a> in the baboon mortality rate. </p>
<p>Perhaps understanding that we can communicate intentions and feelings across species via body language will provide a means of avoiding conflict. </p>
<h2>Shared social intelligence</h2>
<p>Researchers and clinical psychologists have often focused on the human ability to read and recognise facial expressions. Our results, however, underscore the importance of body language as another communication tool. </p>
<p>Emerging evidence suggests bodies and postures also <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1224313">play an important role</a> in social behaviour because they help to contextualise facial expressions. They might be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666518222000109">more useful</a> when standing at a distance and deciding whether to approach or avoid another person. </p>
<p>The next step in our research is to explore how these various body-selective brain regions work with the known face-selective brain network, and how these regions contribute to our understanding of social encounters. For now, what seems undeniable is that our remarkable social intelligence is shared by our primate cousins.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/150-years-ago-charles-darwin-wrote-about-how-expressions-evolved-pre-empting-modern-psychology-by-a-century-170880">150 years ago, Charles Darwin wrote about how expressions evolved – pre-empting modern psychology by a century</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195118/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Taubert receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is affiliated with the National Institute of Mental Health, USA. </span></em></p>Rhesus monkeys respond to fearful body language in members of their own species, as well as humans and cats.Jessica Taubert, Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1486882020-10-23T04:52:53Z2020-10-23T04:52:53ZAn expert in nonverbal communication watched the Trump-Biden debate with the sound turned down – here’s what he saw<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365147/original/file-20201023-21-10zvrvm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2794%2C1895&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump at the final presidential debate.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2020Debate/3509951635bc40d9a9b4b8b1bfe0bb96/photo?Query=debate%20AND%20biden&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=2070&currentItemNo=20;https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2020Debate/0d8e79ef63bf4957897b57f597691bc8/photo?Query=debate%20AND%20biden&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=2065&currentItemNo=70; https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2020Debate/8dbe45c44e4e45bcab4d92bd2305bd1c/photo?Query=debate%20AND%20biden&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=2065&currentItemNo=19; https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2020Debate/04215e3b39d34c9fa9787827b36facf9/photo?Query=debate%20AND%20biden&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=2065&currentItemNo=24">AP/Julio Cortez</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met on Oct. 22 for the final debate in the 2020 election and, like the first debate, it was unusual.</p>
<p>COVID-19 forced social distancing and largely took the studio audience, with their laughter, cheering and booing out of the equation. </p>
<p>What’s more, with norm-breaking interruptions and stealing of speaking time an inherent part of <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01182/full">Donald Trump’s debate strategy</a>, the contentious crosstalk between the two candidates and the moderator made long sections of the candidates’ first debate nearly impossible to hear or follow. The threat of having the microphone cut off effectively muted this aggression.</p>
<p>But is what they say as important as we think?</p>
<p>Although news coverage generally focuses on what the candidates say, as a <a href="https://oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-52">political psychologist who studies nonverbal behavior</a>, I focus less on the rehearsed answers and more on the space between talking points. These moments, when candidates nonverbally – and <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2914077">largely involuntarily</a> – respond to their opposition can be enormously revealing. </p>
<p>In other words, how people listen and react may speak louder than what they say. </p>
<h2>Biden</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365143/original/file-20201023-23-1k1mcd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A screenshot from C-SPAN shows Trump talking while Biden laughs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365143/original/file-20201023-23-1k1mcd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365143/original/file-20201023-23-1k1mcd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365143/original/file-20201023-23-1k1mcd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365143/original/file-20201023-23-1k1mcd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365143/original/file-20201023-23-1k1mcd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365143/original/file-20201023-23-1k1mcd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365143/original/file-20201023-23-1k1mcd5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Biden laughs off a Trump attack.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.c-span.org/debates/?debate=second#past-debates">C-SPAN</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During this debate Joe Biden reacted as the emotionally expressive politician he has been throughout his career. </p>
<p>Even when directly dealing with attacks from Trump, whether aimed at his family or his record, Biden often smiled, laughed and shook his head while closing his eyes. That made him appear bemused, if not jovial. </p>
<p>Research suggests that people in informal discussions <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0950705114001531">often change topics within 30 seconds of laughter occurring</a>. This, in turn may be why people – <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739166963/Debatable-Humor-Laughing-Matters-on-the-2008-Presidential-Primary-Campaign">especially politicians</a> - “laugh off” insults. </p>
<p>Laughter when under attack likely signals that Biden feels positive enough to be playful and that he is subtly taking control of the conversation.</p>
<h2>Trump</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365146/original/file-20201023-14-1fb7pvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Trump elongates his lips, looking doubtful" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365146/original/file-20201023-14-1fb7pvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365146/original/file-20201023-14-1fb7pvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365146/original/file-20201023-14-1fb7pvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365146/original/file-20201023-14-1fb7pvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365146/original/file-20201023-14-1fb7pvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365146/original/file-20201023-14-1fb7pvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365146/original/file-20201023-14-1fb7pvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A signature Trump expression known as the ‘lip funneler.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.c-span.org/debates/?debate=second#past-debates">C-SPAN</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Trump presented a much less aggressive and more thoughtful face to the American public during this second debate, especially when compared to the first one. </p>
<p>Instead of directly attacking Biden when his assertions were questioned, Trump responded with what may best be termed a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-the-life-sciences/article/strengthening-bonds-and-connecting-with-followers/24499C8BC80FAE3D1356C9CCB0504906">controlled-posed smile</a>, in which his lower lip is pressed up while his lip corners were pulled up in a smile. This type of smile is often used to mask negative emotions or to signal positive emotions when they are not felt.</p>
<p>Perhaps Trump’s signature facial display is his protruding funneled lips. This lip funneler – as it is referred to by facial display researchers – can often be seen while Trump is listening and preparing to interrupt or respond to Biden. The research that exists about this behavior in humans suggests it is a primal display often occurring during <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0539018415596381">intense emotional situations</a> and is associated with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513814000671?casa_token=V_NrPL0fxTkAAAAA:ICJNaWoYo3L84lKJvLgf6nlcmJPQMIO-0ePrYjE0GKNjDGcs61Fr3SWY47O9tN4AlD_C8scXir20">anger and threats</a> while engaging in dominance-seeking behavior.</p>
<p>Much can be learned about each candidate with the noise turned down and the attention placed squarely on their distinct nonverbal behavior styles. </p>
<p>This is especially the case when focusing on how the candidates respond to their opposition’s assertions and attacks. Public figures can often control how they act. However, they often do not have as much control over how they react in the heat of the moment. </p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=experts">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get expert takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148688/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Stewart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From laughter to funneled lips, the presidential candidates at their last debate signaled via expressions and non-verbal responses what they were feeling.Patrick Stewart, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of ArkansasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1466442020-10-13T19:14:49Z2020-10-13T19:14:49Z3 ways to get your point across while wearing a mask – tips from an award-winning speech coach<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361415/original/file-20201002-20-1giuf9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C23%2C7951%2C5273&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Masks hide just part of how you communicate.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-paying-at-the-cashier-in-the-supermarket-royalty-free-image/1257821447">Hispanolistic/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You wear your mask, keep six feet between yourself and others and are committed to safety. But the measures that help minimize your risk of COVID-19 can also have an impact on your interactions with others. </p>
<p>As you stroll the aisle of a supermarket, you approach someone who looks familiar. To avoid an awkward exchange, you flash them a friendly smile. It’s not until you pass you remember: Your smile was hidden behind a mask. Unloading your groceries at home, you see your neighbor. You excitedly ask her how she is, but when she doesn’t respond, you worry your mask has muffled your voice. </p>
<p>As the head coach for <a href="https://www.comm.msstate.edu/current-students/student-opportunities/clubs-and-organizations/speech-and-debate-council/about">Mississippi State University’s Speech and Debate Team</a>, my job is to teach effective communication. Without question, masks have disrupted social interactions. But communication has many components. You can adjust and enhance your communication by focusing on some of the other pieces that aren’t hidden behind a mask.</p>
<h2>The face</h2>
<p>Facial expressions are the <a href="https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/loose-leaf-communication-matters-floyd/M9781259707766.html">primary way people exhibit emotion</a> and decipher the feelings of others. Happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, fear and surprise <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805083392">can be communicated through facial expressions alone</a>. But when part of the face is masked, it becomes more difficult to recognize these cues. </p>
<p>If you cannot read someone else’s emotional state, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023608506243">your ability to empathize with them may be compromised</a>. Likewise, if your own mask is hiding your emotional state, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0142">others may not be able to empathize with you</a>. Wearing a mask can also make you <a href="https://tulsaworld.com/video/news/1-in-3-people-feel-self-conscious-leaving-the-house-in-a-mask/video_507f95a9-20a5-5f4b-803a-9522e4974c11.html">feel more distracted and self-conscious</a>, further weakening your connection to others.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361418/original/file-20201002-21-efj8bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close up of a woman wearing a niqab, who is clearly smiling." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361418/original/file-20201002-21-efj8bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361418/original/file-20201002-21-efj8bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361418/original/file-20201002-21-efj8bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361418/original/file-20201002-21-efj8bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361418/original/file-20201002-21-efj8bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361418/original/file-20201002-21-efj8bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361418/original/file-20201002-21-efj8bm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Don’t underestimate how much the eyes alone can communicate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/beautiful-even-covered-royalty-free-image/867231762">SrdjanPav/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fortunately, you can regain some control over communication by working with what you have left – the eyes. If you want to increase understanding with a masked individual, you should look them in the eyes – which may be easier said than done. Eye contact <a href="https://digest.bps.org.uk/2014/09/26/eye-contact-makes-us-more-aware-of-our-own-bodies/">triggers self-consciousness, consumes extra brain power</a> and becomes <a href="https://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/07/07/psychologists-have-identified-the-length-of-eye-contact-that-people-find-most-comfortable/">uncomfortable after only three seconds</a>. But bear in mind, eye contact can also make you <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167216669124">appear more intelligent</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162291">trustworthy</a>. </p>
<h2>Body language</h2>
<p>You might be surprised how much information is conveyed by the body itself.</p>
<p>For instance, when someone is happy, they stand up straighter and lift their head; when they are sad, they slouch and drop their head; and when they are angry, their <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315663425">whole body tenses up</a>. Learning how people use their bodies to convey emotion may help reduce the uncertainty you feel when communicating with someone in a mask. </p>
<p>Become aware of your own body language, too. When engaged in a conversation, you can appear more attentive by turning your body toward the individual, leaning in or nodding. To let another person know you want to start speaking, straighten your posture, hold up your index finger <a href="https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Richmond-Nonverbal-Behavior-in-Interpersonal-Relations-7th-Edition/PGM136145.html">or nod more frequently</a>. Finally, be aware that imitating the posture of another person <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct05/mirror">can increase how much they like you</a> and even agree with you. </p>
<h2>The voice</h2>
<p>Don’t forget the impact of your voice. It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. Along with the actual words, you also use <a href="https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/loose-leaf-communication-matters-floyd/M9781259707766.html">volume, tone, pauses and fillers to convey your message</a>. For instance, a lower-pitched whisper may denote sadness or insecurity, whereas a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-6393(02)00084-5">higher-pitched shout could show anger or intensity</a>. </p>
<p>Try this – say the phrase “I didn’t see you there” as if you were scared. Now pretend you are happy. Now confused. Chances are, anyone listening to you could easily identify your emotions without even seeing you. While studies show that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-how-you-sound-when-you-talk-through-a-face-mask-139817">masks do not significantly alter your voice</a>, you may feel that your speech gets muffled when wearing a mask. </p>
<p>If you feel the need to speak louder, just be aware that raising your voice can alter the message you are trying to send. Changing the tone of your voice can change the whole conversation, so instead of increasing volume, try improving enunciation.</p>
<h2>Putting it all together</h2>
<p>While masks may make conversations feel more daunting, you are equipped to communicate, even with part of your face concealed. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361406/original/file-20201002-24-13q0ohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two woman wave across a table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361406/original/file-20201002-24-13q0ohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361406/original/file-20201002-24-13q0ohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361406/original/file-20201002-24-13q0ohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361406/original/file-20201002-24-13q0ohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361406/original/file-20201002-24-13q0ohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361406/original/file-20201002-24-13q0ohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361406/original/file-20201002-24-13q0ohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The need for friendship continues, despite the awkwardness of masks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/two-asian-woman-meeting-in-cafe-wearing-mask-and-royalty-free-image/1225725563">Boy_Anupong/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before your next interaction with a friend, think of ways to improve your connection. Pull your hair back so they can see your eyes clearly and find a quiet place to talk. Use your body and voice to convey the emotions you fear your mask might hide. Maybe most importantly, don’t expect it to go perfectly. Just like any conversation, mistakes will be made. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>When someone can’t understand you, try rephrasing your statement, saying it a bit more slowly and enunciating more. If you are struggling to understand someone else, try to ask close-ended questions, like “Do you want to go to the park?” instead of open-ended ones, like “Where do you want to go?”</p>
<p>By all means, continue the proper measures to keep yourself safe, but don’t neglect your relationships as a consequence. Social distance doesn’t have to mean socially distant.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146644/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cheryl Chambers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the age of masks, improve your interactions by using all aspects of human communication.Cheryl Chambers, Instructor of Communication and Head Coach, MSU Speech & Debate Team, Mississippi State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1362062020-04-29T14:57:34Z2020-04-29T14:57:34ZWhy FaceTime can’t replace face-to-face time during social distancing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328798/original/file-20200417-152607-kby0ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5455%2C3645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's hard to read or decipher body language and microexpressions through a smartphone screen.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we continue to engage in rigid social distancing, more people than ever before are relying on digital technologies for both work and personal communication. While platforms like Zoom have become a staple of remote working and learning, many of us are replacing in-person socializing with <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/21/21185750/how-to-group-chat-watch-movies-games-netflix-discord-zoom-coronavirus-internet">FaceTime, Netflix Party, Google Hangouts and Discord</a>. </p>
<p>Concerns over privacy and information protection have already been raised by Zoom users. There have been <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/boston/news/press-releases/fbi-warns-of-teleconferencing-and-online-classroom-hijacking-during-covid-19-pandemic">reports of hacked meetings</a> and <a href="https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/zoom-hacked-accounts-dark-web-free-penny-report-2211698">thousands of Zoom accounts were sold on the Dark Web</a>. However, even with privacy concerns addressed, digital communication continues to fall short. </p>
<p>As researchers interested in digital health and newly emerging technologies, we are concerned with how these new technologies can improve and alter relationships with ourselves and those around us.</p>
<h2>On-screen eye contact</h2>
<p>Psychology research shows that in group settings, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-power-of-eye-contact-2015-5">eye contact divulges a wealth of information</a>. As a listener, maintaining direct eye contact with a speaker signifies interest and attention. On the other hand, as a speaker, noticing a lack of eye contact signals that we have lost the interest of our listeners. Eye contact is a hard-wired social cue that provides confirmation that <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-truth-about-exercise-addiction/201609/what-eye-contact-can-do-you">listeners are paying attention to us as we speak</a>. </p>
<p>However, this cue can often be missing in digital communication. While you can see the faces of your colleagues onscreen, they are looking at your face on their screen, and not into the camera. Direct eye contact is impossible via current digital hardware. Sometimes, the faces you’re speaking to aren’t visible at all and there is no guarantee that they are looking at you or even listening to what you’re saying. Even features that bring the speaker to centre screen suffer the same pitfalls of being unable to facilitate direct eye contact.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330767/original/file-20200427-145503-13mi9b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Being able to engage in eye contact and clearly view microexpressions contribute to accurately interpreting and communicating messages in conversation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Digital body language</h2>
<p>Body language and gestures such as crossing arms, shuffling feet or fidgeting provide cues as to whether we are engaged in conversation, ready to leave or being sympathetic, <a href="https://fremont.edu/how-to-read-body-language-revealing-the-secrets-behind-common-nonverbal-cues/">among others</a>. This form of non-verbal communication is a valuable contribution to both professional and personal communication. It can be used to highlight and strengthen points, <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships-communication/nonverbal-communication.htm">compliment what you are already saying or convey additional information</a>. </p>
<p>One of the reasons why non-verbal cues are seemingly missing in digital communication is that they have to exist in material space whereas digital communication is flat. It is impossible to reach out touch someone over FaceTime or to lean in or out of a conversation. While digital communication platforms can get our message across, the message lacks the various complex hues of what communication can be. </p>
<h2>Facial microexpressions</h2>
<p>Microexpressions are <a href="https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2011/05/facial-expressions">facial expressions that often occur without our knowing</a>. While they often occur in response to what is being said they are unconscious rather than deliberate reactions, designed to match the tone of the conversation. While digitally communicating, microexpressions can be lost when our internet connection lags or our phone or laptop cameras aren’t the highest quality. </p>
<p>Since our brains pick up and process microexpressions faster than we can consciously understand them, we are provided with a seemingly consistent stream of information that can help us direct the flow of conversation. When that stream is broken, we are forced to consciously engage and process facial expressions, a task that previously was automatic. This can lead to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting">fatigue or misunderstandings</a>. Most common of these is the inability to interject in conversation at the right time. </p>
<p>Whereas before, microexpressions could signal when the speaker was finished, now we are forced to guess. Almost everyone can relate to a messy scenario where people talk over one another, unable to interject at the right time.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330776/original/file-20200427-145566-b1dilc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Managing online group conversations can be difficult when facial cues can’t be read in real-time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Virtual coffee dates</h2>
<p>While digital communication has proven to be integral during the time of social distancing, its shortcomings are more evident than ever. Human communication is complex and dynamic, and effective execution requires the harmonious integration of both verbal and non-verbal components. So while FaceTime may currently act as a timely substitute <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/life/culture/6-fun-ways-to-play-chat-and-hang-with-others-online-1.5519647">to coffee dates with our friends and family</a>, it is very unlikely that digital communication will come to replace its in-person predecessor.</p>
<p>While we can spend the same amount of time talking to our friends and family, the amount of information we are conveying is limited by the two-dimensional images on our laptop and phone screens. As cameras and microphones become more sensitive, our digital communication too can improve drastically. But it won’t be replacing a good, old-fashioned hug any time soon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136206/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As social distancing continues, we’ve increasingly incorporated online and digital communications into our social life. But these technologies can’t compensate for body language or touch.Anna Sui, PhD Candidate, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western UniversityWuyou Sui, PhD Candidate, Exercise and Health Psychology Lab, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1286862020-02-02T13:39:20Z2020-02-02T13:39:20ZAre you a cat whisperer? How to read Fluffy’s facial expressions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312307/original/file-20200128-81416-1bjupq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C2485%2C1654&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cats are capable of a expressing a wide range of emotions through facial expressions and body language.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cats are popular pets: there are an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3227-1_3">estimated 200 million pet cats worldwide</a>, with more <a href="http://www.fediaf.org/images/FEDIAF_Facts__and_Figures_2018_ONLINE_final.pdf">pet cats than pet dogs</a>. Cats live in about <a href="https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/documents/canada-s-pet-wellness-report2011">38 per cent of Canadian households</a>, <a href="https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/reports-statistics/us-pet-ownership-statistics">25.4 per cent of American households</a> and <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/515287/households-owning-a-cat-europe/">25 per cent of European households</a>.</p>
<p>Cats also seem to be a great source of entertainment. There are <a href="https://tubularinsights.com/2-million-cat-videos-youtube/">two million cat videos on YouTube and counting</a>, and countless internet-famous cats, like Grumpy Cat and Lil’ Bub, each with millions of followers on their social media accounts.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B7T1t99gq2p","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Despite the popularity of cats, as anyone who has been around a cat knows, reading cats is not always an easy task. One minute they can be seeking your affection and the next they can be swatting at you without any apparent warning. This leads to the question: are cats just jerks or are they simply misunderstood? </p>
<h2>Cats’ body language</h2>
<p>While cats may seem mysterious, their behaviour can help us to understand how they are feeling. The position of a cat’s body, head, ears and tail are all telltale hints. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jfms.2011.03.012">anxious or fearful cat</a> may crouch down to the ground, arch their back, lower their head and flatten their ears. Fearful or anxious cats may also retreat backwards in avoidance, hide themselves, make their fur stand on edge (piloerection), <a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/cat-chat-understanding-feline-language">growl, hiss, spit</a>, swat or bite.</p>
<p>Conversely, a content cat may approach you with their tail up, with their body and head in a neutral position and their ears forward. When resting, they may tuck their paws in, or lay on their side with their legs stretched out. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312083/original/file-20200127-81362-g6phtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312083/original/file-20200127-81362-g6phtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312083/original/file-20200127-81362-g6phtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312083/original/file-20200127-81362-g6phtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312083/original/file-20200127-81362-g6phtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312083/original/file-20200127-81362-g6phtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312083/original/file-20200127-81362-g6phtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312083/original/file-20200127-81362-g6phtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cats’ emotions can be deciphered through their different behaviours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://blog.doggiedrawings.net/post/120512597686">(Lili Chin)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Facial expressions may also be an indicator of how cats are feeling. Researchers have found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jsap.12283">certain individuals can readily distinguish the images of cats in pain from those of pain-free cats</a>. Despite this, the full range of cat facial expressions, including those made in positive situations, has not received much investigation. </p>
<h2>Most people are poor cat face readers</h2>
<p>As a postdoctoral researcher in animal science, I ran an <a href="https://catdogwelfare.wixsite.com/catfaces">online study</a> in which participants were shown short video clips of cats in various situations. Positive situations were those where cats approached, for example, their owner for treats. Negative situations were those where cats sought to avoid, for example, retreating from a person unknown to them. </p>
<p>The videos were carefully selected based on <a href="https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.28.4.519">strict behavioural criteria</a> and edited to only show each cat’s face, removing any potential body language or location cues. </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/211759805" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An example of a video from the study: here, a cat is kneading in his favoured resting spot, a positive situation.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More than 6,300 people from 85 countries judged whether the cat in each video was feeling positive or negative. On average, people identified the correct expression 59 per cent of the time. While this score is slightly better than if people had simply guessed, it suggests that many people find the task of reading cat faces challenging. </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/202460513" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An example of a video from the study: here, a cat is hiding in the examination room of a veterinary clinic, a negative situation.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Cat whisperers</h2>
<p>Although most people were poor cat face readers, a small subset of people (13 per cent) were quite skilled, scoring 15 points or higher out of a possible 20 points.<br>
Individuals in this group are more likely to be women than men. This is not surprising, since research has found that women are generally better at interpreting non-verbal emotional cues; this has been shown with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9450.00193">human babies</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0074591">and dogs</a>. </p>
<p>I found “cat whisperers” also tend to have experience working as a veterinarian or veterinary technician. People in these occupations encounter a large number of cats on a daily basis and must learn to interpret their behaviour to recognize illness and avoid injury. </p>
<p>Suprisingly (or not, depending on your personal experience as a cat owner), cat owners are not any better at reading cat faces than people who have never owned a cat. This may be because cat owners learn the intricacies of their own cat through continued interactions, but likely cannot draw on varied experiences when faced with a series of unfamiliar cats. </p>
<h2>Implications for animal welfare</h2>
<p>My work has shown that cats display different facial expressions and that these facial expressions differ depending on how cats are feeling, both positive and negative.</p>
<p>Being able to read and interpret these different facial expressions can help to ensure that cats receive appropriate care. For example, facial expressions can indicate when a cat may be in pain and require treatment. Being able to read cat faces can also improve the bond between cat owners and their cats, through an improved understanding of how their cats may be feeling. </p>
<p>While many people seem to struggle with reading cat faces, some individuals are able to read them well. This suggests that interpreting cat faces is a skill that could improve with training and experience. </p>
<p>Do you think you could be a cat whisperer? You can test your cat-reading abilities by taking <a href="https://catdogwelfare.wixsite.com/catfaces/cat-faces-interactive-quiz">this interactive quiz</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Dawson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research suggests that people can learn to read cats’ facial expressions.Lauren Dawson, Postdoctoral fellow, Animal Biosciences, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1125822019-03-29T11:27:09Z2019-03-29T11:27:09ZThe dying art of conversation – has technology killed our ability to talk face-to-face?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266167/original/file-20190327-139349-13qj93w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What with Facetime, <a href="https://theconversation.com/skype-hospital-appointments-are-coming-but-dont-hold-your-breath-109842">Skype</a>, Whatsapp and Snapchat, for many people, face-to-face conversation is used less and less often. </p>
<p>These apps allow us to converse with each other quickly and easily – overcoming distances, time zones and countries. We can even talk to virtual assistants such as Alexa, Cortana or Siri – commanding them to play our favourite songs, films, or tell us the weather forecast.</p>
<p>Often these ways of communicating reduce the need to speak to another human being. This has led to some of the conversational snippets of our daily lives now taking place mainly via <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-dont-want-ai-that-can-understand-us-wed-only-end-up-arguing-82338">technological devices</a>. So no longer do we need to talk with shop assistants, receptionists, bus drivers or even coworkers, we simply engage with a screen to communicate whatever it is we want to say.</p>
<p>In fact, in these scenarios, we tend to only speak to other people when the digital technology does not operate successfully. For instance, human contact occurs when we call for an assistant to help us when an item is not recognised at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-shoplifters-justify-theft-at-supermarket-self-service-checkouts-97029">self-service checkout</a>.</p>
<p>And when we have the ability to connect so quickly and easily with others using technological devices and software applications it is easy to start to overlook the value of face-to-face conversation. It seems easier to text someone rather than meet with them. </p>
<h2>Bodily cues</h2>
<p>My research into digital technologies indicates that phrases such as “word of mouth” or “keeping in touch” point to the <a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo3637992.html">importance of face-to-face conversation</a>. Indeed, face-to-face conversation can strengthen social ties: with our neighbours, friends, work colleagues and other people we encounter during our day.</p>
<p>It acknowledges their existence, their humanness, in ways that instant messaging and texting do not. Face-to-face conversation is a rich experience that involves drawing on memories, making connections, making mental images, associations and choosing a response. Face-to-face conversation is also multisensory: it’s not just about sending or receiving pre-programmed trinkets such as likes, cartoon love hearts and grinning yellow emojis. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266168/original/file-20190327-139374-fmlpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266168/original/file-20190327-139374-fmlpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266168/original/file-20190327-139374-fmlpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266168/original/file-20190327-139374-fmlpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266168/original/file-20190327-139374-fmlpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266168/original/file-20190327-139374-fmlpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266168/original/file-20190327-139374-fmlpic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Quicker and easier, but are we losing the human touch?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>When having a conversation using video you mainly see another person’s face only as a flat image on a screen. But when we have a face-to-face conversation in real life, we can look into someone’s eyes, reach out and touch them. We can also observe the other person’s body posture and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/37688404_Hand_and_Mind_What_Gestures_Reveal_About_Thought">the gestures they use when speaking</a> – and interpret these accordingly. All these factors, contribute to the sensory intensity and depth of the face-to-face conversations we have in daily life.</p>
<h2>Speaking to machines</h2>
<p><a href="https://sherryturkle.com/">Sherry Turkle</a>, professor of social studies of science and technology, warns that when we first “speak through machines, [we] forget how essential face-to-face conversation is to our relationships, our creativity, and our capacity for empathy”. But then “we take a further step and speak not just through machines but to machines”. </p>
<p>In many ways, our everyday lives now involve a blend of face-to-face and technologically mediated forms of communication. But in my teaching and research I explain how digital forms of communication can supplement, rather than replace face-to-face conversation.</p>
<p>At the same time though, it is also important to acknowledge that some people value online communication because they can express themselves in ways they might find difficult through face-to-face conversation.</p>
<h2>Look up from your phone</h2>
<p><a href="http://garyturk.com/portfolio-item/lookup/">Gary Turk</a>, is a spoken word poet whose poem Look Up illustrates what is at stake by becoming entranced by technological ways of communicating at the expense of connecting with others face-to-face. </p>
<p>Turk’s poem draws attention to the rich, sensory aspects of face-to-face communication, valuing bodily presence in relation to friendship, companionship and intimacy. The central idea running through Turk’s evocative poem is that screen-based devices consume our attention while distancing us from the bodily sense of being with others. </p>
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<p>Ultimately the sound, touch, smell and observation of bodily cues we experience when having a face-to-face conversation cannot be fully replaced by our technological devices. Communicating and connecting with others through face-to-face discussion is valuable because it is not something that can be edited, paused or replayed. </p>
<p>So next time you’re deciding between human or machine at the supermarket checkout or whether to get up from your desk and walk to another office to talk to a colleague – rather than sending them an email – it might be worth following Turk’s advice and engaging with the human rather than the screen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112582/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Chan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>No longer do we need to talk with shop assistants, receptionists, bus drivers or even coworkers, we simply engage with a screen to communicate whatever it is we want to say.Melanie Chan, Senior Lecturer, Media, Communication and Culture, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1032622018-09-14T19:01:46Z2018-09-14T19:01:46ZWhat body language can – and can’t – tell us about Russians accused of Sergei Skripal poisoning<p>Despite what pop psychology articles might suggest, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6165693/Body-language-expert-says-Russian-novichok-assassins-looked-anxious-stressed-interview.html">detecting deception via body language</a> – or even bodily functions such as respiration, heart rate and skin conductivity, the staples of the famed polygraph – is not in any way a reliable science. Such measures can indeed accurately pin point when someone is nervous – but not necessarily when they are lying. </p>
<p>When it comes to investigating and convicting criminals, British police rely on solid evidence. That is what detectives strive to collect – and what counts at court. And this is what the Metropolitan Police believe they have in the case of Alexander Petrov and Rusian Boshirov, the two Russian nationals <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/05/planes-trains-and-fake-names-the-trail-left-by-skripal-suspects">accused of</a> the poisoning of Russian emigre and former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury last March.</p>
<p>On September 5, the police released details of a trip to the UK by the pair between March 2 and 4, the period when the Skripals were poisoned. They provided details of CCTV footage of the pair arriving in Salisbury, and walking in the vicinity of what is thought to be the scene of the poisoning at the time it happened.</p>
<p>This week, in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku8OQNyI2i0">25-minute interview</a> with Russian state broadcaster RT, conducted by the editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonovna Simonyan – widely regarded as a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin – the pair insisted they were innocent tourists who worked in the sports nutrition business. They claim they simply travelled to London, and fitted in a couple of day trips to Salisbury.</p>
<p>I work in the department of psychology at the University of Portsmouth and my principal research is into deception and the detection of deception. In this capacity I have worked closely with the police. My colleagues and I at the university have <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1015332606792">conducted research</a> into lies where the stakes are very high – this generally involves suspects in police interviews accused of serious crimes and our findings generally reflected those of <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/detecting-lies-and-deceit-pitfalls-and-opportunities(e4cfc3f0-0b5b-451f-8f5c-348037fddf8d)/export.html">laboratory studies</a>. </p>
<p>We’ve found that different people react in vastly different ways when being questioned. These differences can occur between cultures and within cultures. Our experience when interviewing Russian participants in experiments is that they generally show less animation, facially and bodily, than British participants. Also, clever liars rarely tell a completely fabricated story, but instead tend to embed lies in an otherwise truthful account. On the other hand, someone who is telling the truth about key elements of their story, might still want to hide other elements.</p>
<h2>Body language</h2>
<p>For Petrov and Boshirov the interview has very high stakes – and throughout the interview they both appear very anxious and uncomfortable. At one point, the interviewer Simonyan even points out that they are sweating and turns up the air conditioning. </p>
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<p>For the most part they appear to be keeping their hands under the desk. Many people associate fidgeting with deception – despite deception research consistently showing that liars actually tend to be <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/detecting-lies-and-deceit-pitfalls-and-opportunities(e4cfc3f0-0b5b-451f-8f5c-348037fddf8d)/export.html">less animated than truth tellers</a>. Lying requires extra mental effort, which in turn results in a neglect of body language. Liars also tend to restrict their non-verbal behaviour, since they – like many other people – wrongly believe that fidgeting is associated with mendacity. But the fact that these men to a large extent hide their hands under the desk might suggest that they are seeking to give an impression of calmness. </p>
<p>It’s also important to note that the behaviour of an interviewer will often have an effect on the behaviour of interviewees. You may have noticed that in conversation your body language may end up mirroring that of your conversation partner and vice versa.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236448/original/file-20180914-177950-7cntwh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236448/original/file-20180914-177950-7cntwh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236448/original/file-20180914-177950-7cntwh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236448/original/file-20180914-177950-7cntwh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236448/original/file-20180914-177950-7cntwh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236448/original/file-20180914-177950-7cntwh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236448/original/file-20180914-177950-7cntwh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The two Russians claim they were in Salisbury to see the ‘world famous’ cathedral and 123-metre spire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SalisburyCathedral-wyrdlight-EastExt.jpg">Antony McCallum, WyrdLight.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Either way, the only fact that can be established from the body language and demeanour of the pair in this interview is that they are worried. No more than that. For this reason, deception researchers have moved on from studying non-verbal behaviour in individuals.</p>
<p>Typically, in a police scenario, if more than one person is suspected of being involved in a crime, the suspects are split up and interviewed individually. The RT interview is different in that it is not a police interview – the questioning style differs quite substantially, and they are being interviewed together.</p>
<p>My Portsmouth colleague <a href="http://www2.port.ac.uk/department-of-psychology/staff/zarah-vernham.html">Zarah Vernham</a> has <a href="http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/collective-interviewing-of-suspects(fb05a85f-bbb5-44db-8c56-b3d9fd7e3469)/export.html">conducted research</a> into how truth tellers and liars behave when interviewed in pairs. She found that truth tellers tend to be more inclined to look at each other and add to each other’s stories or interrupt each other. Liars, meanwhile, tend to focus more on maintaining eye contact (it is also <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13218719.2013.791218">a myth</a> that a liar cannot maintain eye contact) with the interviewer, with one as the main story teller and the other in a more subordinate role. Petrov and Boshirov both contribute to the dialogue and do on occasion interrupt or add to each other’s speech.</p>
<h2>You couldn’t make it up</h2>
<p>Truth tellers are more likely to include complications in their stories. This is largely because it might not occur to liars to do so. Complications happen in life (calling to mind the expression “you just couldn’t make it up”) and a truth teller will experience such complications.</p>
<p>Of course, all the above discussed research is published and available on the internet. It is therefore possible that Petrov and Boshirov could have studied this or been coached ahead of their appearance. </p>
<p>Did Petrov and Boshirov lie in their RT interview? Plenty of apparent contradictions to their story <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45509697">have emerged independently</a> to suggest they may not have been telling the truth. But body language or facial expressions alone cannot be conclusive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103262/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Mann receives funding from the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats.</span></em></p>‘For Petrov and Boshirov the interview has very high stakes – and throughout the interview they both appear very anxious and uncomfortable.’Samantha Mann, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/813372017-08-27T20:05:50Z2017-08-27T20:05:50ZYou can tell if someone is attracted to you by their voice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182367/original/file-20170817-13444-jt70tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Attractiveness in the voice is very important for the impressions we give our potential partners.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We’ve heard of the physical effects on our body when we are talking to someone we are attracted to, like pupils getting larger or butterflies in our stomach. </p>
<p>Numerous <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-copeland/flirt-with-body-language_b_7617420.html">self-help websites</a> offer tips on how to read body language to tell if the object of our affection is interested in us.</p>
<p>Apparently, if their feet are facing towards us, that’s a good sign. If their arms are folded, not so much. But you can also gauge the level of someone’s attraction by their voice.</p>
<h2>Male and female pitch</h2>
<p>The biological gender differences in the human voice are very clear. Female voices have higher pitch and male voices have lower pitch. </p>
<p>These differences are thought to be because of evolutionary pressures such as mating choices. In the animal world, pitch is <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/283219">associated with larger animals</a> that can cause a bigger threat. </p>
<p>So by lowering their pitch, males can show their physical dominance in front of their competitors and appear more sexually fit to females. As a result, women find <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347200915239">men with lower-pitched voices</a> more attractive. It’s the opposite for men, who are <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347203921233">more attracted to women</a> with higher-pitched voices, which is perceived as a marker for femininity. </p>
<p>Attractiveness in the voice is important for the impressions we give our potential partners. In research settings, this is studied by asking listeners to rate voices of people they have never seen as either attractive or unattractive. </p>
<p>Using this method, <a href="http://www.albany.edu/news/pdf_files/Hughes%20article.pdf">one study showed</a> that people who reported being more sexually experienced and sexually active were rated to have more attractive voices by strangers. That is, the specific qualities that the raters were perceiving in the voices were indicative of these people’s mating behaviours and sexual desirability. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182384/original/file-20170817-13494-mkue1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182384/original/file-20170817-13494-mkue1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182384/original/file-20170817-13494-mkue1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182384/original/file-20170817-13494-mkue1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182384/original/file-20170817-13494-mkue1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182384/original/file-20170817-13494-mkue1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182384/original/file-20170817-13494-mkue1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182384/original/file-20170817-13494-mkue1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">There are many unconscious things we do when we’re flirting with someone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>We actually have the ability to change the attractiveness of our voice depending on our interlocutor, and we do this without knowing. Women sometimes modify their voices to sound most attractive during the most fertile part of their <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251944160_Women's_voice_attractiveness_varies_across_the_menstrual_cycle">menstrual cycle</a>. Men also modify the pitch in their voice, specifically when <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b511/063a8576c3fdbffe0bc3bc5d8084bd773495.pdf">confronted with potential competitors</a> in dating scenarios. </p>
<p>This means that just like we fix our hairstyle or clothes to look more attractive for a date, we also give our voices an unconscious makeover to sound more attractive and sexually fit.</p>
<h2>Sounding the same</h2>
<p>Another phenomenon that may also cause changes in the way we speak when talking to a love interest is something called “phonetic convergence”. People who talk to each other tend to start sounding more similar, completely unaware they are doing so. </p>
<p>This similarity can be speech rate (how fast we’re talking), the pitch or intonation patterns we use, or even the way we produce individual words or sounds. This <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3753450/">adaption can happen</a> over long (months or years) and even very short (one-hour lab study) periods of time. </p>
<p>One study <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0095447011000945">compared the speech</a> of five pairs of new roommates who had just moved in together. At the beginning and end of semester, researchers took recordings of each person and asked them to rate how they felt about their new roommate. They found that the roommates sounded more similar at the end compared to the beginning of semester and that this convergence was related to the ratings of closeness. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183399/original/file-20170825-15232-1k3r6r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183399/original/file-20170825-15232-1k3r6r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183399/original/file-20170825-15232-1k3r6r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183399/original/file-20170825-15232-1k3r6r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183399/original/file-20170825-15232-1k3r6r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183399/original/file-20170825-15232-1k3r6r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183399/original/file-20170825-15232-1k3r6r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183399/original/file-20170825-15232-1k3r6r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People who talk to each other tend to start sounding more similar, completely unaware they are doing so.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So how could this relate to physical attraction? One proposed explanation of phonetic convergence, the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0265407597143008">similarity attraction hypothesis</a>, is that people try to be more similar to those they are attracted to. So, in an effort to be more similar to someone we are interested in, we may start to talk more similarly and maximise the chances they will also find us attractive. </p>
<p>The opposite can also happen: this is called “phonetic divergence”. Divergence may occur when we <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/article/dialect-divergence-and-convergence-in-new-zealand-english/07375AEEC4AADA0E39BD1A5F0651981E">want to be more distinct</a>, or less similar to our speaking partner, perhaps when we aren’t attracted to them.</p>
<p>It also doesn’t necessarily take months for this to happen. Phonetic convergence can occur in a much shorter time. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16642851">another experiment</a>, researchers brought previously unacquainted pairs of participants into the lab to complete a task. Both partners have a map, but only one has the route drawn on their map. Their job is to describe the route to their partner so they can draw it, without using pointing or other gestures, only words. </p>
<p>The researchers found convergence occurred in the session and even persisted after participants had completed the experimental task. </p>
<p>The great news is these changes happen automatically and unconsciously. When we face an attractive partner, our voices and speech are modified to sound more attractive and alike. So during a conversation with that special someone, your voice may be doing the hard work to let them know you are interested, which may increase your chances of getting a second date.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather R Kember receives funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marina Kalashnikova receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Body language can sometimes tell us if the person we’re talking to is interested in us romantically. But the way they talk offers a few clues, too.Heather Kember, Research fellow in speech processing, Western Sydney UniversityMarina Kalashnikova, Researcher in Infancy Studies, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/785432017-05-31T09:12:32Z2017-05-31T09:12:32ZJeremy Corbyn vs Theresa May: what the body language tells us<p>There were no major gaffes when Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn faced a grilling from a live studio audience and notoriously combative journalist Jeremy Paxman on May 29, but their body language was at times telling.</p>
<p>The two didn’t come face to face, instead taking questions from the public and then Paxman in this broadcast organised jointly by Sky and Channel 4 just over a week before election day. </p>
<p>In terms of body language, Corbyn did slightly better under pressure than May. He was Mr Zen – relaxed and smiling graciously, even when faced with criticism or rudely interrupted. </p>
<p>A lot of attention has been given to the moment when Corbyn appeared to give the <a href="https://www.indy100.com/article/election-2017-jeremy-corbyn-voter-the-finger-image-7762246">middle finger</a> gesture to a member of the audience. He had been confronted with quite a personal question about his leadership skills but he remained jovial and even jokey in his response, except for this subtle body language display. This gesture shows that Corbyn is not passionless or passive, but his self control in communication seems fairly exemplary.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"869279231355826176"}"></div></p>
<p>But May surprisingly held her own, given her usual avoidance of direct public interaction. She generally held up well when questioned, even when her interrogators were confrontational. Paxman essentially called her a “blowhard”, and her response was fairly composed.</p>
<p>However, she did lose her composure when an audience member reiterated the quote about her being a “bloody difficult woman”. May has actually used this phrase to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-british-politicians-keep-swearing-on-the-campaign-trail-78124">describe herself</a> in the past but her body language when questioned about it reveals that she is perhaps not as comfortable with the image as she would have us believe.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171475/original/file-20170530-30203-pk3bbe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171475/original/file-20170530-30203-pk3bbe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171475/original/file-20170530-30203-pk3bbe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171475/original/file-20170530-30203-pk3bbe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171475/original/file-20170530-30203-pk3bbe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171475/original/file-20170530-30203-pk3bbe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171475/original/file-20170530-30203-pk3bbe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The trademark grimace.</span>
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<p>During her answer, her trademark grimace repeatedly flashed across her face. A grimace is a strong sign of disapproval, disgust and pain, which translates onto May’s body as a sign of mortification. This implies that she genuinely wants to be liked – as well as being seen as a force to be reckoned with. </p>
<h2>Hand gestures</h2>
<p>Concordant with this desire, May’s body language is much more “schooled” or rehearsed than Corbyn’s. Most of all, she uses hand gestures that are taught to politicians. When gesturing in time to her speech, she puts her thumb to her forefinger, which is an affectation taught to politicians to avoid aggressive finger pointing. She also extensively uses open hand gestures with palms facing upwards. These can be natural but are also recommended by body language coaches because some research has shown that people like speakers who make this gesture.</p>
<p>Corbyn made more understated and less rehearsed hand gestures (although his voice was strident when aroused). This suggests that he is probably not taking much, if any, advice from body language coaches, and that he is very confident of his communication and his ability to respond naturally in the moment.</p>
<p>In contrast to recent televised UK debates, in this interview format the two politicians genuinely addressed their answers to the questioners (the audience and Paxman). Quite a few politicians (noticeably David Cameron and Nicola Sturgeon) focus their gaze down the barrel of the camera, which is stagey. These interviews showed that May and Corbyn are capable thinkers, and also, despite current trends towards extensive body language training for celebrities, that they are both fairly genuine in their beliefs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78543/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harry Witchel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>May has clearly been extensively trained in hand gestures. Corbyn, not so much.Harry Witchel, Discipline Leader in Physiology, Brighton and Sussex Medical SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/731432017-02-20T13:16:32Z2017-02-20T13:16:32ZThe psychology behind Trump’s awkward handshake … and how to beat him at his own game<p>Handshakes are meant to be relatively simple affairs, at least in terms of their signalling function. “Shake hands on it,” we are told. “Shake and make up.” They have been used as a civilised greeting for at least 2,500 years. But Donald Trump is now in the process of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2017/feb/14/donald-trumps-strange-handshake-style-and-how-justin-trudeau-beat-it-video-explainer">redefining the handshake</a>, transforming it into the opening salvo in a battle for supremacy.</p>
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<p>Handshakes date back at least as far as Ancient Greece – and there are artefacts from that period featuring images of <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NOsHLwaRUZIC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=herakles+shaking+hands+athena&source=bl&ots=M0ghRFH02q&sig=gshx9qTTnV6-S6adXiJgoRR0ZnU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib356_pJ7SAhVmCZoKHUiiBcsQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=herakles%20shaking%20hands%20athena&f=false">Herakles shaking hands with Athena</a>. <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UXfXAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA87&dq=herakles+shaking+hands+athena+glenys+davies&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivjdrlpJ7SAhUBOJoKHai5Ak8Q6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=herakles%20shaking%20hands%20athena%20glenys%20davies&f=false">Glenys Davies</a> writing in the American Journal of Archaeology said that this particular scene “represents the acceptance of Herakles as an equal by the Gods”. </p>
<p>On other artefacts we find images of Hera, the goddess of women and marriage in Greek mythology, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Qs2SBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA16&dq=hera+shaking+hands+athena&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiq8fiEpZ7SAhVKOJoKHdjVA9QQ6AEIKTAD#v=onepage&q=hera%20shaking%20hands%20athena&f=false">shaking hands</a> with Athena, the goddess of wisdom, craft and war. These handshakes are symmetrical and equal in their execution. The sort of handshake that we would recognise instantly today.</p>
<p>Our common understanding is that the handshake originated as a <a href="http://www.academia.edu/7670117/Godwins_Handshake">gesture of peace</a>, demonstrating that the hands are free and not holding a weapon. It is meant to signal cooperation, reflected in the symmetrical nature of the shape of the hands and the movement, not aggressive competition. But tell that to Trump, who uses handshakes as a weapon in his games of one-upmanship.</p>
<p>Indeed, Trump’s handshakes are not acts of peace, solidarity and goodwill, they are something altogether different. His <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/donald-trump-handshake-meaning-justin-trudeau-shinzo-abe-explanation-body-language-expert-darren-a7579541.html">“clasp and yank”</a> handshake has taken many of its recipients by surprise. He pulls them forwards into his personal space, unbalancing them, and putting them at an immediate disadvantage. He knows that images of these greetings will be shown around the world – and that they will make it look as if he is the man in charge. </p>
<p>So potent is his technique that one martial arts school has even come up with advice on how to defend it.</p>
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<h2>Shaking things up</h2>
<p>Consider, for example, Trump’s now infamous <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/02/10/trump-abe-handshake-vo.cnn">handshake with Shinzo Abe</a>, the prime minister of Japan. Trump first presents his hand to Abe palm up, inviting Abe to take the dominant position with his hand on top. But Trump then clasps his counterpart’s hand for a 19-second marathon handshake, patting the back of Abe’s hand in several bursts of three pats. Hand patting like this is not a “comforting gesture” as some might assume. Hand patting, like shoulder touching or back patting, is a <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Tells-Peter-Collett/dp/0553814591">dominance signal</a>, asymmetric in its application. Our boss can pat us on the back, we cannot pat them in return. Patting is not marked by the sorts of symmetry that constitute a cooperative handshake.</p>
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<p>By the end, Trump’s handshake had completely overturned the initial, submissive gesture, and very much made Abe look like the (rather surprised) junior partner. But then Trump is <a href="http://time.com/4596770/donald-trump-reality-tv/">a reality television star</a> – he knows something about the power of iconic images and how moments such as this are perceived by the public.</p>
<p>In a more polite forum, a handshake should be firm, but not too vigorous, and should involve around three shakes of the hand with a full grip. It should be accompanied by a natural smile that fades slowly and an appropriate verbal greeting with the position of the handshake in the mid-zone between the two individuals.</p>
<p>We do know that people make judgements about others on the basis of their handshake. <a href="http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp791110.pdf">Research conducted by</a> William Chaplin and colleagues from the University of Alabama, for example, showed that the characteristics of a handshake can provide accurate information about aspects of an individual’s personality. </p>
<p>Chaplin reported that handshakes that were “stronger, more vigorous, longer in duration and associated with more eye contact” tended to show that the individual was more extrovert and outgoing, more open to new experiences and less neurotic and shy. Similarly, in my book <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259148243_Get_the_Edge_How_Simple_Changes_Will_Transform_Your_Life">Get the Edge: How Simple Changes Will Transform Your Life</a>, I discuss how this briefest of ritualised human contacts can reveal aspects of underlying personality. </p>
<p>Those who are particularly concerned about sending out the right signals when they meet people for the first time do think carefully about how to execute their handshake. <a href="http://search.ror.unisa.edu.au/media/researcharchive/open/9915987811501831/53115349640001831">It is reported</a>, for example, that John F. Kennedy thought that handshakes were so important that he commissioned a study to determine the most effective varieties to use when greeting other world leaders. </p>
<h2>Outshaken</h2>
<p>Some politicians, however, are already giving Trump a run for his money, revealing how the president’s infamous handshake can be disarmed. It certainly looks like Canadian prime minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2017/feb/14/donald-trumps-strange-handshake-style-and-how-justin-trudeau-beat-it-video-explainer">Justin Trudeau prepared himself for handshake war</a> – and we can all learn lessons from how he took Trump on. When they shook hands, Trudeau took hold of Trump’s right shoulder to both steady himself and to stop Trump yanking him forward. And later, when Trudeau shook hands with Trump while they were both seated, Trudeau extended his fingers to signal that he wanted to be released. Together, these signal that Trudeau had at least some control over the course of the interaction. They certainly play out better than Abe’s attempts in the media clips and show that Trump doesn’t hold all the cards.</p>
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<p>Trump seemingly believes in using any resource at his disposal to gain some advantage in the political and business worlds. Senior politicians expecting routine and formulaic handshakes have been knocked off guard by Trump’s unpredictable behaviour. They find themselves yanked into his personal space, where it is difficult or impossible for them to make eye contact, or to talk coherently without looking away. This gives Trump an advantage in the game of micro-politics. </p>
<p>His handshakes are clearly all about status rather than solidarity. From a psychological perspective, they are arguably self-serving and egocentric, and demonstrate that, as in many aspects of life, the most important thing to Donald Trump is Donald Trump himself.</p>
<p>The discomfort on Shinzo Abe’s face when his hand was finally released from Trump’s 19-second shake was plain for all to see, but Trump does not seem to care too much for the discomfort of others. If he did, he would not make them ill at ease in such a calculated way. </p>
<p>There’s more to life than handshakes, but they do say an awful lot about the new “leader of the free world”. And if you ever get to meet him, make sure you do your handshake homework first.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73143/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>In 2010, Geoff Beattie received funding from Chevrolet to analyse and discuss the characteristics of effective handshakes in everyday social interactions.</span></em></p>Beware the ‘clasp and yank’.Geoff Beattie, Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/664682016-10-14T12:38:38Z2016-10-14T12:38:38ZHow Donald Trump bullies with his body language<p>As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump ramp up for their third and final televised debate, people are still trying to make sense of what happened at their second one. It was an odd sort of presidential debate, maybe the oddest ever – and it was certainly <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-and-clintons-second-debate-american-politics-is-in-the-gutter-66718">the ugliest and most tawdry</a>. </p>
<p>Mere days after the release of a video in which Trump bragged about using his celebrity status to <a href="https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-and-the-dangerous-rhetoric-of-portraying-people-as-objects-66810">grab women by their genitals without consent</a>, he was already collapsing in the polls. He responded by <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/09/politics/donald-trump-juanita-broaddrick-paula-jones-facebook-live-2016-election/">parading a number of women</a> who have accused Bill Clinton of inappropriate sexual behaviour in the past, then bringing them along to the debate in an effort to both embarrass him and unsettle Hillary Clinton. </p>
<p>At first, at least, it seemed to work. You didn’t need to be a body language expert to see the discomfort on Bill Clinton’s face when he was led into the auditorium and seated in the front row.</p>
<p>Now Trump is seeing his <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/election-update-post-debate-polls-show-trump-still-in-big-trouble/">numbers slide into the terminal zone</a>, he’s increasingly resorting to the psychological tricks of the pugilistic. All boxers have little games they like to play to unsettle their opponents. They don’t see it as cheating; it’s just part of the game. That’s how Trump seems to think. </p>
<p>But Trump also has a penchant for name-calling, something boxers only resort to when they’re desperate. He’s called Clinton “<a href="https://newrepublic.com/minutes/132765/donald-trump-come-clinton-nickname-crooked-hillary">Crooked Hillary</a>” hundreds of times before on Twitter and in speeches to sympathetic crowds, but at the second debate he went so far as to call her a liar to her face multiple times. Anything for an advantage. Anything to rattle your opponent.</p>
<p>Their latest encounter was debating as street fighting, a metaphor widely used in the run-up to the debate. The idea was so pervasive it turned into a metaphorical frame that affected what we saw and what we noticed, and even how we judged the outcome of this battle. </p>
<p>Various commentators summed up Trump’s debate performances by speculating that he might have “<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-republicans-analysis-idUSKCN12A0FO">stopped the bleeding</a>” from the Republican faithful, despite his comments about how he views and treats women (“locker room talk, folks”).</p>
<p>Trump’s body language went through several periods of transition in the debate. Having to hold a microphone interferes with the natural two-handed gestures on which he relies heavily. We can all recognise them: arms outstretched, arms pointing downwards, palms forward, characteristically signalling his connection with the common man through the distinctive, demonstrative gestures of <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-obnoxiousness-is-pure-new-york-but-his-problem-is-he-cant-control-it-66162">New York</a> – gestures that work because they speak straight to the usually unconscious nonverbal system. </p>
<p>Trump is quite expert at using some gestures and sequences of gestures in particular. First comes a barrier signal: arms up, palms out. “Beware,” it says. “Danger.” Then he uses a precision hand gesture – a distinctive thumb-and-forefinger position – which alternates with an L-shaped gesture. The danger signal produces an immediate emotional effect, then he reassures the audience with his precision gesture. “I’ve got a plan,” he says nonverbally, “a precise plan. It’s time for a change.”</p>
<h2>Slicing and pointing</h2>
<p>That’s what Trump can do, at least when he’s not forced to hold a microphone in one hand as he was at the second debate. I was surprised he didn’t complain about this, since he complained about everything else: the “bias” of the moderators, “it’s three against one”, the fact that Clinton got more time – anything, like a child who thinks that the world isn’t fair. </p>
<p>Looking tired, he started quietly rocking on his feet as Clinton spoke, a telltale sign of negative emotion leaking out nonverbally. Clearly he wasn’t comfortable with the fallout from the leaked tape. He started sniffing when he talked, as he did <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/09/whats-the-deal-with-sniffing/501773/">throughout the first debate</a>. It’s a distraction, and it noticeably gets more pronounced when he’s on the spot.</p>
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<p>He started gesturing demonstratively for the first time when he talked about his wealth. “Batonic” gestures – stress-timed gestures that have no iconic content, such as the up-and-down beat of a hand – tend to mark out content that’s highly significant for the speaker, but when Trump begins his personal attacks, the more complex and abstract metaphoric gestures start up in earnest. These are a core part of Trump’s implicit message, and they have an immediate effect. Their meaning is processed simultaneously with his speech. </p>
<p>As he went on the attack in the debate, his use of beat gestures duly increased. He chopped, he pointed, he sliced. Trump was now fully armed. He heckled, he interrupted, he glowered as Clinton talked, issuing a nonverbal running commentary on what she was saying. </p>
<p>All in all, this was a bully’s performance, a physical attempt to dominate Clinton and manipulate our interpretation of her words. Clinton quoted Michelle Obama’s “When they go low, we go high”, but with Trump expressing himself as he did – stalking her as she talked, prowling behind her like a big beast of the jungle – the tone of the encounter remained firmly at the lower end of the scale. </p>
<p>The American linguist George Lakoff has commented that Trump “<a href="https://georgelakoff.com/2016/07/23/understanding-trump-2/">uses your brain against you</a>”. Much of everyday thought is unconscious, and it’s that psychological spot that Trump targets, much as a boxer or street fighter does. </p>
<p>The fact that he got us all thinking that only a “knockout” would constitute success for Hillary Clinton was therefore a victory of sorts. He was on the ropes that night, and he knew it; in the end he bobbed and weaved to fight another day, despite everything we now know about this most unpresidential of men.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, his slide in the polls has continued since round two. The way he comports himself in round three, scheduled for October 19, will be telling indeed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66468/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Beattie had received funding from the ESRC to research gestures.</span></em></p>Looming, leering, jabbing and swiping – is Trump’s distinctive physicality messing with voters’ minds?Geoff Beattie, Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/604932016-06-09T13:38:45Z2016-06-09T13:38:45ZRival international football fans are united by their common body language<p>Football fans attending matches at the <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/index.html">Euro 2016</a> tournament in France will be hoping for plenty of good reasons to cheer, chant and comment about what unfolds on the pitch. But throughout the emotional ebb and flow of each of the 51 games, another story will be written in the faces and actions of the spectators and players. Non-verbal communication, or body language, tells their story without words. </p>
<p>Since the time of our <a href="http://www.livescience.com/4427-apes-point-origins-human-language.html">earliest ancestors</a>, body language kept us alive by communicating our needs to others. With a frightened facial expression or a pointing hand gesture we connected with each other, revealing our inner thoughts and feelings. It is not that surprising then, to see this biological heritage on display in everyday life - especially in matters as important as football. So what do we do and why do we do it?</p>
<h2>Head in hands moments</h2>
<p>The head-clasp and the head-cradle are subconscious gestures often made by sports fans in tense moments. When a player shoots for goal but narrowly misses, thousands of supporters instinctively and in unison cover the tops of their heads with their hands like a shield. The fans are forming a shield which protects against a psychological - rather than physical - blow in the instant of a devastating missed opportunity. </p>
<p>In the head cradle, the hands perform a supportive and comforting role behind the back of the head. Placing one’s hands around the back of one’s head repeats the comfort a mother offers a baby to support her head. You can often spot the cradle when a team has just been relegated. Silent and inconsolable, the desolate fan stands holding the back of their heads as they attempt to deal with the disappointment.</p>
<h2>Football stands</h2>
<p>Although we are fully aware of specific parts of our body, we are least aware of the movement of our legs and feet. Our legs are associated with the primitive impulses of flight. It’s common to see people instinctively sit down after hearing some bad news. On hearing good news, however, people often jump to their feet instead. In the animal kingdom, the alphas show their status through posture. They demonstrate their height, stick out their chests, and take up as much space as possible to show their powerful presence. Holding these powerful poses can also make you more powerful. Goals, especially in tight games, bring the fans to their feet to display their pleasure and status. </p>
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<span class="caption">Standing proud.</span>
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<h2>Shirts off</h2>
<p>Players ripping their shirts off after scoring an important goal is a common scene, though forbidden by the rules. It is a reaction which reflects a biological imperative to display dominance over one’s opponents. Such victory gestures are a natural need and establish order and hierarchy in society. </p>
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<p><a href="http://news.sfsu.edu/after-victory-athletes-first-reaction-expresses-dominance-study-shows">Researchers</a> observed winners of Olympic and Paralympic judo matches and their triumphant gestures. These displays included raising their arms above the shoulders, pushing the chest out, and tilting the head back and smiling. Blind Paralympic athletes also displayed these actions suggesting the biological instinct. This biological instinct might also explain why Aberdeen’s Barry Nicholson, following his 89th minute equaliser against Hearts at Tynecastle in 2007, took his shirt off instinctively and then realised what he had done. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/27/footballers-sent-off-for-taking-their-shirts-off">He tried in vain to get his shirt back on</a> but his teammates were too busy congratulating him to care.</p>
<h2>Sing when you’re watching</h2>
<p>But at football matches, as a soundtrack to all the subliminal messages of body language, verbal communication always fills the air. Chanting is part of the furniture of football, and ranges from clever and funny to vile and offensive. Some songs support your team and some intend to hurt the opposition. But most importantly the songs are sung together, displaying a shared social identity. Singing in the stands means interpersonal connection with a shared purpose beyond any one individual. It harbours emotion and evokes memories. <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/west-ham/10692143/Top-10-funniest-football-chants.html">It is delivered in unison and its quality rarely judged</a>. </p>
<p>The unity and identity shared among football fans from the shirts, scarves and hats they wear is clear. But if we look more closely, we can also see a story that began millions of years ago with the earliest humans that tells us about our evolution. It is most clear during moments such as vital penalties taken in the knock-out stages, when thousands of hands clasp thousands of heads.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul McCarthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our reactions on the terraces show we all come from the same side.Paul McCarthy, Lecturer in Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/270592014-05-22T05:38:47Z2014-05-22T05:38:47ZThink before you wink: the fuss over Tony’s unguarded moment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49222/original/38cp6fng-1400731768.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's been a lot of commentary around Abbott's wink yesterday, but is a wink really that ambiguous?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">YouTube</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>During a radio show yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott winked. </p>
<p>In and of itself, this is hardly a newsworthy event. The context of the wink, though, appears to have made all the difference in making this “<a href="https://twitter.com/SBSNews/timelines/468979751747866624">winkgate</a>”.</p>
<p>On air with Jon Faine, Mr Abbott fielded a call from a listener questioning him on the recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/federal-budget-2014">budget</a>. The caller was a 67-year-old pensioner and, at the moment just prior to the wink, revealed that she worked on an adult sex line for additional income.</p>
<figure><a title=" " href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/bf9c876d51a445ab13bad1cb2aba0a36/tumblr_n5yh2j94DQ1rqm3pmo1_r1_400.gif?w=590"><img width="440" alt=" " src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/bf9c876d51a445ab13bad1cb2aba0a36/tumblr_n5yh2j94DQ1rqm3pmo1_r1_400.gif?w=590"></a></figure>
<p>The uproar began just as soon as the video of Mr Abbott’s wink was uploaded. Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23winkgate&src=typd">erupted</a>. <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/wink-is-no-laughing-matter-for-prime-minister-with-a-women-problem-20140521-38okz.html">Commentaries</a> have <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/05/21/tony-abbott-winks-sex-line-pensioner-talks-radio">blanketed</a> news <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/22/sex-hotline-pensioner-labels-abbotts-wink-sleazy-slimy">outlets</a>.</p>
<p>Was the wink sexist? Derogating? Derisive, even? Or, as Mr Abbott <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/abbott-holds-the-line-on-levies-and-excise/story-fni0xqi4-1226925160236">has claimed</a>, directed at the radio host to indicate he was happy to proceed with the call? </p>
<p>In many ways, the intention doesn’t matter – communication via nonverbal gestures depends just as much on interpretation as intention.</p>
<h2>What’s in a wink?</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49219/original/542hptzt-1400730756.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49219/original/542hptzt-1400730756.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49219/original/542hptzt-1400730756.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49219/original/542hptzt-1400730756.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49219/original/542hptzt-1400730756.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49219/original/542hptzt-1400730756.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49219/original/542hptzt-1400730756.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49219/original/542hptzt-1400730756.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Orbicularis oculi, labelled 2.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/_chang_/8463452601">ChangGp/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Winking, at an anatomical level, happens when the ring-like band of muscle around the eye – <a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-orbicularis-oculi.htm">orbicularis oculi</a> – contracts around one eye.</p>
<p>At a social communication level, the wink is an inherently ambiguous nonverbal gesture. </p>
<p>Unlike the vertical nod, the horizontal headshake and the thumbs up (and indeed other gestures with the fingers!), which all have fairly well-accepted meanings, the wink can mean many things depending on the context (even the desire to <a href="http://news.dice.com/2013/12/18/wink-and-google-glass-will-snap-a-photo/">snap a photo</a> with Google Glass). </p>
<p>A wink can have sexual connotations, imply a shared private joke, and more generally communicate affiliation and rapport. </p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08824099909388725?journalCode=rcrr20">1999 study</a> examining just how many meanings a wink can convey, researchers Elizabeth Lindsey and Valerie Vigil asked a male and a female actor to approach individuals waiting in public areas. </p>
<p>The actor asked the individual for the time, waited for a response, said thanks, and walked away. Critically, the actor winked at each individual after saying thanks. Researchers then asked the individuals to complete a questionnaire evaluating the winker. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49214/original/3ssz9zwx-1400729480.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49214/original/3ssz9zwx-1400729480.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49214/original/3ssz9zwx-1400729480.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49214/original/3ssz9zwx-1400729480.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49214/original/3ssz9zwx-1400729480.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49214/original/3ssz9zwx-1400729480.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49214/original/3ssz9zwx-1400729480.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49214/original/3ssz9zwx-1400729480.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lastyearsgirl_/893685380">Lis Ferla/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Were the winkers liked? Yes, but only when the winker was of the opposite sex. This finding resonates with the common sexual innuendo associated with winking. Most revealing was the data from an open-ended question about what the wink meant:</p>
<ul>
<li>thanks or appreciation – 67%</li>
<li>friendliness or niceness – 26%</li>
<li>sexual attraction – 11%</li>
<li>“other” – 22% (spread across unknown meaning, eye problem, habit, ulterior motive and insecurity).</li>
</ul>
<p>Even in this fairly constrained context, the meaning of the wink was by no means universally agreed upon.</p>
<p>The wink is certainly not alone in its ambiguity – most nonverbal cues can mean many things. A smile can indicate happiness, derision, or even pain. A furrowed brow can communicate anger, confusion, or concentration. In all these cases, especially emotional ones, perceivers look to <a href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/in-reading-facial-emotion-context-is-everything.html">context</a> to figure out the meaning.</p>
<h2>Winking online</h2>
<p>There is one medium in which winks appear quite often: in e-communication. Think emails, chatting, texting and forums. The winking smiley ;) or ;-) shows up in all sorts of messages: invitations for dinner, jokes between friends and (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/28/emoticons-work-smiley-business-correspondence_n_1063742.html">perhaps inappropriately</a>) in business and work communication. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49220/original/6q6mb7ct-1400731284.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49220/original/6q6mb7ct-1400731284.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49220/original/6q6mb7ct-1400731284.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49220/original/6q6mb7ct-1400731284.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49220/original/6q6mb7ct-1400731284.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49220/original/6q6mb7ct-1400731284.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49220/original/6q6mb7ct-1400731284.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shutterstock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-139696423/stock-photo-mature-businessman-holding-wink-smiley-in-front-of-his-face-at-office.html?src=V6OuM9UC15pkRZrxKdAYIg-1-96">emoticon image from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is just as much confusion about what a winking emoticon means as with its facially expressed counterpart.</p>
<p>According to a 2000 <a href="http://www.herizons.ca/node/554">analysis of emoticon use</a> in online forums by American researchers Alecia Wolf, the meaning conveyed with a winking smiley or “winkey” was usually teasing and sarcasm and rates of “winkey” use were higher among men than women despite the fact that women tended to use emoticons more frequently.</p>
<p>The next time your pinkie finger strays towards the semi-colon and right parenthesis, consider whether you’re indicating grammar or perhaps something else.</p>
<h2>The winks that stop nations</h2>
<p>Tony Abbott is not the first to receive media attention for a wink. Then-US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin winked six times during a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/la-et-wink14-2008oct14-story.html">single debate</a> in 2008 (and stirred quite a bit of controversy because of it)! </p>
<p>In 2007, then-US president George W Bush <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6637549.stm">winked</a> at the Queen after an unfortunate remark alluding to her age. It seems that politicians can’t help but wink – though they probably should. </p>
<p>There’s no doubt Mr Abbott recognises the unfortunate nature of his wink. In fact, he has now <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/i-shouldnt-have-done-it-karl-tony-abbott-admits-yesterdays-wink-was-a-mistake/story-fn84fgcm-1226926448003">admitted</a> he shouldn’t have done it. </p>
<p>Arguments will continue about intention and interpretation; science suggests that this ambiguity is inherent to the deceptively complex wink.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27059/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa A Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>During a radio show yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott winked. In and of itself, this is hardly a newsworthy event. The context of the wink, though, appears to have made all the difference in making…Lisa A Williams, Lecturer, School of Psychology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/270612014-05-22T05:07:59Z2014-05-22T05:07:59ZOne man’s wink is another’s winken – what did Abbott do?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49230/original/cvr52gm8-1400733017.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The two most prolific meanings for wink are those referring to sleep and that thing Tony did.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">lintmachine</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tony Abbott isn’t the first pollie to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/may/21/tony-abbott-winking-video?CMP=soc_567">get into trouble</a> with a wink. He’s now in good company with American Tea Party darling Sarah Palin.</p>
<p>Palin’s notorious <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/la-et-wink14-2008oct14-story.html">winks</a> left voters in the 2008 American campaign varyingly “smitten”, “confused” and “nauseated”.</p>
<p>This confusion in part speaks to differing interpretations of a wink across contexts and cultures. One person’s wink for shared knowledge is another’s sexual come on. For Shakespeare, a wink often meant the death of a character.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vWcEUPIQNJA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Wink.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, we might remind Tony that a quick wink of shared knowledge to Jon Faine might be interpreted as having sexual overtones. This might, in turn, to loosely paraphrase Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale “give mine good Prime Minister a lasting political Winke”.</p>
<p>Like Palin, Tony leaves me varyingly smitten (oh, those budgies), confused and nauseated (yup, I use the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/australia-news-blog/2014/feb/06/replacing-abbott-with-kittens-qa-with-the-co-creator-of-stop-tony-meow">kitten app</a>). But he is my Prime Minister, so here’s a quick lesson on communication and context from a linguist, mate. Meow.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49227/original/629rv3s3-1400732648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49227/original/629rv3s3-1400732648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49227/original/629rv3s3-1400732648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49227/original/629rv3s3-1400732648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49227/original/629rv3s3-1400732648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49227/original/629rv3s3-1400732648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49227/original/629rv3s3-1400732648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49227/original/629rv3s3-1400732648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stop Tony Meow.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The meaning of a ‘wink’</h2>
<p>Linguistic and non-linguistic meanings are slippery concepts. This is perhaps best illustrated by looking at the evolving meaning of the word <em>wink</em> itself.</p>
<p>Wink appears in the earliest records of Old English with the meaning “to close one’s eyes”. This meaning derives from the Old Saxon <em>wincon</em> “nod” and shares a lineage with the German <em>winken</em> “to wave”.</p>
<p>In Old German, this form also appears as <em>wangk</em> and <em>wengk</em> meaning “to move sideways” or “from side-to-side”. Sadly my Oxford English Dictionary insists no obvious links to the modern English <em>wank</em>. Pity.</p>
<p>Wink with the meaning “eye closing” gradually broadened to include the flickering of flames, the passing of things unnoticed and to rich metaphorical extensions of the winking of days. Shakespeare used wink as a noun to refer to the death of his characters as noted above.</p>
<p>The two most prolific meanings for wink are those referring to sleep and that thing Tony did. Both meanings had taken great strides by the 14th centuries whereas the winking of days and unnoticed things faded away.</p>
<h2>The function of a wink: pollies, polysemy and context</h2>
<p>So, the meanings of linguistic and non-linguistic symbols are slippery. This is something linguists call polysemy. A single form meaning multiple things depending on the context.</p>
<p>For instance, the linguistic form “chipper” is varyingly “a person who chips”, “ridiculously happy” or “a place where Fargo criminals store their friends”. The interpretation of chipper depends on the context.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49233/original/tjx9jp54-1400733478.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49233/original/tjx9jp54-1400733478.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49233/original/tjx9jp54-1400733478.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49233/original/tjx9jp54-1400733478.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49233/original/tjx9jp54-1400733478.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49233/original/tjx9jp54-1400733478.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49233/original/tjx9jp54-1400733478.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49233/original/tjx9jp54-1400733478.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Rob Blakers</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pollies seem to have some knowledge about the slippery nature of form and meaning. For instance, “bombing” always ruins one’s day whereas the “pacification of enemy infrastructure” comes with high-fives and a side of Freedom Fries.</p>
<p>Tony knows this rule well. A broken promise on taxes isn’t really broken if it is a levy even if “levy” is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: “The action of collecting an assessment, duty, tax, etc.”. This must be one of those “etc.” levies. </p>
<p>Pollies clearly get polysemy, so where are they going wrong? Let’s get back to context. </p>
<p>Context is where polysemy gets sorted out. Like linguistic forms, a wink has more than a few interpretations. In a Latin American context, between a man and a women it is more often interpreted as a sexual come-on. </p>
<p>In an English-speaking environment, it can have this same sexual meaning. It might also entail shared knowledge between you and another (among other things). </p>
<p>This shared knowledge could be, as Tony has suggested, an indication to Faine that he was willing to take the call in spite of its content. Or it could be, as many propose, another case of Abbott’s questionable regard for women and the poor. </p>
<p>To these ends, poor Tony is disadvantaged by human nature.</p>
<h2>Gresham’s Law, context and Poor Tony</h2>
<p>Language change and the interpretation of language are driven by a similar principle to economic theory. Both are influenced by something called <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/greshams-law.asp">Gresham’s Law</a>. </p>
<p>In economic theory, Gresham’s Law states that “bad money drives out good”. In language, my Monash colleague Kate Burridge has posited, “bad meaning drives out good”.</p>
<p>For instance, Kate notes in her book <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/languages-linguistics/english-language-and-linguistics-general-interest/blooming-english-observations-roots-cultivation-and-hybrids-english-language">Blooming English</a> (2004) that words such as sad, daft and whore used to have more positive connotations. Sad once meant “satisfied”, daft “humble” and whore was “a general term of endearment for either sex”.</p>
<p>So, in a context, where a wink might be taken to be polysemous, the meaning is more likely to be interpreted in a negative rather than a positive light whatever the truth might be.</p>
<p>Politicians are making a dog’s breakfast of context. When there’s a microphone or a video camera on, context is much larger. More people means more potential (mis)interpretations.</p>
<p>And, when there’s a negative interpretation to be had, our minds often go there. With a wink, some will be smitten, some confused and some nauseated. But we humans are more likely to be the latter two. Keep this in mind, my dear Prime Minister. Ask Palin. Meow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27061/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Howard Manns does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tony Abbott isn’t the first pollie to get into trouble with a wink. He’s now in good company with American Tea Party darling Sarah Palin. Palin’s notorious winks left voters in the 2008 American campaign…Howard Manns, Lecturer in Linguistics, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212822013-12-17T03:29:31Z2013-12-17T03:29:31ZBody talk: how body language affects workplace morale<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37950/original/dsc2n67t-1387250627.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Body language can affect workplace morale. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">massdistraction</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A council in Western Australia <a href="http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/20104798/">recently prohibited negative body language</a> such as shrugging, eye-rolling and sighing in the workplace, but a blanket ban on certain gestures is destined to fail.</p>
<p>Body language, beyond the myths, is extremely complex and difficult to analyse.</p>
<p>It’s also easy to misinterpret, with one gesture carrying myriad possible meanings; but there are some basic rules to follow when it comes to sending the right non-verbal messages at work.</p>
<h2>The good, the bad and the ugly</h2>
<p>Body language can provide positive reinforcement. Lovers, for instance, typically display behaviours that are in sequence and a reflection of each other. Psychologists call this “mirroring” or “rapport”.</p>
<p>There are several well-known non-verbal signs, such as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0xLuMKgssQ">eye contact or gaze, body posture, and position</a>, which indicate the health of a couple’s relationship. Something as small as a smile or a nod can have large effects on our emotional reactions.</p>
<p>To a lesser extreme, leaders may use body language to encourage or support those they supervise. Furthermore, a leader’s body language may show others they are approachable.</p>
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<p>We’ve all experienced the person sitting back, arms open, and smiling at us invitingly. Contrast this with someone who is hunched over and non-responsive (a typical “closed” posture). Which person would you rather work with?</p>
<p>Most bosses rarely mock or demean their employees overtly. Covertly, however, many employees feel negativity on a daily basis.</p>
<p>This is where body language and non-verbal communication are of prime importance. While an employer may not explicitly ridicule an employee, they may certainly act in a way that makes the employee feel inferior; they may refuse to nod, adopt a hostile facial expression or position their body in a way that suggests they are not interested in what their employee is saying.</p>
<h2>Context is everything</h2>
<p>Context speaks volumes, much louder than body language. Attempting to interpret body language by analysing a single gesture is like trying to understand a sentence through one word.</p>
<p>This is typically where individuals attempting lie detection fall short. We’ve all heard that truth-benders instinctively touch their face. In fact, the body language of lying is more likely to include a cluster of subtle signs involving the entire body, such as sudden twitching of the feet, or stopping a movement in order to concentrate – so don’t jump to conclusions just because someone covered their mouth once, or looked away, while speaking.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37919/original/yp4bj8t3-1387238930.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37919/original/yp4bj8t3-1387238930.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37919/original/yp4bj8t3-1387238930.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37919/original/yp4bj8t3-1387238930.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37919/original/yp4bj8t3-1387238930.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37919/original/yp4bj8t3-1387238930.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37919/original/yp4bj8t3-1387238930.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Is this person angry or simply thinking?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Ross</span></span>
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<p>The signs of disbelief (averting the eyes, covering the mouth), may also be a typical response to embarrassment. There are also numerous examples of body language that in one country conveys something very different to another country. </p>
<p>Westerners may unconsciously stand arms akimbo (hands on hips) because they are thinking or because they simply want to rest their arms. In Indonesia, however, this gesture is routinely interpreted <a href="http://www.executiveplanet.com/index.php?title=Indonesia:_Public_Behaviour_-_Part_2">as a sign of aggression and anger</a>.</p>
<p>By its very nature, body language may be impossible to control but may also be unintended or a result of an unrelated association the individual makes.</p>
<p>You may see someone you normally like in a shirt that reminds you of a recently deceased relative, leading you to become upset and avoid that person. You can begin to see the difficulty of a policy that aims to ban negative body language at work.</p>
<h2>Ideas that move us</h2>
<p>Ouija boards and <a href="http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ideomotor.html">pendulums</a> that seem to move toward or away from something in a way that signifies meaning highlight what psychologists call the <a href="http://www.treasuryofpsychicability.com/james-randi-speaks-dowsing-the-ideomotor-effect/">ideomotor phenomenon</a>.</p>
<p>Essentially, ideas can prime movements without conscious awareness. You can be manipulated into acting by the mere suggestion of an idea, a concept routinely exploited in magic tricks that appear to demonstrate mind-reading ability.</p>
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<p>A further example of the ideomotor effect: when we agree with someone, we nod. If I can make you nod, I am more likely to make you agree. One way to do this, is by simply nodding at you, as we often return a nod with a nod. The famous British entertainer Derren Brown has employed this technique so frequently that it has become a tic he cannot inhibit.</p>
<p>Perhaps more unsettling is when those processes are used to manipulate our emotions. As outlined, lovers who are naturally attracted to each other show increased mirroring of behaviour. Car salesmen refer to this as pacing and seduction coaches incorporate it into their training programs, to varying degrees of success.</p>
<h2>Don’t overthink it</h2>
<p>It is clear that body language can have a large impact on our thoughts and feelings, and that includes how we feel at work.</p>
<p>The council that banned “negative body language” is right to highlight the importance of body language in daily communication but the importance of context cannot be underestimated in understanding body language.</p>
<p>We can all adopt a few simple habits to make our body language more friendly at work: smile, don’t stand over people, don’t adopt gestures of disinterest when your co-workers are talking to you and feel free to nod to show you’re receiving information in a positive manner.</p>
<p>But don’t overdo it. </p>
<p>For anyone wishing to decode body language with any level of accuracy, focusing on isolated behaviours is destined to fail.</p>
<p>The attention needed to understand the reason and meaning of a gesture could probably be better spent doing your actual work, which would make all your co-workers and bosses happier anyway.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21282/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Keatley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A council in Western Australia recently prohibited negative body language such as shrugging, eye-rolling and sighing in the workplace, but a blanket ban on certain gestures is destined to fail. Body language…David Keatley, Lecturer in Psychology, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/102812012-10-23T05:18:57Z2012-10-23T05:18:57ZResearch or rubbish? Body language analysis and the US presidential debates<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16808/original/bxqthzc8-1350964545.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Does body language matter? Research says it does.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The US presidential debates are now over and the experts will run rampant again on various aspects of the debate including deciphering the body language of each candidate.
The task becomes being able to separate the insights based on research to those that are not.</p>
<p>Media reported extensively on the <a href="http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=808362">many hours</a> each debater put into practising and preparing for the debate. That wasn’t for nothing. Research has shown such training <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-words/201201/experience-is-not-expertise-in-nonverbal-communication">can help</a>.</p>
<h2>The final debate - a recap</h2>
<p>So how did the candidates go?</p>
<p>While listening, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama avoided much smirking, yet Romney still displayed it, albeit to a lesser degree. Obama took on, overall, a more neutral facial expression while listening. If, as some political analysts <a href="http://www.policymic.com/articles/17161/presidential-debate-prediction-why-the-foreign-policy-debate-will-be-a-tie">suggested</a>, Romney’s plan was to be more passive and Obama more assertive, each of their nonverbal actions reflected this.</p>
<p>Obama effectively used various hand gestures to stress key words, such as pointing during his concluding comments. Romney used fewer gestures, and those that he did use were often not visible as they occurred below the line of sight the camera angle offered viewers. Romney licked his lips frequently, which previous research shows viewers frown upon. </p>
<p>Regardless of each debater’s planning, I give the nonverbal advantage for this debate to President Obama for two reasons. First, he used a variety of congruent and forceful gestures, and listened more effectively. Second, Governor Romney’s lack of gesturing, numerous incidences of lip-licking, and moderate smirks made his nonverbal communication less effective. </p>
<p>Reviewing each of the previous debates, the following questions can be asked: how do we know what made Obama look ineffective during the first? Were Biden’s constant laughing and disbelief as well as Ryan’s smirk negative or positive? Was Romney too passive during this last debate? The review of the literature below allows you to reflect on each debate and compare the actions to what the research data shares.</p>
<h2>Body language research</h2>
<p>Research exists (yes, research that is credible in peer-reviewed journals) detailing the connection between specific nonverbal communication and people’s feelings on the candidates that use them. These implications will last much longer than the immediate memories of Vice President Biden’s laughter, Congressman Ryan’s smirk or President Obama and Governor Romney’s pointing.</p>
<p>A review of the <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-words/201210/the-science-body-language-the-debates">research</a> gives insight into what people like and dislike with regard to the nonverbal actions of debaters both while speaking and listening.</p>
<p>Viewers of previous presidential debates have <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03637759209376267">looked negatively</a> on debaters who rolled their eyes, <a href="http://www.amsciepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pms.1998.86.2.491">shook their heads</a>, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08824090109384814">continuously showed disbelief</a> (through frowning or saying “no” or “what?”), sighing, lack of eye contact, lip-licking, failing to coordinate gestures with speech and grimacing.</p>
<p>However, previous presidential debates audiences viewed debaters favourably when they <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=iIE-C1BU4R4C&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=guerrero+floyd&ots=Nr-xi5DZXB&sig=bQYsA3UZGJAr0MMr4oH-omIhwZg#v=onepage&q=guerrero%20floyd&f=false">communicated</a> in a dynamic fashion that was immediate, expressive, and energetic; used forceful gestures; maintained eye contact, facial pleasantness and open body positions; nodded their head and spoke fluently.</p>
<p>It’s also worth keeping in mind that some people are unaware of their biases and this affects their judgements when analysing nonverbal communication. Being informed of the above research helps increase the ability to accurately analyse nonverbal communication actions. Being aware of our biases helps prevent them from disturbing accuracy.</p>
<h2>Beyond the debates</h2>
<p>I have <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-words/201210/cpr-breathing-life-the-debates">previously mentioned</a> the importance of charisma, professionalism, and rapport being needed to be successful and effective in your profession regardless of what you do for a living. </p>
<p>This ranges from working at Hungry Jacks to being employed in academia, real estate, and everything in between. Everyone is negotiating constantly both formally and informally, and nonverbal communication plays a pivotal role in this. It’s not just your actions either; being observant of the other people’s nonverbal actions gives greater insight into their emotions. </p>
<p>After the dust of the final debate settles and a US President is decided in just two weeks, this research (and dare I say my analysis) can continue to help you in your life. However, before the dust gets too settled, feel free to share your thoughts on the research (trust me, many others <a href="https://theconversation.com/biden-laughs-and-loses-the-vice-presidential-debate-10053">already have</a>) and let me know your thoughts on this final debate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/10281/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeff Thompson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The US presidential debates are now over and the experts will run rampant again on various aspects of the debate including deciphering the body language of each candidate. The task becomes being able to…Jeff Thompson, Research Fellow, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/101112012-10-14T01:01:33Z2012-10-14T01:01:33ZGillard’s misogyny speech looks even better than it reads<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16480/original/55ps3c5z-1350019557.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gillard gave a flawless performance.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the fallout from Julia Gillard’s speech on Tuesday afternoon dies down, I find myself watching the footage again and again. While her <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/transcript-of-julia-gillards-speech-20121010-27c36.html">words</a> were compelling, the sting in the Prime Minister’s performance was in her delivery. </p>
<p>The theatrics of it demonstrated what could be a new Gillard, a stateswoman of international calibre. Abbott’s response — in his posture, gesture and facial expression — was unfortunately in keeping with past embarrassments. </p>
<h2>Gillard: 1, Abbott: 0</h2>
<p>In the misogyny speech, the prime minister’s body language was unusually impassioned. </p>
<p>The delivery was cleverly orchestrated, right down to the strategically shifting eye gaze. Making too much direct eye contact with Abbott or other shadow cabinet members would risk an offensive level of attack. A generalised gaze into the middle distance would not give enough personal impact. The short but direct eye contact with various members of her own party, the opposition, backbenchers and frontbenchers instead added force to her speech. </p>
<p>Abbott, on the other hand, behaved predictably. In recent years, the frequency of <a href="http://theagevsheraldsun.tumblr.com/post/33224765845/16-quotes-from-tony-abbott-to-remind-you-why-he">Abbott’s verbal faux pas</a> may have reduced slightly, but he still frequently communicates ill-advised responses, both <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-24/cassidy-gillard-abbott-hours-of-maddness/4220582">verbal</a> and non-verbal that hurt his and his party’s image. When he does stay on message, Abbott’s non-verbal gestures can contradict his words, presenting an image of conflicted, and therefore ineffective, conservative leadership. </p>
<p>During the misogyny debate, Abbott’s facial expression and posture amounted to an open admission of guilt. </p>
<p>Although at the start of the 15 minutes of Gillard’s speech, the leader of the opposition attempted an air of amused tolerance, this fizzled into a display of frowns, looking down and he can be seen sinking ever lower in his chair. Abbott may have recently learned the “Howard pout” (chin up, lips out) from his mentor, but he is yet to emulate Howard’s impenetrable Teflon attitude in Parliament.</p>
<h2>Goodbye to old Labor rules?</h2>
<p>Gillard’s delivery in question time could signal a shift in Labor Party public relations; let’s hope so. Labor representatives of recent years have used what I call a “talking heads” approach to public speaking. </p>
<p>The Labor Party has tried to focus all media attention on their candidates’ words, with minimal distraction from body language, gesture and facial expression. In this style of delivery, the shoulders remain back, while the hands remain on the lectern with, at the very most, an occasional arm wave. The facial expression remains neutral, smiles and surprise are rare. Jabbing the head forward in a painful-looking manner is the main means of emphasis.</p>
<p>In this style, all evidence that the candidates have personalities and histories beyond the reaches of the party machine is shut away. The overall effect is extremely dull, not to mention a waste of communicative resources. </p>
<p>Only two years ago Gillard’s speeches followed this pattern, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qihAbtd9yAo">her speech on first taking office</a> is a classic example. Kevin Rudd was, and remains, a great proponent of this wooden, reveal-nothing style. Similarly, Bill Shorten, one of the infamous “faceless men”, has also relied on this approach his various performances during television interviews. </p>
<h2>Leaving the party line behind</h2>
<p>The Gillard speech on misogyny broke the talking heads mould with panache. In this speech, there was none of the typical Labor physical restraint. </p>
<p>Gillard waved both hands, pointed, and even moved her feet. She made jokes, and most importantly, seemed to care. When she stood in a defiant, strong stance, stared at Abbott and said “my father did not die of shame”, her emotion was clear for all to see, however controlled. We could see, and more importantly feel the plea for decency and recognition of past wrongdoing. </p>
<p>It is this that made Gillard more likable overnight, in Australia and internationally. The delivery of the misogyny speech shows Gillard as more than a great deal-maker, and more than a political animal; this speech showed us she’s human. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/10111/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Hepworth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As the fallout from Julia Gillard’s speech on Tuesday afternoon dies down, I find myself watching the footage again and again. While her words were compelling, the sting in the Prime Minister’s performance…Katherine Hepworth, Lecturer, Faculty of Design, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.