Is there anything to body language ?

Question

When I was in high school, I watched an episode of a TV show where a teenage girl read a book about body language . Body language was an important subject in this episode . When I saw this episode, I thought “Can you understand body language without reading a book about it ? I’ve never read a book about body language, so I don’t know anything about it !” . I read an article that said if you’re as a social situation, like a bar, you should check out everybody’s body language to decide who to approach . How should I know anything about body language ?  For that matter, what if you’re not attracted to the person with the right body language ?  My roommate claims our neighbor down the street doesn’t like him .  He says he can tell by “her actions, her attitude, and her body language” . I say “If I don’t know anything about body language, how should he ?” . I think he's full of bunk ! I don’t think he knows what he’s talking about . I keep  asking myself “What does he know about body language ?” . He had a bad head injury at one point, so he’s easily confused . I’ve never studied French . I know a few French words, so I can put together a sentence in French, but I can’t speak or understand it . I’ve never studied Spanish . I know a few Spanish words, so I can put together a sentence in Spanish, but I can’t speak or understand it . My theory is “I’ve never studied body language, so I shouldn’t be able to understand it .” . Is there anything to body language ?

Anonymous · Answer

Yes. 
There is a LOT to body language.

? · Answer

"Body language" is something everyone uses without realising it. Simple things like pointing your toes towards the door show you're longing to get out of there; leaning towards a person shows you're interested in what they're saying; crossing your arms usually shows that you're feeling defensive.

We don't do these things deliberately; we don't 'learn' body language and consciously use it to convey a message; we just do it, as human animals.

Anonymous · Answer

Yes there is.... but the thing you need to understand is that just like spoken and sign-languages, body-language VARIES from one culture to the next.

Multilingual people like singaporeans will even switch to other body-languages when they switch between spoken languages (English, Mandarin, Tamil) to keep them matched

? · Answer

Body language is not some sort of secret code, it's something everybody does without thinking about it, and that everybody can at least partially interpret unless they've never interacted with humans before.

You don't need to read a book to know that when a person looks somewhere else and keeps sighing, they're not very interested in what you're saying.
You don't need to read a book to know that someone looking down at you with hands on their hips and a frown is not pleased with you.

Some hints are a little more subtle. Someone who tilts their head is interested in what is being said. Someone with crossed arms is in a defensive attitude.
Someone whose mouth forms a smile, but whose eyes don't, is not making a genuine smile.
Etc.

You can get that by observing people a little. You don't really need a book. And that's really not magic. It's as easy as interpreting the tone of someone's voice.

Anonymous · Answer

Every animal, including humans, reads and interprets body language multiple times a day. Are you seriously suggesting that you can't tell what someone might want by their actions versus words? You need to start paying attention. You're missing half the world.  You "know" because you learn it by watching.

? · Answer

All humans, actually pretty much almost all mammals, use body language in one way or another. It is part of what you learned as you learned to socialize at a very young age, then built upon it. Some are more in tune with it then others, many believe they understand it when they are full of it. There are ways to use body language for depiction, intentionally mislead people.

Is there anything to body language ?

6 Answers