Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Employee Body Language Revealed: Arms


Employee Body Language Revealed
Chapter Four Summary (Part 1)

Crossing Your Arms 
Listeners who cross their arms retain 38% less information than those whose arms aren't.

GENERAL MEANING
person is closed to what speaker is saying
person is uncomfortable: unconfident, nervous

SPECIFIC MEANINGS
listener's arms suddenly cross while speaker is talking: listener doesn't agree with one of the speaker's ideas
see "Arm Movements'

Arm Movements
  • Gripping Arms While They're Crossed:
    • person is anxious
  • Clenching Fists While Arms Are Crossed:
    • authoritative stance
    • defense mechanism 
    • possibly aggressive stance 
  • Thumbs Pointing Up While Arms Are Crossed
    • hesitation while maintaining a sense of confidence
  • Arms Behind Back
    • while talking
      • subject is withholding something
    • with head tilted, smiling
      • flirting
    • with a hand grasping elbow
      • subject is guilty and trying to apologize
      • person is insecure 
      • person is confident, showing authority

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