Decoding Body Language: Signals and Meanings
Communication between humans is primarily done through words, but not everything we try to communicate is *verbal*. Your body also plays a crucial role in completing the message, contributing anywhere from 30% to 70% of the overall meaning. This percentage isn’t fixed and can vary depending on factors such as culture, education, the individual’s state of mind, and their personality.
We define body language as the set of nonverbal cues that enhance the transmission of a message. These cues include postures, gestures, movements, and eye contact. All of these have a dual regulation—conscious and unconscious—and are primarily used to express emotions, feelings, moods, and intentions that words alone cannot fully convey.
Understanding the Elements of Nonverbal Language
Gestures
Gestures are small-amplitude movements performed by specific body parts. The most common are those made with the face and hands. There are three main types:
- Facial gestures: These are made using the muscles of the face. They can express emotions like happiness, sadness, or indifference.
- Manual gestures: These are known as enhancers or clarifiers of a message. Their amplitude, speed, and concreteness are used to clarify the meaning of words.
- Universal gestures: These are gestures shared by a society as a whole, understood by everyone. They don’t belong to any particular person. Sometimes, gestures emerge as a fad or novelty but are soon forgotten.
Interestingly, in the digital age, words alone often lose meaning when confined to a screen. The message lacks the crucial elements of body language, leading to misunderstandings. This is why emojis were invented: to add context and complete the text.
Postures
In body language, a posture is a static, expressive arrangement of body segments. There are four main types:
- Open: Body segments are separated from the body’s central axis.
- Closed: Body segments are close to the body’s central axis.
- Tense: There is constant muscular contraction.
- Relaxed: There is minimal muscular contraction.
Movements
Movements are dynamic expressive dispositions. There are four different types: fast, slow, wide, and reduced. Movements are developed in different planes:
- Upper: From the shoulder line upwards.
- Middle: Between the hips and shoulders.
- Lower: From the hips to the ground.
Movements also occur in different planes of proximity:
- Long distance: Movements in an environment with unfamiliar people.
- Medium distance: This is akin to ‘social distance,’ between people who are somewhat close, such as in a work environment or among a group of friends.
- Short distance: Where personal space is shared.
Manifestations of Corporal Expression
Theatre
Theatre is a spectacle where, through practice and repetition, an imagined reality or a historical event is represented. Often, there is a literary piece involved. Theatre requires costumes, lights, a script, a stage, and other elements. It also incorporates body language into the performance.
Dramatization
Dramatization is an expressive model where a person conveys a real or invented event by acting it out. If it’s short, it doesn’t require a script, stage, costumes, or similar objects. It relies solely on the individual’s expressive resources, including sound imitation.
Mime
Mime is the highest level of expressive technique. Individuals who practice this are known as mimes. A mime uses only their gestures, postures, and movements to create and portray elements that don’t physically exist. They may use background music or lighting to focus attention. This technique is also known as “The Art of Silence.”