Not easy to detect someone’s body language, especially if you’re uncertain or not expressive. Experts agree that communication is 80% of our body language and not what we say. Body language is a way in which we can get an understanding of how someone truly feels. So how can you read someone’s body language more efficiently? Let’s explore that. Here are six ways to read someone’s body language.
#1_ Recognize their normal behavior and personality.
First, you can’t read someone effectively if you don’t know how they normally act. First, each of us has our own unique mannerisms and behaviors that reflect our personality. It’s important to get a baseline for how someone acts before jumping to conclusions.
If you notice someone nervously tapping their foot at your party, does that mean they have something to hide? Or do they just not like parties? Or simply have a habit of tapping their foot?
#2_Focus on where their eyes go.
When in a discussion with someone, pay a little attention to the direction in which their eyes are lingering.Are they focused on you? Are they observing the room? Are they looking at their feet? If someone is giving you their full attention, they’re likely interested in what you have to say. If they’re staring you down, though, with a bit of a furrowed brow, then they may be a bit upset or trying to intimidate you.
Of course, when someone often drifts their gaze from your eyes, they may be distracted or hoping for the conversation to end. And some people simply don’t like me being in eye contact for too long. So this is why it’s important to know someone normal before you jump to too many strong conclusions. How often does this person you’re talking to blink? If someone is rapidly blinking, they may feel uncomfortable with the conversation.
Pupil size can be a key sign of whether someone is interested in what you have to say. Our emotions can cause our pupils to change in size. When someone has very dilated eyes, that may show that they’re highly interested in what you have to say or even attracted to you. Just pay attention to the lighting of the room before you jump to conclusions that people’s could be dilated simply due to a dimly lit room.
#3_Notice their posture.
How someone holds themselves can reveal a lot about them. Maybe they hold their head high because they’ve had a good day, or maybe they’re sleeping in their seat because they didn’t quite get a full night’s sleep. Notice if someone holds their head high in a manner of confidence. Or maybe they have a strong ego and puff out their chest. Judith or loft.
Note that walking in an indecisive manner with your head low and cowardly could be a sign of low self-esteem in some cases. Posture can reveal much about how someone is feeling for the day too, so keep an eye out. If they’re falling asleep in their chair during class, safe to say they’re sleepy.
#4_What are their lips doing?
Another way to get a read on someone is to be aware of their lips and what they are doing when they aren’t the ones talking. If they’re biting their lip or chewing their bottom lip, they could be nervous or worried. If someone’s mouth is hearted faintly, then they’re likely comfortable and relaxed. A sign of alarm can be when one’s lips are shaking badly. This could also be a sign that they’re feeling sad. Compressed lips could mean they are a bit uneasy with the situation. Pursed lips could also mean they disapprove of what’s going on around them or that they don’t trust you. Biting their own lips could also mean that they’re flirting with you.
#5_Pay attention to what they’re wearing.
According to a personality psychologist at the University of Texas Sam Gosling, we should notice what people choose to tell us about their appearance. Gosling calls you signs of identity claims and they can include little things like what we wear, tattoos, bumper stickers, or even our screensaver.
Gosling explains that identity claims are deliberate statements we make about our attitudes, goals, values, etc. These are deliberate choices, so pay attention to what people want to convey about themselves.
#6_Look out for particular facial expressions.
There are a little common facial expressions that can let you know what someone is really thinking or feeling. When you see someone looking like they’re clenching their jaw, you can deduce it is due to tension. Someone may feel bitter, angry, or contemptuous if their lips are pursed. Deep frown lines forming. You can bet they’re worried or overthinking. Want to know if someone is genuinely smiling and delighted? Look for what is called the Deschene smile.
according to Healthline, people can experience tingling in the face while yawning. At the same time, the orbicular occupies muscles, lifts your cheeks, and crinkles your eyes at the corners. Basically, it’s the type of smile that reaches up to your eyes, causing those wrinkles by your eyes none of the crow’s feet to appear. this type of smile occurs when someone is genuinely happy. And there could be an easier way to interpret different smiles.
A team of researchers at Cardiff University created a program that will let users classify smiling and its effect on others. It may be able to tell if someone is lying or not. When you’re giving positive feedback, you can often show what Rich Lavska calls a rewarding smile. this is when your lips are pulled directly upwards. Your eyebrows lift and you form small dimples at the sides of your mouth. The dominant smile is used when one communicates friendship and liking.
This includes pressing your lips together along with an appearance of small dimples. If you happen to notice someone you’ve been recently talking to using the dominant smile, they may just be trying to tell you that they want to be your friend. If you watched all the way. Hopefully, this is a good one-to-one body language crash course for you.
