Four Body Language Secrets

How would you like to learn how to read body language? People wouldn't be able to lie to you easily and you'd also understand people a lot more. Body language is unspoken, subtle yet so crucial to our everyday interaction with people as it cuts through barriers of communication and illuminates what others may be thinking and how they may act.

The trick to reading body language is to learn how to recognize the signals someone else is giving, and at the same time mask your scan of them so they don't detect what you are doing. How would you feel if you were being scrutinized? Uncomfortable? They would feel the same way too.

1. Eyes - Watch someone's eyes. If their pupils dilate, it usually means that person is interested. The eyes are the windows to the soul and you can tell a lot about someone if you know what to look for. Be careful though, the same signal can be interpreted in many different ways and depends on the context of the circumstances at the time. Pupil dilation could also mean that the subject is on drugs, or that they are very focused.

If someone's eyes are looking off to one side it is also a tell that they are feeling guilty, they may be lying to you at that point. Practise and perfect this tell, as once again, this may have many interpretations and meanings.

2. Hands - If they have open hands, they are likely to be more relaxed and comfortable. Hands talk, a lot, and generally open hands signal when someone is open and does not have raised defenses. Wherever you go in the world, someone approaching with a closed fist is a sign of aggression and trouble, whereas an open hand is always construed as a signal of peace and good intent.
When people get tense or nervous they will naturally start to close their hands, watch what happens to your hands the next time you watch a scary film or ride a roller-coaster.

3. Mimickry - If someone starts to mimic your body position when you are talking to them, they are comfortable in the situation and are likely to be interested in you or what you have to say.

It is usually easy to tell if someone is mimicking, or mirroring you with good intent. Sometimes this is done as a mockery and the context and feel of the conversation or interaction will be completely different. Again, practise and figure out how to identify the two different contexts of synergy and mockery.

4. Arms - There are two main expressions with the arms, they can either be open or folded. Folded arms mean that the person is likely to be defensive, angry or disapproving. Open arms are a signal that the person is being honest and also accepting of the situation he or she finds herself in.

Folded arms also a way of forming a barrier, defensive or otherwise between them and yourself. Bouncers in nightclubs often stand with folded arms when they're blocking doorways or otherwise trying to assert themselves.