Kinesics as a means of communication: facial expressions, gestures, gait, gaze

So, again about the symbolism of the body. We will talk about the symbolism of gestures.

But first, a little theory. Nowadays it is customary to call communication communication. When communicating, people use two types of communication: verbal and non-verbal.

Verbal - (from the Latin word oral, verbal speech), that is, communication through speech, tempo of speech, changes in the pitch and tone of the voice, rhythm, timbre of the voice, intonation, diction of speech, phrasal and logical stress.

Of course, the meaning of words and phrases embedded in them is of great importance. In speech, an important role is played by the accuracy of the use of the word, its expressiveness and accessibility, the correct construction of the phrase and its intelligibility, and the expressiveness of the words. An important role is played by the expressive qualities of the voice, characteristic sounds: laughter, hemming, crying, whispering, sighs, coughing, pauses. Nonverbal (non-speech) communication is communication without the use of words, through gestures, facial expressions, pantomimes, and changes in the space of communication. The human body becomes the instrument of such communication.

Non-verbal is “body language”. The ability to read nonverbal cues is essential to effective communication. Psychologists have found that from 60 to 80% of communication is carried out through non-verbal means of expression, and only 20-40% of information is transmitted through verbal means. Through combinations of postures, facial expressions, hand and finger movements, a person can transmit a total of about 700 thousand different signals. This is much more than the vocabulary of any language.

We inherited non-verbal language in the process of human biological development. Culture has made its contribution to the development of body language.

The science of nonverbal communication is divided into kinesthetics, takesics and proxemics.

Kinestics - studies body language, all body movements that form non-verbal communication: facial expressions - movements of the facial muscles, gestures, pantomimes - movement of the whole body; poses, posture, bows, gait.

Takesika - studies touch gestures.

Semiotics - the science of the meaning of signs

Proxemics is the science of the location of people in space during communication and the distance zones during human contact.

In short, there are several types of zones - distances at which a person prefers to stay from the people around him.

- intimate zone (15-45 cm), only close, well-known people are allowed into this zone. Intrusion into an intimate area during communication is always perceived by the interlocutor as an attack on his integrity;

- personal or personal zone (45-120 cm) for normal conversation with friends and colleagues;

- the social zone (120-400 cm) is usually observed during official meetings in office premises with people whom they do not know very well;

- public zone (over 400 cm) implies communication with a large group of people - at meetings, in a lecture hall, at a rally, etc.

Of all the many areas related to non-speech communication, we will be interested in kinesthetics, namely gestures.

Every day we use dozens of gestures, almost without thinking about their meaning. The term “gestures” is understood as movements of the arms or hands, but is often used to refer to all body movements, including facial expressions and pantomimes. The term “gesture” is used to refer to the actual movements of the hands.

There are many classifications of gestures. Each researcher proposed his own classification scheme. Ekman and Friesen proposed the following “alphabet” of gestures:

Gestures-illustrators;

Gesture adapters/manipulators;

Gestures logos/symbols;

Gestures of emotions;

Gesture controls.

Illustrative gestures are descriptive and pictorial gestures that accompany speech and lose meaning outside the speech context (gestures indicating the size, shape of an object, spatial location of the object, etc.)

Such gestures include pointing your thumb back. “This is where you sit with me” - tapping the back of the neck with the edge of the palm. “Fed up”, “fed up” - a horizontal movement across the front of the neck with the edge of the palm. Is it possible to carry out the orders: “Open that window”, “Don’t take this book, take that one over there” if they are pronounced without a gesture? It is forbidden! In such situations, a pointing gesture is required.

With it, the speaker identifies some object from a series of homogeneous ones, shows a place - next to, above, above us, there, emphasizes the order of occurrence - in turn, through one.

Iconic gestures are used in cases

- if there are not enough words to fully convey the idea; - if words alone are not enough for some reason (increased emotionality of the speaker, lack of self-control, lack of composure, nervousness, uncertainty that the addressee understands everything); - if it is necessary to enhance the impression and influence the listener in an additional and visual way. However, when using figurative gestures, one must observe a sense of proportion: these gestures cannot replace the language of words.

Gestures - adapters/manipulators - help our body adapt to the environment around us. These can be: scratching, twitching of individual parts of the body; touch, partner; stroking, fingering individual objects at hand (pencil, button, etc.).

They resemble children's reactions and appear in situations of stress, excitement, and become the first signs of anxiety. So, if a person is upset, he can tug at his earlobe or clothes, and in difficult situations, he can scratch the back of his head. Touching the lower lip means that a person is thinking before making a decision.

Emblem gestures or symbols are unique substitutes for words or phrases or concepts in communication. These include, for example, the American symbol “OK,” which is quite common today in many countries around the world, meaning “everything is fine,” “everything is in order.”

Sometimes you can insult a person with a symbolic gesture by declaring that your interlocutor is a stupid person, a mug, a cuckold, a bungler, etc.

Other symbolic gestures are even more limited by the boundaries of a particular culture or locality, and this specificity can manifest itself in two ways. Firstly, to denote a concept in one culture there may be a certain symbol, while in another there is no such symbol at all.

Gesture symbols include various salutes - gestures that signify belonging to a particular political or social organization. Sometimes a gesture can indicate nationality.

Gestures - emotions - facial expressions or gestures with the help of which one or another emotion is conveyed. Gestures that convey various shades of feelings are called emotional. Some of them are fixed in stable combinations, since such gestures have become generally significant. For example: beat yourself in the chest, hit the table with your fist, slap (hit) yourself on the forehead, turn your back, shrug your shoulders, spread your arms, point to the door. If you see a person (of any skin color) clutching his head, you will think that he has made a mistake, and you will be right. "What have I done!" - says this gesture.

All people, regardless of race, culture or gender, express anger, contempt, disgust, fear, joy, sadness and surprise in exactly the same ways.

Regulatory gestures are gestures that express the speaker’s attitude towards something. They express a prohibition, a request, a demand, regrets, permission, and contact. These can be gestures of approval and disapproval, disagreement and agreement, gratitude, gestures expressing sympathy, gestures of encouragement. These include a smile, a kiss, a nod, and a handshake.

A handshake is a traditional, symbolic gesture of greeting or concluding a transaction. It was believed that in this way friendly intentions were demonstrated - there was no weapon in the hand.

And in sports, a handshake symbolizes equality and respect for an opponent. Researchers have formulated a range of handshakes that signal the wide range of emotions conveyed by these gestures.

And a finger raised up indicates that the person is going to say (or is saying) something moralizing, and wants to draw attention to it.

The gesture of shaking a finger, warning of prohibition, dissatisfaction or unacceptable behavior, is known to many peoples. But in different countries the movements are slightly different. In our case, the threatening finger moves from the reproach to the culprit, and the entire hand is involved in the movement. And in Europe, the finger moves from side to side, like a metronome.

Threatening gestures: swinging a fist, showing a fist - also belong to the category of regulators. Of course, this classification does not exhaust all the variety of gestures. It’s difficult to say to what category formal gestures should be classified: curtsey, kneeling, kissing hands, bowing, applause, raising a hat.

But there are also artificial sign languages that have little relation to speech:

gestures designed for people with hearing impairments;

pantomime gestures;

ritual gestures;

professional sign languages; teasing gestures;

military salute;

gestural visual systems of theater and cinema languages, dance languages

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What is kinesics?

Kinesics in psychology is a science that studies the totality of gestures, facial expressions and pantomimes that accompany the process of human communication. People do not control their body movements as much as they control their words, so observing the interlocutor’s facial expressions and gestures makes it possible to obtain additional information. Often, with gestures and facial expressions, a person can express much more important information than what he is trying to convey in words.

There are other branches of psychology that study the characteristics of nonverbal communication. This includes proxemics, which studies the spatial relationships of people, and takeshika, which studies the language of touch.

Concept of verbal and nonverbal communication

Communicative communication between people occurs through verbal and non-verbal means. Verbal includes speech (written, oral). It must be clear, clear and accessible. Oral speech, in turn, can be dialogical or monological. Written communication is divided into delayed (exchange of letters when you wait a long time for an answer) and direct (exchange of notes during lectures).

People use words to explain the meaning of phenomena, express their thoughts and point of view. Sometimes this creates barriers that make communication difficult. These include gestures. They convey the opponent’s true feelings and determine his intentions.

Among the types of verbal interaction are conversation, discussion, argument, interview. Conversation means a verbal exchange of thoughts and knowledge. It involves two or more people. They can ask each other questions to get to know their opponent's position. An interview differs from a conversation in that during it scientific, social or professional topics are discussed. A discussion is an argument in front of the public, which leads to clarification of positions and the search for solutions to issues. A dispute is an exchange of opposing opinions, when each person defends his own point of view and considers it right.

Speech is a universal tool for communication, but it is still necessary to use non-speech signs along with it. These include non-verbal means, thanks to which the communication process will be fuller and richer. From them, others can learn a lot about the interlocutor. They regulate the communication process, enrich verbal speech, and express emotions. Nonverbal communication includes gestures, facial expressions, postures, voice, gait, and handshakes.

Facial expressions

Voluntary and involuntary movements of the facial muscles are called facial expressions. Facial expressions are an important element of nonverbal communication. Movements of the facial muscles help a person more fully convey information to the interlocutor, demonstrate his mood and attitude to the topic of conversation. With the help of facial expressions, people express a basic set of emotions - joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disappointment. A smile alone can have many meanings. She can be joyful, tense, contemptuous, polite, sad, etc.

Since a person is able to voluntarily move his facial muscles, he can consciously enhance or, conversely, restrain the expression of emotions. Therefore, for a more complete assimilation of information, it is necessary to take into account the words that the interlocutor speaks and his facial expressions.

Learning to recognize nonverbal means

Many psychologists have paid attention to the recognition of nonverbal means. You can learn this skill from Alan Pease, Max Eggert, Carol Kinsey Goman and Peter Andersen.

Allan Pease

Alan Pease is sure that only 7% of information is transmitted through words, 38% by audio means, and 55% by non-verbal means. He considers body movements to be a reflection of people’s emotional state. This means that every gesture allows you to understand a person’s feelings, decipher his emotions for effective communication.

Max Eggert

Max Eggert also studied body language; he recommends impressing, persuading and achieving success with its help. He wrote a book that will help you understand the hidden thoughts of your interlocutor. Eggert is sure that there is no point in interpreting behavior based on one gesture. Reliable conclusions can only be drawn from a combination of three signs.

Carol Kinsey Goman

Carol Kinsey Goman is a Ph.D. She has written books about body language, nonverbal communication, and how to understand interlocutors. Carol recommends sitting up straight when communicating because this posture leaves a positive impression of the person. It gives you a feeling of confidence. When talking, you should choose a cool drink to drink. Those who drink warm liquid accept their partner trustingly and act gently. This interferes with business meetings.

The doctor advises you to relax your face in order to objectively assess the situation and your partners’ proposals. The warmth of further cooperation is influenced by a handshake. Therefore, before starting a discussion with your opponent, you should shake hands. Goman encourages people not to be afraid to pat their partner on the shoulder. It has been proven that the usual touch of a consultant to a client increased the time spent in the store. This led the buyer to spend more money.

Peter Andersen

Peter Andersen's book talks about how to correctly interpret body signals and how they differ in men and women. After reading it, you can understand the role of eye contact, touch and gestures.

Nonverbal communication is sign language. It includes body movements, facial expressions and intonation. If you learn their interpretations, you can build quality relationships with people. Many authors have devoted their works to this.

Sight

The look is closely related to facial expressions. Eye contact is very important during a conversation. By the look of the interlocutor you can understand whether he is telling the truth or lying, whether he is interested in the conversation, whether he feels confident or embarrassed.

The more relaxed the conversation participants feel, the more often their views intersect. An interlocutor who hides his eyes does not inspire confidence. The pupils can also tell you a lot. Pupil dilation indicates that the person is in a good mood, excited, or interested in a conversation. Constriction of the pupils, on the contrary, indicates a bad mood.

Gestures

Gestures are various movements of the hands and head. Gesticulation during a conversation, as well as facial expressions, carries a lot of information. The more active the conversation, the more intense the gesticulation of its participants becomes.

There are several main types of gestures:

Communicative - gestures that people use to greet, say goodbye, attract attention, etc.
Modal - with their help, a person expresses his attitude towards the interlocutor or situation (approval, disapproval, satisfaction, trust or distrust).
Descriptive - gestures that are used only in the context of a specific conversation.

For representatives of different cultures, the same gestures can have completely different meanings. For example, greetings are expressed differently among different peoples: with a nod, a bow, a raise of the hand, a kiss, a handshake, and even a collision of heads. For some nationalities, it is customary to sniff each other, hit a friend on the head or shoulder with a fist, bend your arms in a certain gesture, and much more.

As a result, misunderstandings often arise between representatives of different cultures. To foreigners, many gestures seem strange and unusual. For example, in many countries the main greeting gesture is a handshake. But representatives of some nations consider physical contact between strangers unacceptable.

Gesture and facial expressions in intercultural communication

The study of sign language has intensified in our time thanks to research in semiotics, sociolinguistics and communication theory.

In Russia, great importance was attached to the ability to gesture during public speaking. “Then the hand must only act,” wrote the famous Russian statesman in M.M. Speransky - when you need to supplement concepts. A cold mind has no right to touch it; the hand moves only when the heart hits it” (5, 78).

Gesture and facial expressions are closely related to the word, and, being an expression of thought, the gesture “warns the word, like lightning warns thunder.” “Every movement of the soul has its natural expression in voice, gesture, facial expressions. Movements must correspond to the dialogue and the meaning of the words,” wrote Cicero.

Observations by scientists specializing in linguistics, ethnography, anthropology and pedagogy in different countries have shown that gesture is a necessary element of communication in Latin American countries (a dictionary containing 2000 gestures has been published in Colombia), in Italy, and in Spain. Northern peoples use the gesture less; they use it very little in Japan. Russians, for example, gesticulate more than Finns, but less than the French.

Scientists believe that many gestures are biological and are known in animals. For example, Charles Darwin wrote that the gesture of denial (shaking the head from side to side), the same among almost all peoples of the world, arose from the natural movement of a child when he refuses the breast. True, there are doubts here, since Bulgarians, for example, shake their heads from top to bottom when in denial (like most peoples when they say “yes”).

The same concept is depicted differently among different peoples; for example, the Chinese gesture “come here” is perceived by Russians as “goodbye”. This is explained by the fact that when Russians call, they turn their hand with the palm towards themselves, and when they say goodbye, they turn their hand away from themselves. Russians understand a hand gesture at the throat as “I’m full.”

The same phrase, pronounced with different intonations and accompanied by different gestures, can take on completely different meanings. For example, “You!”, said at the same time as pressing your hands to your chest or accompanied by shaking your head, can mean both gratitude and condemnation.

A gesture can replace a phrase, a word: instead of answering the question “How do you live? » Show thumbs up, meaning “excellent”. There are gestures that are signals in themselves: a kiss, a handshake, etc.

The French sociologist Greimas classifies gestures according to their role in sound speech into practical, mythical (symbolic) and rhythmic. Specialist in Russian gestures T.M. Nikolaeva writes that there are the following types of gestures.

Non-conventional gestures are those that are understandable without explanation. Their perception is most often understandable without special preparation, although they are not entirely simple in structure and their functions in speech. They are divided into pointing gestures when a person points to surrounding people and objects; showing gestures (transmitting) if they convey objects of speech (these are depicting gestures), and if emotions are emotional gestures.
Emphasizing gestures. They have no meaning in themselves, but they help to understand and clarify the idea.
Rhythmic gestures. When the speaker emphasizes not individual parts of speech or words, but the entire speech. This also includes gestures of uncertainty, hesitation that arise when the speaker does not know how to accurately express what he wants to say (shrugging shoulders, throwing up arms).

It is generally accepted that non-conventional descriptive gestures (pictures) are understandable to all people, and when foreigners do not understand a foreign language, they switch to a descriptive gesture. However, even a descriptive gesture is not always unambiguous, which is explained by the difference in the living conditions of peoples. So, for example, the Russian “eat” gesture (the hand holds an imaginary spoon and brings it to the lips) does not correspond to the Chinese (two fingers are extended, imitating chopsticks, and is brought to the lips).

The gesture is national. There is even gesture etiquette. For example, among Russians it is very impolite to point at something, especially a person, with your finger. If you need to show, point with your whole hand. Russian writer I.S. Kuprin said that by a handshake you can not only find out a person’s attitude towards you, but everything about his character. Indeed, the individuality of a handshake in the Russian language is enormous, and small writer’s remarks about how the hero greets, how he folds his hand, what is the strength of the handshake, how the body is tilted sometimes give the Russian reader more to characterize the hero than entire treatises of description would give: for example, to give two fingers is an arrogant greeting; extending your hand with a boat is a greeting for an embarrassed person; shake hands for a long time, not letting go, showing friendly or familiar interest in a person, etc.

For peoples who gesture little, Russian communication seems heavily saturated with gestures, and when playing a Russian, actors in many eastern theaters wave their arms much more than the Russians themselves. Obviously, they perceive the Russian gesture against their own as very broad and, conveying it, mainly strive to show this scope, not knowing or understanding that the scope of a gesture in the Russian language is regulated by many factors: temperament, nationality, norms of behavior, gender etc. and so on.

In general, when gesturing, Russians do not throw their arms forward much and do not throw them far from the body, but it is not customary to gesticulate by pressing the elbows.

The Russian gesture, in comparison with the Chinese one, is less synchronous, because , Russians almost never use the simultaneous movement of both hands; gestures are carried out with one hand (the right); the second hand either does not gesticulate at all, or to a lesser extent repeats the movements of the right. When they gesture with their hands, they are not carried far forward from the body. Often hand movements are replaced by the head and shoulders. For example, when indicating a direction, Russians more often make movements in this direction with their heads, saying: “you need to go that way,” and instead of saying “I don’t know,” they shrug their shoulders.

Observing Russians in gestures, representatives of other nations do not always correctly understand the meaning of a gesture, that is, when and by whom a gesture can be used, and when it is necessary to limit oneself in this. Russian gestures, facial expressions and posture are determined by the situation, the relationships of the speakers and their social affiliation: The more polite and well-mannered a person is, the more restrained his gesture is. The greater intensity of the gesture reveals the agitation and emotionality of the interlocutor.

When trying to read non-linguistic signs, communicants often interpret them incorrectly because they do not know the national specifics of these languages.

Thus, it seems to Russians who come to Eastern countries that, despite their smiles, people here are too aloof. At the same time, representatives of the eastern peoples note that the Russians “want to cross an unfriendly foot too quickly.” This impression arises due to the fact that the communication zones of these peoples do not coincide: the communication distance among Russians is less than that of most eastern peoples, and if we compare the Russians and the Chinese, it turns out that the Russians have a greater distance. The official communication zone of Russians is usually determined by a distance equal to the length of two hands extended for a handshake, and the friendly zone is the length of two arms bent at the elbow. The distance between interlocutors among peoples who do not use a handshake is determined by bows and is much longer than the Russian official zone, so communication at such a distance is perceived by Russians as cold, impersonal. It is known that now Eastern peoples use a handshake when communicating with Europeans, but at the same time they try to maintain their distance. As a result, they stand further than Russians from their interlocutor when shaking hands, so in order to reach him with their hand, they are forced to lean forward. And this, in the opinion of Europeans, looks too servile. On the other hand, sometimes representatives of eastern peoples come within a handshake distance, but, trying to maintain a national distance, they move their upper body back. For a European, this looks like a proud, arrogant greeting.

Greeting etiquette also requires knowledge of the rules of relationships between men and women. The man should greet the woman first, but establishing a contact zone and extending his hand first is the woman’s priority.

A gesture such as a bow is unique. In ancient times, bowing was widespread in Russia. Many different bows were known, including the most polite “prostrate” bow with a hand pressed to the heart, and then lowering this hand to the floor. The most respected people were greeted and seen off with this bow; Moreover, the lower the bow, the greater the respect. Currently, bowing is not common among Russians; it has been replaced by a handshake. A greeting accompanied by a slight tilt of the body forward or a tilt of the head is common, with the eyes directed at the interlocutor. A tilt of the head with eyes downward is “read” by the interlocutor as a pose of a person guilty of something or a pose of embarrassment.

The formality of relationships usually allows only a handshake among Russians, but during informal communication they touch the interlocutor much more often. Wanting to attract someone's attention, they touch the hand; if they need to communicate something secret, they take the interlocutor by the elbow. When talking with each other, men pat each other on the shoulder and knee, thereby showing their friendly disposition. True, this gesture is possible only in equal relationships; in other cases it will be perceived as familiar.

Gaze is closely related to speech and is often a means of establishing contact. However, different nations use it differently. Modern ethnographers say that all civilizations can be divided into two depending on the direction of their gaze: For example, some people look at the interlocutor’s eyes when speaking; like Arabs, Latin Americans, Europeans (although the duration of the gaze is different: Swedes and Russians look longer and more than, for example, the British). Among other nations, it is impolite to look directly into the eyes, and therefore the gaze is directed to the side. If representatives of these two civilizations meet, then each understands the view in its own way. The gaze of Russians directed directly into the eyes is perceived by many Eastern peoples as impoliteness, insolence, and the gaze of these peoples to the side is perceived by Russians as shyness or unwillingness to be sincere.

Thus, contact begins at a non-verbal (non-verbal) level, and at the same level mutual misunderstanding of people of different cultures can begin.

One of the ways to establish contact is touch. It should be noted that among eastern peoples and many Europeans, touching each other is much less developed than among Russians. Russians lead children by the hand much longer than, for example, Chinese parents. Russian girls and boys, women and men, walk holding each other’s arms, and women also walk arm in arm, which surprises foreigners. And Russian male friends often kiss when they meet. From the point of view of the peoples of India, China, Indochina, Russians hug and kiss quite often, but from the point of view of the Spaniards and Italians it is rare.

Akishina A.A. and others. Gestures and facial expressions in Russian speech. M., 1991.
Alan Pease. Body language: what a person’s gestures can tell about a person’s character and thoughts. 1992.
Birkenbil V. Language of intonation, facial expressions, gestures. -SPb. : “Peter”, 1997.
Kochetkov V.V. Psychology of intercultural differences: Textbook. M., 2002.
Pivovarov Yu.S. Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky. The fate of a reformer in Russia (experience of retrospective political science)//From reformism in Russia: Philosophical and historical essays. – M., 1991.
Shmelev A.D. Symbolic gestures and their reflection in language. M.: “Ivdrik”, 1999.

Pose

The postures a person takes during communication can also tell a lot. The position of the body is least subject to conscious control, therefore the pose of the interlocutor speaks about his true state much more eloquently than facial expressions and gestures.

This happens because people are taught from a very early age to control their emotions and facial expressions, but are not taught to control their posture. Therefore, it is the body position that the interlocutor takes during a conversation that best reveals his true feelings. During the communication process, depending on the direction the conversation has taken, the postures of its participants can change significantly. This is also important to consider when transferring business or personal information.

Psychologists distinguish three main groups of postures:

Openness or closedness. If a person is inclined to communicate, he smiles, his posture is relaxed, his palms are open, his torso is turned towards the interlocutor. If a person is closed, he crosses his arms and legs, leans away from the interlocutor, interlocks his fingers.
Dependence or dominance. A person striving for dominance can hover over his interlocutor, pat him on the arm, shoulder, or look down on him. Dependence is expressed by looking up and lowering the head.
Harmony or opposition. Harmony is expressed in a posture that matches the position of the interlocutor. Confrontation manifests itself in the form of clenched fists, a forward shoulder, a militantly raised chin, and hands placed on the sides or hips.

How does your interlocutor rate you?

Let's say you are conducting an important negotiation. This is where knowledge of sign language can greatly help in assessing the situation. For example:

your interlocutor rests his cheek with his fingers clenched into a fist, with his index finger on his temple - he is interested in the conversation, but is still evaluating you;
if the fist has unclenched and now the person is resting his face with his palm, he has lost interest in you;
if the index finger is directed parallel to the temple, and the fist props up the chin, you are being assessed critically;
when the interlocutor strokes his chin, he makes a decision.

If the gesture is not in your favor, force the person to change it. For example, offer a glass of water, depriving him of support - his hand.

When a person crosses his arms over his chest, it means he wants to defend himself, to hide. This body position is called the “universal defensive position.” Let a person’s words simply pour oil into your ears, but your hands will not deceive you: they speak of a negative attitude, especially if your fingers are clenched into fists on your arms crossed on your chest.

It is very easy to disarm such a person. Ask a question using open palm gestures and sit back in your chair. This way you make it clear to your interlocutor that it is his turn to speak, and that your open palms are an expectation of a direct and honest answer.

The desire of a person to appear smaller, to bend his back, has long been assessed unambiguously - as ingratiation, servility to the powerful. This tool has been used as a means of subordination at all times. Small people who want to receive any preferences from the strong will always bend their backs, and do so consciously.

Gait

Gait is the style of movement of a person. This includes the width and rhythm of the step, movements while walking, the position of the torso and head. Gait includes components that can tell about a person’s physical and mental well-being, the characteristics of his character and temperament.

A heavy gait is characteristic of people who are in a bad, depressed mood; a light gait, on the contrary, is characteristic of optimists. An insecure person walks with his head down and his back hunched. Confident – holds himself upright with his head held high and shoulders back.

Active and proactive people walk quickly and confidently, often swinging their arms while walking. Secretive people keep their hands in their pockets or behind their backs. A person engaged in mental activity walks slowly, with a thoughtful look. People of a demonstrative nature lift their chins high, walk on straight legs, trying to emphasize their superiority.

Most common gestures

There are a great many gestures with which a person can express the whole gamut of feelings. As an example, we can consider the most common gestures and their meaning.

Touching the ear or scratching it indicates that the person does not like what the interlocutor is talking about.
Propping your chin indicates boredom and a desire to end the conversation as quickly as possible.
Stroking or scratching the chin indicates thought and reflection.
Tapping your fingers or other objects on the table, glancing at your watch, tapping your feet on the floor, or swaying your feet indicate impatience.
Open palms and an unbuttoned jacket or jacket indicate a willingness to communicate and openness.
Crossing arms and legs, a closed posture indicates distrust or reluctance to communicate.
Rubbing or scratching the neck indicates doubt and uncertainty.
Hands placed behind the back or behind the head indicate the interlocutor’s desire to show his superiority.
Removing and wiping glasses, biting the temples indicate reflection.
Covering your mouth with your palm means secrecy or lying; the interlocutor is not saying something or is telling deliberately untrue information.
Hands in pockets indicate secrecy or reluctance to participate in the conversation. If the thumbs protrude outward from the pockets, the interlocutor seeks to dominate.

There is a lot of literature devoted to means of nonverbal communication. By studying the meaning of facial expressions, gestures, postures and glances, you can learn to better understand people, see their true feelings, distinguish truth from lies in conversation. This knowledge will help you significantly improve your life and achieve greater success in your career and interpersonal relationships.

Interpretation

Some gestures have a generally accepted meaning in all countries. For example, a popular symbol that came from America is “OK”. It means “everything is fine” and is performed using the index finger and thumb, which are folded into the shape of the letter “O”. But not everywhere it is deciphered exactly like that. In France, this gesture means “zero”; in Japan, it is “translated” as money.

Many emblems have an even narrower interpretation within the framework of a particular civilization. One country may use a specific symbol to indicate a particular action, but it does not exist in another culture. For example, if in Saudi Arabia you are kissed on the crown, it means that the person is apologizing to you. In many Arabian countries, running your thumbnail across your teeth means financial hardship.

Secondly, the national peculiarity of gestures is expressed in the fact that the same action is indicated by different symbols. Americans put two fingers to their temple to determine suicide. To describe similar circumstances, in Papua and New Guinea they rub the edge of their hand across the throat, and in Japan they make an energetic movement with their fist.

Often funny situations happen due to different interpretations of gestures. For example, a Russian man visiting a Japanese man wanted to tell the owner of the house that he had eaten enough and ran his hand over his throat (“fed up”). In Japan, this symbol is interpreted as “you are fired.” The owner decided that the Russian guest brought him bad news. Therefore, when you are in a foreign culture, you should use symbols with caution so as not to get into an unpleasant situation.