BUSINESS ENGLISH Non-Verbal Communication

8/3/2019 BUSINESS ENGLISH Non-Verbal Communication

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BUSINESS ENGLISHTENG 1193

Non-Verbal Communication

Prepared By: So L .C.



NON-VERBAL LANGUAGE

• By a man’s fingernails, by his coat-sleeve,by his boots, by his trouser-knees, by thecalluses of his forefinger and thumb, by hisexpression, by his shirt-cuffs, by hismovements – by each of these things, aman’s calling is plainly revealed. That all

united should fail to enlighten thecompetent enquirer in any case is almostinconceivable. – Sherlock Holmes, 1892



THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

• When people want to beopen or

honest, they will often holdone or both palms out tothe other person and saysomething like, “I didn't do

it!” or “I’m sorry if I upsetyou” or “I’m telling you thetruth.”




The palms are intentionally used everywhere to imply an open,honest approach.




Palms-in-Pockets:Prince William showing themedia that he doesn’t want totalk.• Keeping your hands in your

pocket shows you do not wantto participate un a conversation,

just like keeping your mouthshut.




• The palm facing up is used as asubmissive, non-threatening gesture, justlike the pleading gesture of a street

beggar, or the person holds no weapons.If you want someone to talk,you can use the palm-

up as a “handover”gesture to let them knowyou expect them to talk

and you are ready to listen.




• If your palm is turned to facedownward, you will projectimmediate authority. The other person will sense that you have

given them an order,depending on your relationshipwith him or the position youhave with him in a work

environment. If the person wassomeone of your equal status,he might resist the Palm- Downgesture and would be morelikely to comply if you use thePalm-Up position.




• The Nazi salute had the palm

facing directly down and was

the symbol of power andtyranny.

• If Adolf Hitler had used his

salute in the Palm-Upposition, no one would havetaken him seriously – theywould have laughed.






• The Palm-Closed-Finger-Pointed is a fist wherethe pointed finger is used like a symbolic clubwith which the speaker figuratively beats hislisteners into submission.

• It evokes negative feelings in others and is oneof the most annoying gestures.

• In Malaysia and Philippines , finger-pointing at

a person is an insult as it is only used to point atanimals.• Malaysians will use their thumb to point to people

or to give directions.






• Speakers who use the Finger-Pointedposition were viewed as “aggressive”,“belligerent”, and “rude”.

• It recorded the lowest amount of informationretention by their audience.

• When speakers point directly at the

audience, the delegates becamepreoccupied with making personal judgements about the speakers rather thanlistening to their content.







• Squeeze your fingers against your thumbto make an OK type of gesture and talkusing this position, you will come acrossas authoritative, but not aggressive.

• The audiences who listened to thespeakers who used this gesture describedthe speakers as “thoughtful”, “goal-oriented” and “focussed”.




THE MAGIC OF SMILES

A natural smileproducescharacteristicwrinkles around the

eyes – insincerepeople smile onlywith their mouth.



THE MAGIC OF SMILES



THE MAGIC OF SMILES

Place a mirror down the middle of illustration A at an angleof 90 degrees to reflect each side of the face, you willproduce 2 different faces with opposite emotions.

Mirroring the right side of the face shows picture B, whichhas a cheesy grin, while mirroring the left side revealspicture C, an angry frown. [ The Twisted Smile ]



THE MAGIC OF SMILES



THE MAGIC OF SMILES



THE MAGIC OF SMILES

• The Drop-Jaw Smile is a practiced smilewhere the lower jaw is simply droppeddown to give the impression that the

person is laughing or playful.• This is a favourite of people such as The

Joker in Batman, Bill Clinton and HughGrant, all of whom use it to engender happy reactions in their audiences or towin more votes.



THE MAGIC OF SMILES



• The Tight-Lipped Smile : the lips arestretched across the face to form astraight line and the teeth are concealed.

• The smiler has a secret or withheldopinion or attitude that they will not besharing with you.

• It is a favourite of women who don’t wantto reveal that they don’t like someoneand is usually clearly read by other women as a rejection signal. Most menare oblivious to it.

THE MAGIC OF SMILES



THE MAGIC OF SMILES



• Sideways-Looking-Up-Smile : with the headturned down and away while looking up with atight-lipped Smile, the smiler looks juvenile,playful and secretive.

• This coy smile is men’s favourite everywherebecause when a woman does it, it engendersparental male feelings, making men want toprotect and care for females.

• This smile made women want to be like her.• It is also regular in women’s courtshiprepertoire for attracting men, it is read by menas seductive and is a powerful “come on”signal.

THE MAGIC OF SMILES



THE MAGIC OF SMILES



• The opposite of pulling up the corners of themouth to show happiness is pulling bothcorners downward to show the Down-Mouth

expression.• This is done by the person who feels unhappy,

despondent, depressed, angry, or tense.• If the person holds these negative emotions

throughout their lifetime, the corners of themouth will set into a permanent down position.

THE MAGIC OF SMILES



• In later life, this can give a person anappearance similar to a bulldog.

• Studies show that we stand farther awayfrom people who have this expression,give them less eye contact, and avoid

them when they are walking toward us.

THE MAGIC OF SMILES



THE MAGIC OF LAUGHTER



• In courtship, it is women who do most of the laughing and smiling, not men. Themore he can make her laugh, the more

attractive she will find him.• The ability to make others laugh is

perceived as a dominant trait.

• A subordinate person will laugh toappease a superior person and thesuperior person will make subordinateslaugh – but without laughing himself – as a

way to maintain his superiority.

THE MAGIC OF LAUGHTER



• When you fold your arms, your credibilitydramatically reduces.

• When a listener folds his arms, not onlydoes he have more negative thoughtsabout the speaker, he is also paying lessattention to what is being said.

• You may feel arm-crossing is simplycomfortable, but others think you are notapproachable.

ARM SIGNALS



ARM SIGNALS



• If a person has clenched fists as well as afull arm-cross, this cluster, called Fists-Clenched-Arms-Crossed, shows hostility

as well as defensiveness.• If combined with a tight-lipped smile or

clenched teeth and red face, a verbal or even physical attack could happen.

• This person has an aggressive, attackingattitude.

ARM SIGNALS



ARM SIGNALS



• The Double-Arm-Grip is characterised bythe person’s hands tightly gripping their upper arms to reinforce themselves and

avoid exposure of the front of the body.• Sometimes, the arms can be gripped so

tight that the fingers and knuckles can turnwhite as blood circulation is cut off.

• It is a person’s way of comforting himself with a form of self-hugging.

ARM SIGNALS



• Arm-gripping is commonly seen in doctors’and dentists’ waiting rooms or with first-time air travellers who are waiting for liftoff.

• In a courtroom, the claimant may be seenusing a Fists-Clenched-Arms-Crossedpose while the defendant may have takenthe Double-Arm-Grip position.

ARM SIGNALS



• Status can influence arm-folding gestures.• When a general manager is introduced to

several new employees at a company’ssocial function: – He would greet them with a Palm-Down

handshake, stands back from them – a yardaway – with his hands by his sides or behindhis back (superiority), or with both hands inhis pocket (noninvolvement). He rarely foldshis chest so as not to show the slightest hintof nervousness.

ARM SIGNALS



• When a general manager meets a young,up-and-coming male who is also asuperior type and who may even signalthat he is as important as the generalmanager? – Result: After the two give each other a

dominant handshake, the younger executivemay take an arms-folded gesture(protection/defensive) with both thumbspointing upward (self-confident).

ARM SIGNALS



ARM SIGNALS



Famous people are just as nervous inpublic as the rest of us.

Prince Charles’sCuff-Link-Adjust:revealing hisinsecurities

ARM SIGNALS



TAKE THE CULTURAL TEST



How the Body Points to Where theMind Wants to Go



• The previous illustration shows two men talkingin a doorway.

• The man on the left is trying to hold the other

man’s attention, but his listener wants tocontinue in the direction his body is pointing,although his head is turned to acknowledge theother man’s presence.

• In any face-to-face meeting, when one personhas decided to leave, he will turn his body or feetto point toward the nearest exit.





• 45-degree Open Position istaken by the first 2 people,which invites a third person

to join in the conversation.






• If a third person wants to join two otherswho are standing in a Closed Position,he’ll be invited when the other two angle

their bodies to form the triangle.• If the third person is not accepted, theothers will hold the Closed Position andturn only their heads towards him as asign of recognition; and they will probablygive tight-lipped smiles.




• A conversation between three people maybegin in the open triangle position, buteventually two people may take theClosed Position to exclude the thirdperson.

• This group formation is a clear signal thathe should leave the group to avoidembarassment.







• Crossing the knees towards another person shows a sign of interest in or

acceptance of that person.• If the other person also becomes

interested, he will cross knees towards thefirst person.

• As the two people become more involvedwith each other, they begin to mirror eachother’s movements and gestures.




• In the picture, the man and woman to the lefthave formed a closed position that excludes all

others, such as the man on the right.• The only way in which the man on the right

could participate in the conversation would beto move a chair to a position in front of thecouple and attempt to form a triangle, or takesome other action to break their closedformation.







• Feet serve as pointers indicating thedirection in which a person’s mind is

going, they also point at people who wefind the most interesting or attractive.

• In the picture, you can see the

conversation seems to be dominated bythe men, and the woman is just listening.Then, you notice that the men all havetheir front foot pointing towards the

woman.




• With this non-verbal cue, the men areeach telling the woman they are interestedin her.

• On a subconscious level, she sees thefoot gestures and is likely to stay with thegroup for as long as she is receiving this

attention.• She is standing with both feet together (neutral) and could eventually point onefoot towards the man she finds the most


BUSINESS ENGLISH Non-Verbal Communication

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