by Terri Wagner
Understanding body language is an art. I know because I stink at it. I will misunderstand the subtle signals of a person nearly every time. Shelton (Big Bang Theory) and I struggle to comprehend the meaning behind the meaning. However, Cesar Milan has taught me that my dogs are almost perfect at reading my body language and use subtle hints to figure out what I'm about to do next. This must be true because they know the difference between my going out to work and my going out to throw the ball (FTR the balls are outside, same door).
My shall we call it half hearted fascination stayed with me until May 24, 2011 when I got laid off. Since then, I've learned that body language speaks louder than words at an interview. And again I stink at both reading how the interview went and how I personally did. Since I don't have a permanent job, I'm assuming it's not going well, ha!
In my research however I did learn this...what means something in one cultural means something quite different in another. For example, looking you in the eye is strictly an American invention probably because we didn't begin as a class society. In class-oriented societies, a person requesting something does not look you in the eye, but looks at the ground as a sign of respect since you would be granting (or not) the request. Crazy uh?
Another example? Rolling your eyes is taboo in our culture. It means instant disrepect. However, it can mean someone is unsure of your meaning, possible ignorance of the subject at hand.
Keep researching, it's fun!
Fascinating topic, Terri! I'm going to have to follow up on some of that research. I don't read body language very well, either...except where my kids are concerned. I read them pretty well...much to their dismay! hugs~
ReplyDeleteAwesome post Terri! I'm glad you did some research of your own! So many interesting things to be learned by researching.
ReplyDelete<3Claire