Body language: When the body speaks
The other day I cleaned up the four large drawers in my desk. Three of them were ticked off pretty quickly, but the fourth had it in the truest sense of the word. If I do not know where to put some small item, a piece of parcel string (you might need it again) or anything else, it will end up in this drawer of horror sooner or later. I took each piece out individually, weighed it in my hand and listened to me if it was tokimeku. Tokimeku is Japanese, means as much as? What makes the heart jump? and is next to? hyggelig? one of the beautiful new trend words.
Most things from the belly of the drawer were definitely not tokimeku and flew into the trash. Suddenly I had a holiday photo from 2004 in my hand: me on a Bulgarian beach. After this holiday, I decided never to go back to a country whose language I do not speak and in which large parts of the population (at least in rural areas) of English are not powerful. In Bulgaria, I talked a lot with my hands and feet, but since the vocabulary is pretty quickly exhausted. What irritated me most at the time was that the Bulgarians nod when they say no? mean and a shake of the head? means. To internalize that, the two weeks holiday was not enough.
In any case, said photo brought me to the topic? Body Language? and voila: We're already in the middle of it. In my mind's eye, I see some of you shrug your shoulders, which means, "Who cares?" Or you roll your eyes and think? Again a post without tips ?. Who knows? Shrugs and eye rolls fit in any case already great on the topic.
Did you know that, according to a study by American psychology professor Albert Mehrabian, 55 percent of the overall impression of one's counterpart is determined by his body language? This number astonishes me, but it explains why I spontaneously do not like some people, even though they have not said a word yet. Words seem to be overestimated anyway. According to Mehrabian words have only a tiny 7% share of the overall impression. The tone, as it is said, brings it to 38 percent. Most of us intuitively interpret the body language of others.
People who deal with the subject scientifically can analyze gestures or facial expressions precisely and the "unspoken"? recognize behind it. Many hiring managers are trained in interpreting body language and, in a short job interview, learn more about a candidate than might be right. This starts with the greeting and ends with a handshake. If you are interested in the topic, write it in the comments. I would then make an independent post about? The right body language in the job interview? write.
A German? Gesture has now brought it to world fame: the so-called Merkel diamond. Our Chancellor uses this (also known as a power triangle or snow plow) hand gesture very often. On purpose? Experts say yes. She keeps her forearms extended forward parallel to the floor, and a principle of body language is: downward-pointing lines, for example, drooping arms, make a less active impression than horizontal or upward lines. I remember a short scene on TV, in which Angie clenched both fists during a soccer game of the German national team, arms outstretched in goal celebrations. THAT might have been the right body language in the election campaign. But before I drift off into political realms and end up writing about the body language of Mr. Trump (a weeeeeites field), rather an anecdote:
Last spring, Andre Agassi spoke publicly for the first time about how his outstanding winning streak against Boris Becker came about. After three lost games against the red-blond wonder boy, he spent hours analyzing records of the games and discovering Beckers' sore spot: the glue-maker stretched his tongue out in front of each of his dreaded serves a little bit through his lips? exactly in the direction in which he wanted to serve the ball. After finding out, Agassi won ten of the eleven duels that followed. But apparently Boris did not learn too much from that? He still finds it difficult to keep his tongue in check.
Well, it is already late and my body just gave a loud and clear yawn: time for bed. THAT is body language that even I understand?
