When we’re interacting with new people for the first time, one of the only ways we can learn more about them and who they are is through their body language.
Learn some simple tricks on body language and how it can be used to understand more about new acquaintances.
The Eyes
When communicating with someone, it’s important to pay attention to whether they make direct eye contact or look away. Inability to make direct eye contact can indicate disinterest or even something more sinister – especially when someone looks away and off to the side.
If a person looks down, on the other hand, it often indicates submissiveness, or even nervousness. It can also be worth checking for dilated pupils to determine if someone is responding in a more favourable way. Pupils dilate when cognitive effort increases, so if someone is focused on someone or something they like, their pupils will automatically dilate. Pupil dilation is hard to detect at first, but under the right conditions it’s not difficult to tell.
The rate that a person blinks can also give away what is going on internally. Blinking rate increases when people stressed or are thinking more than usual. In certain cases, increased blinking rate can also indicate lying – especially when they are also touching their eyes or mouth. Glancing at something more than once can suggest a desire for that thing, and it’s something that can be seen in every day life, from a brand new car to online betting NZ.
The Face
Non-verbal cues can be picked up on through facial expression, although this can be more difficult as people tend to exert more control over their face. Paying attention to the mouth when trying to decipher non-verbal behaviour can be a huge help. A simple smile attraction technique can be a powerful gesture as smiling is an important non-verbal cue.. There are also variations of smiles, which include genuine smiles and fake smiles.
A genuine smile utilises the entire face, while a fake smile only uses the mouth. A genuine smile also suggests that the person is amiable and enjoying the company of those around them. A fake smile is meant to convey pleasure or approval but suggests that the smiler is experiencing something different. A “half-smile” is a fairly common facial behaviour that only makes use of one side of the mouth and indicates sarcasm or uncertainty.
Proximity
Proximity is the distance between one person and another. The amount of space between two people can say a lot about how they favour one another. Standing or sitting in close proximity to someone is perhaps one of the best indicators of rapport.
If a person noticeably backs up or moves away when another moves in a bit closer, this could be a sign that the connection is not mutual. It can be easy to tell the type of relationship two people have just by observing their immediate proximity. It’s also worth nothing that some cultures prefer less or more distance while interacting, so proximity is not always an accurate indicator of affinity.