Verbal communication is generally straightforward. You just open your mouth and say what you want to.

But, communication doesn’t happen in verbal only.

As you listen or speak, you also express the reactions and feelings through your body language including your gestures, facial expressions, and stance.

Body language is a silent orchestra through which people constantly give clues to what they’re thinking or how they’re feeling.

Non verbal messages include facial expressions, body movements, vocal volume and tone, or other signals collectively known as body language.

Microexpressions which state a brief display of emotions on the face, gestures, and posture register in the human brain almost immediately that even a person is not aware whether they have perceived anything.

Due to this, body language can strongly colour how an individual is perceived, or how they interpret other’s motivation, openness, and mood.

What’s Important in Body Language? 

While assessing body language of a person, you have to look upon:

• Facial expressions
• Hand gestures
• Posture

These non-verbal cues give the person whether you’re interacting with an idea of what you’ve been thinking or how you’re feeling.

It’s something to be noticed so that you don’t send the wrong message to another person

Types of Body Language 

Many people can easily decipher intentional body language without much trouble.

If someone rolls their eyes or stamps their foot, for instance, you probably have a pretty good idea how they’re feeling.

Unintentional body language is harder to understand. Here are some meanings behind some more subtle types of body language.

Cultural Differences 

A person’s cultural background can have a big influence on how they read and use body language.

Some examples can be considered as:

• In some western cultures, eye contact while speaking tells about openness and interest.

While people of other cultures, including some Eastern cultures, avoid prolonged eye contact, as they look slightly down or to the side that seems more respectful.

• Nodding indicates agreement in many cultures. In other words, it seems that just another person acknowledges your words.
• Developmental differences
• Neurodiverse people also use and interpret body language differently than some neurotypical people do.

For instance, some people fidget when they’re bored, while neurodiverse people fidget to calm nervousness, increase focus, or self-soothe in other ways.

Autistic people face trouble while reading body language.

Psychological Differences 

Some mental health conditions also impact the people’s body language.

For instance, someone with social anxiety finds it extremely hard to meet and hold someone’s gaze.

People who prefer avoiding touching others or in shaking hands or embracing when they greet someone.

Being aware of boundaries that some people have around casual touch can help you to avoid assuming if someone dislikes you.

Understanding Body Language 

If you have a hard time to understand the body language, remember these points:

Talk to them:

Ask someone how they feel, it never hurts to do so. If you notice clenched fists or a restless foot, try to pull them aside and ask if everything is alright.

Consider previous body language:

Body language vary from person to person. If someone’s unique body language suddenly looks different, it might be a clue that there’s something beneath the surface.

Aim for some level of eye contact:

You are not supposed to stare at someone or maintain continuous eye contact, but if you do, it helps in meeting someone’s gaze and holding for the better part of the conversation.

Moreover, you’re more likely to pick up the body language when you look at that person.

Remember to Listen:

Good communication involves listening more than telling. Don’t get too caught up in trying to know someone’s gesture or position that you forget to hear their words.

Body language is complex and quite difficult to understand. In fact, there’s an entire study field, called kinesics, that is specifically devoted to understand non-verbal communications.

Slight shifts in stance or change in facial expression tend to happen naturally while in conversation or social interaction.

Though, someone with a consistent erect posture or fixed impression puts in many efforts to keep their true emotions from showing.

You can’t fully know what others feel and think based on their body language alone.

When you put body language in the context of their words, you can get a lot more information than you will consider by other types of communication alone.