I speak two

languages,
Body and
English.
Mae West.

By Rosalie Hofman.

Contents
Hand to Face Gestures
Cheek and Chin Gestures
Palm Gestures
Whats in a Hand Shake?
Meetings
Bibliography

Hand-to-Face Gestures
Deceit, Doubt,
Lying
The Mouth Guard.

Nose Touching.

The Eye Rub.

 The Ear Rub

trying to block
the word.
The Collar Pull
lying causes a
tingling
sensation
around the neck
area.
Fingers in the
Mouth
indicate the person is under
pressure.

The Neck Scratch

signals that
listener does not
believe .

Cheek and Chin Gestures

Boredom

Evaluation

Having negative
thoughts

Making a decision

Steepling Hands
Steepling hands is usually a
positive signal however if
steepling gestures follow
negative gesters like folded
arms, crossed legs, looking
away then the buyer is
confident that he wont
buy. The gestures
becomes a negative.
Low steepling undermining
confidence.

Gripping Hands, Arms and Wrists

This is common with

prominent male
members of British
Royal Family

This indicates superiority

or confidence. It exposes
The vulnerable stomach, heart and throat
regions. Shows the person is fearless
Hand-gripping-wrists is a signal of frustration and an attempt at selfcontrol. The upper arm grip is an indication of becoming more angry.

Thumb Displays
Cardigan/Vest

Thruster
Superiority
Thumbs protruding
from back pockets
The dominant
female
Thumps also used as a signal of
ridicule or disrespect

Palm Gestures
Hidden palms =
deceit
Open palms =
honesty
Power palms

Submissive palm
Dominate palm
Aggressive palm

Whats in a Hand Shake?

Dominant and submissive

handshakes
Taking the control
Giving the control
Shake like a man
Handshake styles
Palm-down thrust
(aggressive)
Disarming the palmdown thrust
The glove

The knuckle grinder

(aggressive)
The finger-tip grab
misses the mark (lack
of confidence and
prefers a comfortable
spatial distance
The stiff-arm thrust
used by aggressive
people wanting to
keep their distance
The arm-pull means
either the initiator is
insecure or has a small
intimate zone

Meetings

Man on left is negative

Arms folded, folder used as barrier
Sunglasses hiding eyes
Beard hiding face
Jacket buttoned up

Both men aggressive

Middle man using handson-hips gesture
Right man using thumbsin-belt gesture
Left man less aggressive
as he is leaning
backwards
Right mans body facing
directly and facial
expression matches body
gestures

Man on left straddling

chair trying to take
control/dominate
man on right
Clenched fingers and
feet locked together
show frustration

Man in center feels superior

- hands-behind-head; leglock indicates he will
compete or be
argumentative; has highchair status that swivels

Man on right has

low-chair status with
fixed legs
- Arms, legs crossed
tightly (defensive)
- Head is down
(hostile) and not
listening

Man on left using

excellent gestures to
convey openness and
honesty

Exposed palms
Foot forward
Head up
Coat unbuttoned
Arms and legs apart
Leaning forward, smiling

Woman does not

believe his story
Sitting back in chair
Legs crossed away from
him (defensive)
Partial arm barrier
Clenched fist
Head down using critical
hand to face gesture

Man in middle feels

superior

Raised-steeple gesture
Leg-lock position
Overall negative attitude
sitting back with head
down

Man on left and

woman mirror each
others gestures and
are interested in each
other
Man in middle has
tight-lipped smile
which may appear that
he is interested but his
body and facial
gestures suggest not
legs crossed, arms
folded, eyebrows down

Just for fun look at this video for

some shocking body language

Bibliography
Pease,

A., Body Language, 1981,

Camel Publishing Company, Australia
Mae West