welcome back to the ultimate body language guide in today's video we're going to cover the arms
and shoulders all of this information is taken directly from the dictionary of body language
by joe navarro please support him and his work by checking out his book with that being said
let's begin raising one shoulder this is when someone raises one of their shoulders slightly
higher to their ear if this occurs while this person is answering a question this is usually
a sign that this individual lacks confidence in what they are saying if this occurs during
business negotiations it is usually an indication that you have room to negotiate in regards to the
price or the terms shoulder interest this is when someone slowly raises one of their shoulders while
slightly tilting their head and making direct eye contact all at the same time this is a sign that
this person is interested in whatever is in front of them they might be interested in the topic
at hand or they might like the person they are talking to holding shoulders high this is when
someone raises both their shoulders and keeps them high for an extended period of time this is often
called the turtle effect because it makes their head scrunch down like a turtle this is a clear
sign that this person lacks confidence almost as if they are trying to hide shoulder shrug
this is when someone raises both their shoulders quickly only to drop them back down this movement
indicates that this person does not know the answer to a question or a problem the faster
this movement is done the more likely they really don't know shoulder rubbing this is when someone
uses one of their hands to reach across to their shoulder on the other side of their body to rub or
scratch it they might also push against this area and drag their pressed hand to the midsection of
their chest over and over again this is often seen during stressful situations like interviews and is
used to help relieve stress shoulders widening the wider someone's shoulders are the more confident
and powerful they seem people will often stand up straight and widen their shoulders in the
presence of someone that they like or before doing something of importance this is also why suits and
military uniforms have shoulder pads as it creates an illusion of wider shoulders please why not this
is when someone raises both of their shoulders with the palms facing up and their head slightly
bent this is called the please why not movement because it is most commonly used while begging
this is often seen in children who are trying to plead with their parents and in athletes when
they are speaking with the referee bowing this is whenever someone lowers their shoulders forward to
bow it doesn't have to be a full 90 degree bow as even slight bows have significance this movement
is a sign of respect and is very common in asian countries hugging hugging is a universal sign of
closeness cooperation and positive emotions it is often used as a way to greet or say farewell
to someone when observing two people hugging it's best to look at their facial expressions to see
how they truly feel about each other arms against body hands flexed this is when someone presses
their arms against their body while bending their hands so that the wrist forms an almost 90 degree
angle this is a sign that this person is extremely excited about something but is trying to contain
their excitement this movement is often accompanied by a rise in the shoulders and
also positive facial expressions arms elevated when people feel extreme positive emotions
they will often raise their arms higher might see someone jump out of a chair with their arms
up after hearing that they got the job or after seeing their favorite sports team win a match arms
held behind back this is when someone holds both of their hands behind their back while standing
this is most often seen in royalty like kings and queens this is a sign that this person wants space
it's usually not a good idea to do this in social settings as it will make you seem distant and less
approachable arms stiffening this is when someone keeps their arms at their sides like a robot with
barely any movement this is almost always a sign that this person is experiencing negative emotions
such as fear or extreme nervousness exposing armpits there are several movements that will
quickly expose your armpits such as scratching the back of your head or placing your arm on the chair
next to you any movement that does this is usually a sign of comfort and potentially even romantic
interest if anything happens that makes someone feel uncomfortable they will immediately cover
their armpits arm crossing self-hugging now according to joe navarro we cross our arms for
a wide variety of reasons it's not always because we dislike something that's being said one of the
most common reasons is self-hugging which is something people often do while waiting in line
this form of arm crossing makes us feel more comfortable arm crossing protection another reason
why we cross our arms is for protection when we feel threatened or nervous we instinctively want
to cover the belly area the easiest way to see if someone is crossing their arms for protection
is to look at their face and also how tense their arms are arm crossing self-restraint
people often cross their arms to help restrain themselves while dealing with strong
negative emotions take for example someone who is just informed that they missed their flight
the best way to spot this form of arm crossing is by paying close attention to facial expressions
and also the tone of voice arm crossing dislike sometimes people cross their arms because they
dislike whatever or whoever is in front of them the best way to spot this is by looking at their
feet and belly to see if they are being turned away from the person they are interacting with
arm crossing massaging other times people will cross their arms and start massaging
one of their arms with the hand of the other arm this is usually a sign that they are worried
or stressed out as this movement is a pacifying movement used to help calm us down arm crossing
holding wrists this is when someone crosses their arms halfway and grabs the upper part
of their wrist using one of their hands on the opposite arm this is usually seen when people
are confronted with negative information such as an interviewee who is asked a difficult question
or even a poker player who gets a weekend arm spreading this is when someone spreads their arms
over objects around them such as chairs tables and even other people this is a territorial display
which suggests confidence and high status however you will often see people withdrawing their arms
taking up less space when a higher status person walks into the room elbows widening
this is whenever someone bends their elbows to take up more space they could be doing arms
of kimbo which we covered in a previous video or putting their elbows above their head while saying
something this movement is a territorial sign that shows high levels of confidence it can also
be used to emphasize certain things we are saying elbows narrowing on the other hand when we reduce
the amount of space that our elbows take up this is usually a sign of insecurity and a lack
of confidence elbows interlocking this is when someone interlocks their arms with another using
their elbows this is often seen while two people are walking or sitting down and is usually a sign
that they are having a private conversation this also suggests that these two people are extremely
comfortable with each other wrist exposure the wrist is one of the most vulnerable places in our
body which is why we will often cover it by having it face down we tend to only expose the underside
of our wrist to people that we are comfortable with goosebumps this is when the area around each
of our pores bulges out a little bit this often happens when someone is feeling cold as it helps
the body warm up ever so slightly it can also be a sign that this person is feeling sick or scared
standing hairs this is when the hairs on your body stand up now of course this doesn't happen to the
hair on the top of your head those are too heavy this usually happens at the arms and neck area
instead with the much smaller lighter hairs if you can spot this in another person it is a clear sign
that this person is extremely scared excessive sweating people who are under stress tend to
sweat more two of the most common areas for sweat is in the armpits and around the neck area
if you spot this happening outside of physical activity or an extremely hot day it can be a sign
that this person may be hiding something border patrol officers will often look for this when
determining which individuals to stop and inspect self injury cuts although this isn't really a body
language sign this is something that tells you a lot about the person you are interacting with
people who suffer from bipolar disorder are emotionally unstable or are severely depressed
will often have scars from hurting themselves these injuries can occur in the form of cuts
and sometimes even burns on their arms if you see such self-inflicted injuries that are recent it is
often a good idea to try and get them some help needle tracks another thing to be on the lookout
for are needle tracks usually on the arms around any of the major veins these will look like little
bruised dots and are a sign that this individual might be abusing hard substances like heroin now
in order to practice your body language reading skills i recommend you re-watch this video while
covering the text with the audio turned off and see if you can tell how the actors are feeling
make sure to test yourself on the previous videos as well to make sure you internalize
everything you've learned so far this episode is brought to you with the help of audible i've been
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free audiobook unlimited audible originals and a 30-day free trial if you're interested in proving
your social skills even more i recommend you to listen to the laws of human nature by robert
greene it's a book that goes over why people are the way they are which will further increase your
ability to read and understand others in our next video we'll be covering the neck chin and parts of
the face the moment that video is released i will add a link down below besides that guys stay tuned