- [Narrator] Body language: something that the majority
of people pay little to no attention to.
Using body language in the correct way
can be used to influence others and gain authority.
If you have bad habits with body language,
you could come across as having low confidence,
perceived as lazy, and a weak person.
Something that a potential partner or a boss
pays close attention to.
In this video, we're going to be reviewing the book
The Definitive Book of Body Language
by Allan and Barbara Pease.
This book will help you gain a greater insight
into communication with others and will make
meeting new people an exciting experience.
Lesson number one: understanding the basics.
According to the authors of this book,
women are way more perceptive than the majority of men.
This means that they are able to spot the contradictions
between someone's words and their body language.
Women pay really close attention to small details.
This is why most men are caught lying to their women.
Psychologists at Harvard University conducted a study
that showed that women pay more attention to body language
than men.
The participants were asked to watch a short video
of a conversation between a man and a woman.
The participants were asked to decode what was going on
by reading their expressions.
Women scored accurately 87 percent
and men scored accurately 42 percent.
This is also true for mothers
since they depend on the toddlers' non-verbal signals
in their first years.
Most women have the capacity to out-communicate
any man on the planet.
MRI scans show that woman have 14 to 16 areas in the brain
to evaluate others' behaviours
versus a man; four to six areas in the brain.
This explains why women say men talk very little
and men say women never shut up.
The female brain is organised for multiple tracking.
The average woman can talk on the phone,
watch her favourite TV show, listen to a second conversation,
and drink a cup of coffee all at the same time.
If you pay attention to fortune tellers,
most of them are women.
They say they have the power to see a person's future.
Research into the fortune telling shows
that they use a technique called cold reading,
which has an accuracy of almost 80 percent
when reading a person you just met.
This is done by close examination of people's body language.
If you would like to do a better job
when reading someone's body language, here are three rules.
Number one: read gestures in clusters.
This means that when you are trying to read
someone's body language, you should know that each gesture
is like one word with different meanings.
For example, the words nails.
This words can mean a toe nail
or a sharp metal piece used in construction.
It's only when you apply your word to a sentence
with other words that you can understand
what the word means.
Gestures come in sentences called clusters,
which will reveal a person's attitude or feelings.
A body language cluster, just like a sentence,
needs around three words in it
before you can accurately define each of the words.
Let's look at a cluster example.
If someone has their arms and legs crossed
and their head and chin are facing down
and their hand holds the chin while listening to someone,
this can mean they are unimpressed to what they're hearing.
The first gesture in this cluster
is to fold your arms and legs,
which are a signal for defence.
The second gesture here is the head and chin down signal,
which reveals being negative or hostile.
And the third gesture
is the hand supporting the chin, which reveals boredom.
Number two: look for congruence.
When non-verbal signals and verbal signals
are incongruent, people, especially women,
depend on the non-verbal messages
and disregard the verbal context.
For example, let's say someone disagrees with you.
Their body language will align with their verbal sentences.
If the person agrees but their body disagrees,
this will be incongruent.
Number three: read gestures in context.
If the person across of you have
their arms and legs tightly closed with their chin down
when you are trying to sell them something,
this will mean they are feeling negative
or is rejecting your offer.
If a person has the same body language
but they are outside in a cold weather,
this will simply mean that they are cold and not defensive
like the other individual sitting across of you.
Learn how to put things in context
before trying to read someone's body language
or else your evaluation will be weak.
Another way to become a better reader
is to watch TV with no audio
and practise reading people's body language.
You can also go into a public space and
examine people's body language.
Lesson number two: the power is in your hands.
If you want to come across as honest and friendly,
show your palms when you talk.
This will show that you're not armed
and that you are not a threat.
This happens subconsciously.
A person tries to show their palms
when they say things like "I didn't do it"
to show that he's being honest.
A man trying to lie to his woman
will tend to hide his palms,
which will give off a rare feeling which says he's lying.
In the other hand, women will try to look busy
or talk about unrelated topics to avoid the subject
when they are lying.
Sale persons are taught to keep an eye out
to a customer's palms
as they explain why they cannot buy their product.
If their palms are open, they're giving a valid explanation.
When their palms are closed, they're usually lying.
That being said, learning how to read someone's hands
can become a valuable tool to unmask a liar
or hire an honest person.
Also, by simply keeping your palms open,
you can pressure another person to be honest as well.
There are three main palm command gestures
you should know about.
Number one: the palm up position.
This shows submissiveness and non-threatening.
Use this hand gesture when talking to people.
Number two: palm down position.
This shows immediate authority,
similar to the hand gesture that Hitler used.
And number three: hand closed, finger pointed position.
This evokes negative feelings
and this can translate to something like "Do it or else".
It's portrayed by people as annoying.
The authors of this book recommend you shake hands
with people that are happy to meet you.
Do not initiate the handshake with a person who dislikes you
because a handshake is a sign of trust and welcoming.
So if you initiate the handshake
with a person that's not happy to see you,
you are forcing them to meet you.
Instead, wait for them to initiate the handshake
or use a small head nod as a greeting.
Women who initiate the handshake in some places
are perceived as more open-minded
and make better first impressions.
There are three basic subconscious attitudes
that are transmitted when you handshake
with someone you just met.
Number one: dominance.
This can translate to something like
"He's trying to dominate me, I have to be cautious".
This happens when a hand is slightly turned in,
palms facing down.
It does not have to be fully facing down,
but if the person's hand is on top of yours
they are giving you a dominant handshake.
If your hand is slightly facing up,
the person might be trying to dominate you.
This is usually done by managers, especially men.
If someone gives you this handshake,
you can straighten their hand
by getting your left hand and putting it on top of theirs
to straighten out the handshake.
This is a good method for women to use
when they get this handshake.
If you get this handshake often
with a certain person who may be trying
to intimidate you on purpose,
when they reach out to shake your hand,
grab the top of their hand and shake.
But be aware this will surprise the person,
so use it as a last resort.
Number two: submission.
This can translate to "I can dominate this person,
he'll do what I want".
Your palm is usually facing up.
This is effective when you want someone else to take control
or make the other person feel in control of the situation.
For example, when you're making an apology.
And number three: equality.
This can translate to "I feel comfortable with this person".
When two dominant people shake hands,
a symbolic power struggle happens
as both try to turn their hands into submission.
This creates a feeling of equality and respect.
These messages are sent without us even being aware of them.
In order to create a rapport with someone,
use these two steps:
first, make sure your hand and the other person's hand
are in a vertical position
so that there's no dominance or submission.
And second, apply the same amount of pressure they give you.
For example, from a scale of one to ten,
if they give you a five and you give them a seven,
go down to their level.
If they give you an eight and you're a four, step it up.
For women, it's a good idea to reach out their hand
as early as possible to avoid awkward handshakes with men.
Lesson number three: the magic of smiles and laughter.
A French scientist in the 19th century did the first
study in the topic of smiling.
He studied the heads of the people
executed on the guillotine
to examine how the face muscles work.
He discovered the two muscles that control a smile.
The zygomatic major muscles
that run down the side of the face and connect
to the corners of the mouth which pulls the mouth back
to show the teeth
and the second muscle called the orbicularis oculi
that pulls the eyes back and causes the eyes to get narrow
and produce the crow's feet effect on the side of the eyes
when smiling.
The zygomatic major can be controlled
and are used in fake smiles.
The orbicularis oculi act independently
and show a true smile.
If you want to know if a smile is a true smile,
check for the wrinkles on the side of the eyes.
People who lie will smile with their mouths.
When we smile at someone,
the other person usually tends to smile back.
This happens automatically.
A professor by the name of Ruth Campbell
from University College London
believes we have a mirror neuron in our brains
that is responsible for recognising faces and expressions.
He says that we tend to copy other facial expressions
without us even knowing.
This is why you should smile often at people,
so that they can have a positive attitude towards you.
On the other hand, if someone never smiles
and the corners of their mouth are turned downward
this usually shows that they kept negative emotions
throughout their life.
If kept this way,
the corners of the mouth will permanently stay that way,
which gives the appearance of a bulldog.
Studies show that people tend to stay away
from these individuals, give them less eye contact,
and avoid them when they walk their way.
So if this is you, you should practise smiling more often.
Or else, people will run away from you.
Not a good thing when trying to socialise.
Also, men are seen as more attractive by women
if they can make them or other people laugh.
This is because the ability to make others laugh
is seen as dominant and women prefer someone who's dominant.
Practise on smiling often.
This will create a more positive atmosphere
to the people around you.
Number four: arm signals.
When someone has a negative or defensive attitude,
it's likely for the other person
to fold his arms on his chest,
showing that he's feeling threatened.
This is because as children,
we learn to hide behind something to protect ourselves.
We hid behind our mothers or a table
whenever we felt threatened.
As we grew older,
we learn that hiding behind things is not acceptable,
so we begin using our arms to protect ourselves.
Crossed arms are meant to put a barrier between you
and that person you don't like.
People who use the crossed arm gestures
come across as uncertain or insecure.
People tend to say they do this gesture
because they feel comfortable,
but remember when you use your body a certain way
you signal others without even knowing.
Others will react negatively to your gesture.
Practise on not folding your arms in public settings.
This will make you more approachable.
Salespersons are taught to keep an eye out
to those who have folded arms.
When they spot someone doing this gesture,
they have to find a way to unfold their arms
by making them hold something
like a book, a pen, a sample, etc.
This will make the other person lean forward,
which is a gesture of interest.
You can also practise the power of touch
by touching a person's elbow or hand.
This is okay because they are considered a public space
and away from intimate parts.
But be careful not to do it on everyone
because in other countries, this is not acceptable.
Doing a light three second elbow or hand touch
can create a momentary bond with someone.
If someone looks at your hand when you do this,
don't repeat the action.
This shows they don't trust you.
Elbow hand touch, when done discreetly,
grabs attention, reinforces a comment,
increases influence on others,
makes people remember you, and
creates a positive impression.
There you have it, guys.
A quick review on this book
that will help you become one percent better.
Thanks for taking the time and God bless.
And make sure to subscribe.
Also, let your friends know about my Spanish Youtube channel
which covers the same content, but in Spanish.
Link will be in the description.
Until next time.