(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Hey, Psych2Go-ers,
welcome back to another video.
Thank you all so much for your love and support,
enabling us to make yet another exploration
into everyday psychology.
So let's begin.
Have you heard the saying,
"Humans are creatures of habit?"
As a human, you naturally have your own unique,
or even common habits,
that you just can't seem to stop doing.
How many of yours can you recall?
Some body language habits have a way of sneaking
into our everyday lives,
so much that you might not even realize
that you're doing them.
Some of these subconscious behaviors may be fine with us,
but they might induce others
into making wrong perceptions about us.
These behaviors could possibly be the culprit
as to why you aren't landing that job after your interview
or perhaps why all your blind dates tend to ghost you
for no apparent reason.
So if you have a hunch that a body language habit
of yours might be the culprit,
here are six not so great body language habits
you should look out for.
Number one, slouching.
Does your job include being hunched
over your computer for long hours,
or perhaps you stay browsing YouTube videos
for additional long hours to relieve your boredom.
Whatever keeps you slouching over your screen all day,
the end result is that you develop bad posture.
Slouching is not a good body language habit to get into.
It not only leads to bad posture and back problems
but it also doesn't reflect well on others,
because instead of them thinking the slouch is
because of the hours hunched over our screens during work,
they think it's because of a lack of self-confidence
or because you were slouched over watching YouTube videos,
which it was, also, occasionally, sometimes.
But, hey, they're educational, sometimes.
Number two, holding a defensive position.
People can be annoying,
so you may be in the habit of holding a defensive pose,
such as crossing your arms,
in reaction to the meanies out there.
But don't let this seemingly defensive pose become a habit.
Oftentimes, people will associate crossed arms
as someone being disinterested, or well, defensive.
So they might not think you like them
or what they have to say.
Showing your hands more when you talk with someone
is the way to go.
According to body language expert, Patty Wolfe,
you should always keep your hands in view
when you're talking.
When a listener can't see your hands,
they wonder what you're hiding.
Number three, not walking with confidence
and good coordination.
How we walk can tell a person a lot about us.
Do you agree?
A lot of people judge you simply
by how you walk down the street.
Say what?
In the 1980s, two New York psychologists,
Morris Stein and Betty Grayson,
conducted research to find out
what violent criminals look for in their victims.
They had violent prisoners rate individuals
on how easy it was to attack them
from recorded tapes of the people walking.
They then had professional dancers analyze
the clips using a Laban Movement Analysis system
to rate how coordinated the individuals in the clips were
and concluded that criminals found those walking
with less confidence and coordination were easier targets.
This reminds me of that classic episode
on Rhett and Link's YouTube show, "Good Mythical Morning,"
"The Safest Way to Walk."
In that episode,
the two internet personalities learned
how to walk the correct way,
according to researchers,
in order to not be a target for mugging.
It's hilarious.
Number four, appearing distracted.
Do you tend to look away, onto other things,
when someone's talking to you?
And you're still actively listening
to the person talking,
but glancing away may be a habit.
While it may seem innocent,
if you keep glancing away during a serious story
about your friend's beloved goldfish, Crackers,
they may think you're bored and not interested,
or that you simply don't care about Crackers,
the pet goldfish, not the additively yummy snack.
Number five, overly intense eye contact
or no eye contact at all.
Eyes are the windows to the soul, right?
But you just don't like looking into the depths
of another soul, we just met.
But not using any eye contact
may make your job interviewer think
that you're not a serious worker,
or you're hiding something.
Or, perhaps,
too much eye contact during a casual party
may make someone think they have food on their face.
Aggressive stares can make someone feel a bit uncomfortable
and shifting your gaze too often
and not looking the person in the eye at all,
can make them wonder if you lack confidence
or are simply uninterested in what they're saying.
In other words,
it's best to pay attention to the goldfish story,
pay attention to Crackers.
No, not the snacks,
though they sure have got my attention now.
And number six, fidgeting during an important conversation.
Nearly everyone fidgets, what's your go-to fidget ritual?
It's something you do, and it can be entertaining.
Enter pencil-drum solo.
This is a difficult habit to stop and it may take time,
but it may be worth it in some situations.
Let's not forget our beloved retractable click pens
and their dainty, clicky sounds.
Aah, sweet relief.
But according to body language expert, Tonya Reiman,
author of "The Power of Body Language",
fidgeting can imply you lack power
or that you may be nervous.
So it might be best to leave the drum solos to the experts
and someone with a drum set.
And while your amazing clicky pen
may be appropriate background music, or not,
for a boring day in class,
it maybe isn't such a good idea
during a serious conversation.
And while people all around the world
have adopted these habits and seem to be doing just fine,
it's important to realize that now might be the best time
to start breaking away from them.
They are harmless,
and haven't really done you any wrong, agreed,
but you do want that extra edge
in the next interview of yours, right?
We hope we were able to give you insight
into some of the body language habits
that give a wrong impression.
Did you find these relatable?
Which one do you employ the most?
Were you aware it was giving off such wrong vibes?
Let us know in the comments below.
If you found this video helpful,
be sure to hit the like button
and share it with someone you think needs
to rethink their body language choices.
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Thanks for watching.
See you soon.