Introduction to Body language for professional success
Introduction to Body Language
(more Readings > Introduction to Body Language)
*The study of body language helps gauge and comprehend the attitude
-humble, arrogant, condescending, dominating, submissive, influence, etc.
*And emotions
-dismal,ecstatic, depressed, anger, impatience, indifferent, etc.
*Of a person and helps decipher one's personality , in dyadic and group situations
-interviews , group discussions, presentations, interrogations, media presence
*Important because it alerts us to inconsistencies between what one says and what one conveys
*Intonation , gesture , even omission is what the interactant has in mind while assessing communication and/or providing feedback.
*Nonverbal cues include macro and micro expressions
*Micro expressions : Paul Ekman , Telling Lies (1985). Human faces often reveal sentiments which we want to deliberately conceal, tiny/fast
*Of and through touch , glance , eye contact , volume , vocal nuance , intonation , proximity , gestures , facial expression , dress , posture , smell , accessories..
*In a fast paced world today , it has become more significant in the realms of business , media and others.
*Definitions ,
-"The nonverbal imparting of information by means of conscious or subconscious bodily gestures ,posture,etc."- Collins English Dictionary
-"Gestures,unconsciousbodily movements ,facial expressions , etc.which serve as nonverbalcommunication or as accompaniments to speech"- webster's New World College Dictionary
-"communication of personal feelings , emotions , attitudes , and distance , either consciously or involuntarily, more often subconsciously or involuntarily , more often subconsciously , and accompanied or unaccompanied by the spoken language"- Hedwig lewis
-"The characteristic of Body Language"- A Guide for professionals.
*Body Language/Non verbal communications
-Body language can be used in addition to or independent of words: -Extroverts and introverts.
-Reveals the truth
-Provides immediate feedback
-Can act in absence of words
-Significant uses in interpersonal and group interaction
-Mankind has always been aware of its significance
*Literary and Artist Awareness
-Shakespeare often made allusions to eyes as expression of human character:
-"Let me see his eyes, that when I note another man like him,I may avoid him,"
Much Ado About Nothing
-"I see a strange confession in hine eye,"Henry 4
-"Look not upon me , for thine eyes are wounding", Henry 4 part2
* These researchers noted and recorded almost a million non-verbal cues and signals.
*Albert Mehrabian suggested that the total impact of a massage is a combination of:
*Verbal content 7%
*Paralanguage 35% (tone of voice , inflection )
*Body language 58%
*Modified later
Component of Body Language
1.Proxemics
*Analyzes the communicator's sense of physical distance with the recipient in terms of signal & codes.
2.Oculesics or study of Eye Movement
*Language of the eyes , Analyzes eyes behavior, movements an other. eye-realed
non-verbal communication.
*Language of touch/absense of touch Analyzes communication done with human touch that conveys feelings and emotions.
proxemics
(more readings > click to reade more about proxemics
*Proxemics in body language describe how we treat our space and other people in terms of proximity.
-proximity implies nearness in space,time or relationship
* In everyday life, the spatial relationship between ourselves and the other people or object around us is important for how we engage, interact and communicate with them in dyadic or small group situations
*People often use changes of spatial relationships — such as interpersonal distance orientation— as an implicit form of communication:
— We may inadvertently keep certain distances to others depending on ease, may orient towards people when addressing, we move closer to objects we are interested in, stand or sit relative to others depending on the task at hand (Marquardt p. 3)
*Defining Proxemics
*Term coined by the cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall (The Hidden Dimension, 1963) — Latin root prox- (as in proximity) + the suffix- emit (as in systemi phonemic)
*A seminal theory about people's perception of space and use of interpersonal distances to mediate their interactions with other people.
*Indicates programmatic relationship of his research to the principles of linguistic structuralism (Noth p. 411)
*identifies the culturally dependent ways in which people use interpersonal distance to comprehend and mediate their interactions with other people .
*Edward Hall defines Proxemics as the study of "ways in which man gains knowledge of the content of other men's minds through judgements of behaviour patterns associated with varying degree of proximity".
*To him proxemics is "how a man unconsciously structures microspace — the distance between men in conduct of daily transactions, the organizations of space in his houses, buildings, and ultimately the layout of his town" (quoted in Noth p. 411)
*Organization of space in houses, offices, buildings, city planning and urban renewal; unconscious structuring of micro space.
*Space as a specialized elaboration of culture.
*Walking within an invisible bubble — 11 — Crowded places — elevators, trains; Seating arrangement in restaurants and offices; Individual preferences.
*Proxemics occurs by virtue of people's relative position to each other.
*It delineates the nature, degree, and effect of the spatial separation individuals maintain (as in various social and interpersonal situations) and how this separation or distance relates to contextual, social and cultural factors.
*Proxemics describes characteristic spatial relationships (including territorial phenomena) among persons in various cultures, or within a given culture for different kinds of social occasions.
* Proxemics studies communication of comfort/discomfort — moving closer often signals greater comfort and intimacy, moving farther often signals discomfort.
*and assertion of power — a person might move into someone's personal space as an assertion of power, but a person could also be very physically distant for the same reason — a person might stand their ground in a situation where another person might normally pull back .
* Four Different Zones of Intimacy Levels -- a classificatory system for instinctive spacing distances.
*Intimate, Personal, Social, and Public.
*Each with close and far phases.
*Cultural and locational aspects.
1) Intiate Space / Zone ( 0 to 8 inches )
--Bubble, Psychological Ownership.
--Threatened if violated, irrespective of situation/gender/race. May lead to anxiety, anger or lack of comfort.
--Sports (e.g., boxing, wrestling) are an exception.
--Only those who are emotionally close to us are allowed into this space —family, close friends and relatives.
--The presence of others may be overwhelming because of the increased sensory input and involvement with another body.
-- Voice and touch have their roles .
--Culture codes .
*Each Human has his own personal portable "AIR BUBBLE" which he carries around with him
2)Personal Space / Zone (18 to 48 inches)
* Distance at work place, office parties and triendly social gatherings etc. A body buffer zone that people maintain between themselves and others during interaction with acquaintances, wherein people send signals about their relationship or attitude.
*The invisible bubble which refers to personal space can inflate or shrink -- It spans a vast range determined by a number of factors: our personal characteristics, nature of the relationships, social and cultural experience — Close phase -- one can hold another person — Far phase -- extends from a point just outside easy touching distance to a point where two people can touch fingers if they extend arms.
*Subjects of personal/mutual interest and involvement can be discussed at this distance.
3)Social Space/Zone( 4-12 feet)
*We stand at this distance from strangers and people we don't know very well — or don't like very much.
*Details of the face are not closely perceived, touch is also not possible — Desks in the offices of important people are large visitors at the far phase — Also, billing desks, receptionists' counter.
*Voice level may be louder during conversations.
* It enables people to continue to work silently in the presence of another person without appearing to be rude .
4)Public Space/Zone (Anything over 12 feet)
*While talking to a large group/formal presentations.
*At this distance,we tend to adopt a "formal style"-a careful choice of words and phrasing of sentences.
*Voice , gestures and body stances become exaggeratedly communicative.
*Far phase is the distance that is automatically set around important figures.
Connotations
* Personal space is precious. Unconscious changes in body I behavior in crowded places — lifts, train compartments, airplane seating positions, waiting lines at windows etc. — averted eyes, impassive faces, relatively rigid postures, phones or handbills to give an impression of being busy.
*Space Settings — symbolic space divisions in restaurants, office desks with shared spaces etc.
*Creation of visual boundaries by transparent barriers or even by putting objects close to you. Boundaries may also be marked by space artifacts on desks/walls — Location — if alone, prefer to be seated close to an object/barrier--table/pillar/wall/window.
*Spacing is sub-consciously controlled in most of our interaction.
*Shy people have bigger distances.
*Not necessarily negative.
*Spacing and distance are also used consciously to establish messages regarding authority and relationships.
*Deliberate encroachment of personal space to indicate authority — law enforcement agencies, intimidation by bullies.
*Sales people maintain distances, but act to keep your fingertips busy.
Proxemics Behavioral Connotations
*Proxemics is the study of ways in which one gains knowledge of other people's minds "through judgements of behavior patterns associated with varying degree of proximity" (Hall 2011, p.9).
*Unconscious structuring of micro space — the distance between men in conduct of daily transactions, the organizations of space in his houses, buildings, and ultimately the layout of his town" (Hall 1003).
*Proxemics identifies the culturally dependent ways in which people use interpersonal distance to comprehend and mediate their interactions — confidence/annoyance.
*Hall's strict zonal measurements and research methods came into some criticism, but his basic supposition that proxemic behavior is a sub conscious culturally mediated response, has never been questioned.
Cotact and non-contact cultures
*In his book The Silent Language (1959), Hall has grouped cultures into two different classes: contact and non-contact
— Contact Cultures use closer interpersonal distances and engage in more touching. Eg., Southern Europe, Arab countries
— Whereas, people in non-contact cultures exhibit opposite preferences and behaviors. Eg., Northern Europe and North America
*Study inspired by Heini Hediger (1955), the Swiss ethologist, "father of zoo biology", who pioneered the systematic observation of distance in animals and listed four standard interaction distances among them:
— Flight Distance (Escape Distance)
— Critical Distance (Attack Boundary)
— Personal Distance (Non•contact)
— Social Distance (Communication)
High and Low Contex Cultures
*Context gives additional information which is necessary to encode the whole situation/ background of the given information.
*High Context Cultures: Symbolic
— Japan and several other Asian societies, Some Western countries.
— British: I hear what you say or I almost agree; can be considered as a confirmation by person from a low context culture.
*Low context: precise communication. An information has a single meaning. Rule oriented, more codified, knowledge is easily transferable/recorded - US, Germany.
*May also depend on social positions.
*Tendencies are reflected in space arrangements, in web page designing, understanding of time -
- monochrome/polychrome, during dialogues and conversations
*High Context Communication:
— Polite, respectful, not direct, integrates by similarities/harmony
— Claims low context communication to be. — impolite, cannot read between the lines, naive, no self discipline, too fast.
*Low context communication:
— Open, true, integrates by authenticity, direct
— Claims High Context communication to be— hiding information, not trustable, arrogant, too formal, too slow
Cultural Differences in Spatial Connotations
*Four basic distances — intimate, personal, social and public — are practiced in all cultures, but the space different cultures attribute to them are different.
*David Matsumoto quotes several studies in this context:
— Watson and Graves, 1966: Arab males tend to sit closer to each other than American males, with more direct and confrontational types of body orientation; greater eye contact and louder voice
— Forston and Larson, 1968: Latin Americans tend to interact more closely than students from European background
— Noesjirwan, 1977, 1978: Italians interact more closely than either Germans or Americans
— Shuter, 1976: Colombians interacted at closer distances than Costa Ricans.
Proxemic Codes
Proxemidic Codes Based on Gendered Norms and Social Hierarchy
*Space in Gender and Power Relationships
— Contact and Non•contact Cultures
• Contact cultures use small interactau distances. Non•contact Cultures avoid close inter personal distances and touching
• These cultural patterns are also codes, unconsciously Imbibed by persons at a very early age
*Context shapes internalization of messages regarding spatial requirements for functional purposes. Gender is an important key as the world has asymmetrical gender norms. "Space Genderization": designated spaces in conventional cultures
*Invasion of personal space by different genders.
— Hispanics, followed by Europeans/Caucasians are least likely to feel that women invade their personal space. At the other extreme, Middle Easterns, followed by Africans, are the most likely to feel that women invade their personal space'
*Cultures have different models for different genders
*Gender plays a key role in our understanding/functioning of space. Masculine understanding of proximity in cross-gender situations is different in several cultures in comparison to feminine understanding. Women in some cultures can be more sensitive to social situations and avoid dominant "invasions" of personal space of people they are not highly familiar with (Sorokowska et al. 588)
*Generally, enforcing closer proximity during dyadic interactions conveys higher dominance, which is typically related to male psychological characteristics, and behaviors consistent with such stereotype might be especial strong in some cultures.
*Sensitivity to differences - cultural, as well as individual -makes us more observant and effective in communication.
*Differences should not be turned into stereotypes
Proxemic Dimentions
*Hall — proxemics behavior is a function of eight different dimensions.
*Notation system: these dimensions can be recorded with their appropriate scales, system designed to provide a specific method of observation.
1. Postural-sex identifiers— relates the postures of people according to their gender
2. Sociofugal-sociopetal orientation (SFP axis) — culturally coded, linked with social setting, age, gender, status
— sociofugal describes space arrangements that push people apart
— sociopetal identifies patterns that pull people together
3. Kinesthetic factors — positioning of body parts, whether they are touching or not, four ways
4. Touch code — amount of touch during each interaction, how do people touch: accidental, caressing, prolonged holding etc.
— Cultural variations in amount and frequency of public touching
— touch of certain body parts may be frowned upon
5. Retinal combinations — amount of eye-contact, sharp, clear, peripheral, avoidance
— Culture, gender, power hierarchies
6. Thermal code — amount of body heat which people perceive in other,
— Conducted or radiant heat
— may result in avoidance etc.
7. Olfaction code — breath and odor
8. Voice loudness — distance, relationship, subject, culture
*These systems are bio-basic, rooted in the physiology of the organism (Hall 1007)
*Not all of the eight factors are of equal complexity, nor do all of them function at all times
*The thermal and olfaction inputs are present at close distances
*Vision is more complex than either of these, and it is normally screened out only at very close distances
*Hall has defined behavioral characteristics and distances for eight personal space zones
*He concludes that proxemic behaviour, or human interaction within these clearly defined zones, is a cultural universal, but within these zones specific behavioral responses are defined according to culturally specific conventions (Sanders 47-48)
*Creation and use/organization of built space reflects these subconscious, decisions
*Many of us may be unaware of the norms of Proxemic behavior within our own culture, but we become conscious of them when these norms are violated or when we notice differences in spatial behavior due to the norms of foreign culture (Agnus p. 6).
*Cultural space tells us a lot "about the nature of a relationship. So if someone comes more into your personal space than you are used to, you can often feel like, 'What's happening here?" (Kathryn Sorrells)
*Misconceptions are also recurrent as lenses may be different
Three Types of Space
*In any informal or professional setting, cognizance of proximity and usage of space accordingly is important. Hall's categorization of space according to the degree to which cultures treat spatial assemblages is highly relevant
*Makes important distinctions in his discussions of intercultural encounters and cross-cultural variations in proxemic behavior: A small room can be cozy to some, oppressive to others
1. Fixed feature space
( • Fixed feature space is characterized by spatial constellations which are formed by things that are immobile — wall, territorial boundaries. Significant in office buildings, schools, religious places, malls
• Hall: perceptions of fixed feature space are "internalized" or learned early in life through a Skinnerian reinforcement procedure* set up by the culture
• This "programming" at an early age is hard to shed, producing difficulties when one is faced with inconsistencies owing to intercultural contacts )
2. Semifixed feature space . These arrangements can also be seen as Sociofugal or Sociopetal (Humphrey Osmond, 1957):
— Sociofugal Spaces - encourage solitariness, tend to drive people apart
— Sociopetal — conducive, organized for interpersonal communication, encourages people to stay close
(• Spatial constellations are formed by mobile elements, such as curtains, screens, moveable partitions, color and furniture arrangements. These patterns are also culturally grounded, as are the perceptions of how it is proper to order physical settings (Baldassare & Feller 484-5)
— Boundary markers, fences, closed doors, chairs placed in a conversational group, the arrangement of furniture in an auditorium and the layout of offices -- all enable someone who knows the system to interpret what has taken place or the message that is intended
• As Hazard notes: "Walk into an empty court- room and look around. The furniture arrangement will tell you at a glance who has what authority." (Hall 1019) )
3. Non-fixed space
(• Space is informal and dynamic when a person varies the spatial features of settings or inter- personal distances. It is the space maintained between interactants without being aware of it. Also, the position someone prefers and all the things he does to appropriate the space around him says something about that person.
• 'According to scientists, personal space involves not only the invisible bubble around the body, but all the senses.
• People may feel their space is being violated when they experience an un-welcome sound, scent or stare: a person talking quarrelsomely on cellphone, a shouting co-worker in the adjacent cubicle, someone glaring at you )
Proxemics & Architectural Designs
*Proxemics is usually of interest to architects and designers because it emphasizes the concept that spatial distance is a "silent language" through which men unwittingly convey attitude, feelings, and judgements about their fellows
*This emphasis fits naturally with the wish of architects to find in the behavioral sciences evidence that designs variables are objectively meaningful (Hall 9)
*Prospects of a new urbanism and emphasis on context appropriate architecture
*The design of social space - the "interface" between social structure, built environment and human behaviour - is one of the most challenging aspects of architectural and planning
— German business personnel visiting the US see open doors in offices and businesses as indicative of a relaxed/unbusinesslike attitude
— Americans get the feeling that the German's closed doors conceal a secretive or conspiratorial operation"
Proxemics and Interior Space Design
*Social and cultural distances which people maintain are interrelated with interior designs
*Work culture: shifts from individual to group task. If in the past the office was arranged with fixed, individual desks, with the Smart office trend, the workstations become more and more flexible, suitable for group works
*No fixed spaces, workstation change based on the activities
*People with different roles and functions share common open spaces
*Companies need suitable offices for sharing activities, but also that allow respect for 'distances' between people
*Office furniture influences the interactions between people
*In the open spaces it is necessary to create areas for acoustic isolation, and also for individual territory
— Body Territory - bubble
— Primary Territory - home, car
— Secondary Territory— association of places, eg., school
— Public Territory— open spaces
*Imparts a sense of identity, control and permanence. Use of markers
— Glass partitions in close spaces, Restaurants' table setting — Preference for a particular seat in a conference etc., Repeatedly occupying similar seats
— Also displays status, power and leadership
— Those exhibiting dominance and control tend to take the most central seating position and also maintain greater physical distance from others (Ketrow 268)
*Linkages between and among proxemic behavior, designing, sitting arrangement and status, power and leadership
*Centrality of seating position
*the most central location in a group physical arrangement, allows for greater member participation, dominance, influence and initiation, and is linked with acknowledgments of leadership
*When applied to theatre, it would enable us to observe the kind of space
(fixed/moveable) chosen by the mis-en-scene
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