Is body language a valuable tool or a type of prejudice?
I once took a class in body language. The instructor said:
(1) We should learn to control our body language so that we can consciously use body language that indicates we’re telling the truth.
(2) If we don’t learn to control our body language, we might unconsciously use liar’s body language even when we’re telling the truth.
(3) We should learn to read body language so we can tell whether other people are telling the truth.
Does anybody else see the contradiction here? An untrained person who’s telling the truth might be using liar’s body language. A trained person who’s lying might be using truth-teller’s body language.
I think we should study body language, but only so that we can catch our own unconscious prejudices that are formed based on other people’s body language. We need to judge people on their words and actions , not on their twitches and gestures. As for controlling my own body language to re-assure body language readers, I would rather just avoid associating with people who are more interested in my gestures than in my words.
I completely agree with you. There are some things that we should just let be. We can’t let ourselves become so wrapped up in analyzing ourselves and other people.
If you’re having a conversation, you can’t be analyzing so much how either of your bodies are moving because it would distract you from the conversation – being so analytical kind of kills it.
April 27th, 2010 at 1:15 am
Body language tells more than just if a person is lying or not….it’s a language all of it’s own. Everyone reads body language..even if they know they do it or not. Study more into it…..it’s cool stuff…definitely a tool…not a prejudice
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April 27th, 2010 at 1:31 am
I completely agree with you. There are some things that we should just let be. We can’t let ourselves become so wrapped up in analyzing ourselves and other people.
If you’re having a conversation, you can’t be analyzing so much how either of your bodies are moving because it would distract you from the conversation – being so analytical kind of kills it.
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April 27th, 2010 at 1:48 am
Most body language is transmitted and received subconsciously. Of course it can be controlled – ask anybody with acting experience. And yes, it can be a tool and can also result in biased interpretations. However, I have a different problem with your professor’s comments.
If a person is telling the truth, they are truthful – so their body language is that of a truthful person. If some people send contradictory signals with thei body language, shouldn’t we be more concerned with how and why that happens, and whether it, in fact, indicates that there are problems in how we conceptualize the body language of liars and honest people rather than enforcing some imaginary linguistic code?
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April 27th, 2010 at 2:28 am
Knowledge of body language is a valuable tool.
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