Definition of Body Language

Communication can be defined as the interaction between two or more people, with the purpose of sharing meaning. Starting from the premise that everything communicates, we can say that human beings are capable of send a large number of messages without using words, let us be aware of it or not. Body language, therefore, is the ability to transmit information through our body. It fully reveals our sensations and the perception we have about our interlocutor.

Also called as kinesic or kinesic behavior, body language deals with studying the expressive and communicative references that our movements show bodily and also of those conscious, unconscious gestures that we have learned, or somatogenic, whether they are not oral, from visual perception, tactile or auditory.

Our body transmits what words cannot say

Non-verbal communication is an inseparable part of the transmitted message, and can sometimes be the message itself. Many experts claim that most of the information we process does not come from words, but from behaviors, especially those linked to emotions.

According to Professor Albert Mehrabian, who has pioneered the understanding of human communication since the 1960s, 7% of the The meaning of a message is the words, 38% corresponds to the way it is said (the tone and nuances) and the remaining 55% is the language non verbal.

Non-verbal language includes gestures, gestures, posture, facial expressions and eye contact, but not only that. Our conduct, clothing, personal hygiene, hair grooming and accessories are also part of it. Likewise, the physical space around us brings great meaning to our message.

For example, those movements of our body that appear at the request of a presentation or oral conversation, many times they can have a specific intention or appear in an unplanned way and then this in general is what language studies bodily. If we are dissatisfied because someone was late to a meeting, many times, to express it instead of expressing it in words, it is It is customary for the arm carrying the watch to raise and indicate it to someone who was late with a blow to it, as a reproof for his late arrival.

The gestures are undoubtedly one of the resources more present in body language since they imply the movement of some part of our body, joints, muscles of arms, hands, head, to express a sensation or feeling about something or someone and have the mission of showing approval or rejection of them.

On the other hand, you will find facial expression, another body language resource with which we can communicate emotions and moods to events or people. It is usually used to emphasize the content of the spoken message. So much so that with it we can show disagreement, attention to the interlocutor, reproach, among others.

The look also on his side has an importance excluding since it gives us information about the status of our interlocutor, among other issues. Thus, if the pupils dilate the person will be interested in the talk, if he blinks a lot per second we demonstrate the uneasiness you feel, if someone avoids direct eye contact it is because they normally hide something.

Not to mention the smile, which is the main way to indicate with the body the happiness that one has as a consequence of something.

A universal communication code

The way in which the different cultures of the world communicate with each other has often been discussed. Psychologist Paul Ekman, an expert in facial micro expressions, demonstrated that some basic elements of body language are universal and therefore we are all able to identify them intuitively. He ensures that all human beings share the same communication code when it comes to the seven basic emotions: joy, for example before the birth of a child, anger, when perhaps what is desired is not achieved, sadness, when we fight with a loved one, revulsion, contempt, fear, after watching a horror movie and surprise, such may be the case of the response to one's birthday organized in secret.

On the other hand, the most refined gestures can vary in different parts of the world and must be learned or modified by unconscious observation of the environment, for example, gestures that indicate 'yes' and 'no'.

Body language is important in one-on-one communications, and it can be even more important in communication interactions. group, because even if only one person is speaking, each individual projects with his body what he feels or thinks about that moment. The larger the group, the greater impact this communication tool will have.

There is no question of the relevance of body language. We all like analyze to others and we are amateur psychologists, in a way because we have to be. If we learn to carefully observe our interlocutor to try to better understand what he really feels and says, we will achieve a better level of communication.

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