Part 3 (1/2)

Pease (1984) has noted various other sorts of known gestures:Straddling a chair (sitting backwards) using the back of the chair as a defence against aggression

Fluff-picking (picking iinary fluff off clothes) approval or deliberately withholding evidence

Both hands behind the head controlled, doressiveness or sizing one another up

Tie-straightening preening in esture

Equally, one can use various props such as cigars, pipes and spectacles to send gestures How and where sarettes are held, when spectacles are put in the , whether the ”actor” meant it or not Indeed, film actors deliberately use certain actions to convey theput in the esture of reassurance or possible aggression

Gestures are iestures such as Winston Churchill's V for Victory sign They becolasses, fiddle with their cufflinks

Posture

A person's posture ical rather than physical experience Adolescents uise breast develop periods of depression may lead to the adoption of the depressive's characteristic sagging pose even after recovery has been ue that just as body posture is an index of emotional health (tensed e (relax) e posture Indeed, the Alexander Technique is based on diagnosing and correcting posture Yoga and Chinese t'ai chi ai orthe body

The three(which includes squatting and kneeling) and lying Shown ”stickures, people can easily, accurately and reliably identify states of mind or qualities such as suspicion, shyness, indifference, puzzlenal relaxation by asy positions, a backwards and possibly sideways lean and hand relaxation The ares of states such as anxiety, sexual flirtatiousness and humility

Some researchers have noticed how body movement communicates various desires in courtshi+p or psychotherapy Nonverbal cues of courtshi+p readiness include preening the hair and adjusting the stockings Cues fro one another with the torso leaning inward so as to exclude others Actions of appeal s or exposing the palm of the hand Posture in a selection or appraisal interview can give a good indication of how tense or relaxed a person is A conference speaker's posture can also give an insight into his or her level of confidence

Woht ”deportment” Ballet is the physical and often extremely beautiful expression of emotion Catwalk models learn to move in a particular fashi+on

Body posture conveys clues about the health and ers to be fit and positive This e can be put across in how they sit and stand, and how they change their posture

Many have observed the ”postural echo” or the idea ofPeople seeestures and speed) of those to who It happens all the more with people one likes This phenoion and occurs when two skilled people are co es business people can control fairly easily is the way in which they orient themselves to others This is usually done by the way that furniture is arranged Thus one can interview across a desk (face-to-face, diametrically opposite); over the corner of a desk (at 90 in a cosy corner), or side-by-side, facing outwards

Orientation of the body (the pointing of torso, feet) has been thought of as indicating where people's thoughts are, or where they really want to go People standing and talking can face each other at various angles (head-on, side-by-side), and they can, through orientation, include or exclude others Opening to a triangular position, while conversing with two or more people si as well as the less obvious but also less conscious feetpointing often indicates the person to whom ideas are addressed, who is favored in a conversation and who is liked or disliked Seated body orientation (as well as distance) is, equally, very indicative of the nature of a relationshi+p Chairs can be arranged to symbolize or control a relationshi+p, or may beopposite a person often symbolizes opposition It is no accident the British have a two-party oppositional systeiven the architecture of the House of Commons People leave restaurants more quickly when seated opposite one another, unless tables are particularly wide Sitting side-by-side often symbolizes cooperation and support, but it can be uncoether or if they feel they are not getting enough eye contact

Round tables are deanization called the Round Table, and King Arthur's knights sat at a legendary round table Various United Nations tables are round(ish) sy the equality of all in the circle Theatre ”in the round” too has a quite different feel for both audience and actors Round tables are beco to replace the ular shapes Square tables can be aard at least some people have to sit diametrically opposite one another Square tables also have a more closed and exclusive feel than round tables, which appear easier to join

Rectangular and oval tables are still found in boardrooreatest power tends to sit in the middle, oris defined in terms of distance fro down and sitting still, but sos standing up This index of e on so is considered to be a disrespectful posture (like the person at the bar, the farnals inattention and relaxation

Angle and distance of chairs froht Sometimes chairs, like thrones, are elevated to symbolize power and influence Pease (1984) has noted that desk seating positions (at rectangular tables) can be in several different positions:corner position: indicating friendly, casual communication but with a partial barrier (this position is favored by GPs);cooperative position: people sit next to each other;cooperative defensive position: people seated opposite each other with the barrier between, but an understanding that half the space on the table/desk is one person's territory while the other half belongs to the other person; andindependent position: diagonally opposite, ateye contact

Room layout can dictate orientation, which may help or hinder the co This is why conference rooms' layouts are so in what sort of coe participation and provide an opportunity for all those present to engage in the talk, or is it only convenient for the speaker and the members of the team seated in the front row?

Territory

The study of space is called proxeh their use of ti, territory is not a bodily signal But we do signal differently when in different territories, and often send clear defensive es as to what delineates a territory Like animals, people try to establish and ly The ”unmanned” towel on the beach, the coat on the chair and the suitcase on the seat all indicate that somebody has staked out that territory We all know the different feel ahas if it is held in the boss's office; if the boss visits you in your office; or if youroonated as being appropriate for outsiders and insiders The sas for exans Often there is a dramatic difference in the quality of decor between different territories: plush to drab, carpeted to bare floors

Just as actors differentiate between front-of-house and backstage, so businesses differentiate between front-house and back-rooe, posture and physical contact are all quite different in these different zones It is possible to ical” zones First, there is a very private zone in the office It may be the employee's small but very personal workstation and locker Then there is the shared inner-group zone of the working department or division Here, people have marked out favorite chairs and so on that are known to, and respected by, all those in the group Comfort with interpersonal distance is a function of several features: sex (lo-Saxons like more distance than Latins); and area population density (rural people stand further away from each other than do urban dwellers)

It has becouish between four zones: intimate (less than three feet), into which professionals are not allowed to intrude apart from medical and quasi-medical people; personal (three four feet), which one may have to share in aeroplanes, for exaues at work; and public (more than twelve feet), for all other interactions

Meetings held in public spaces are quite different from those in private space The use of space is also very culturally different The japanese see the shape and arrange, yet in public they cling close together in crowded groups Americans carry a two-foot bubble of privacy around themselves For privacy, some people for example, Arabs retreat into themselves; others retreat behind closed doors

Territory is i another's territory How close should one approach the desk or chair of another is associated with that person's status People who enter a roonal a lower status than those alk right up to the executive's desk The ti is also status-related The more quickly the visitor enters the rooer the executive takes to answer, the er can walk into a subordinate's office unannounced, yet the latter has to wait outside the office of the former to be allowed in Subordinates leave the senior's office when the telephone rings, while the forive the boss the full attention he or she deserves

Physical areas have special significance because they are the territory of a particular person and are associated with high/low status people in particular social roles The physical layout can deter rooners of airports or hotels know very well The ”trick” is to give people a sense of being in private territory while ensuring the maximum number of people can use the facility

The physical environs of rooms effect how people communicate in theest a two-party system: us versus them; blue team versus red Churchill s and afterwards they shape us Rooms leave cues to who lives and works there; how they interact, and how frequently They tell of status, power, inclusion and exclusion

The Chinese have passed on their interest and belief in feng shui Theshui, which literary translates as ater, is the presence of life energy chi and its two states of yin and yang Feng shui is the practice of balancing negative and positive charges of chi through the design and architecture of the physical environment It is believed that success in all areas of life, including health, relationshi+ps and career can be achieved through the har space around people Objects are positioned in a certain ht proportions

Though feng shui is uniquely Asian, Westerners seeued by the tradition too, to the extent that there are international groups and associations claiarded as a scientific discipline However, despite its popularity, feng shui seems to be based on superstitious beliefs of lay people rather than on hard scientific evidence Though sinetic fields, there is no proof of the existence of such a life force as chi On the other hand, itindividual objects and structures in an organic or holisticindividual parts or objects in the structure back to the whole space a building occupies, a deeper level of coht be nothing ists know that people evaluate and behave in rooht and airy, as well as comfortable or functional, or conformist They also know about environeand smell Supermarkets are very aware of the power of sound and sn of rooms and of the possibility of movable objects How do people like to sit in restaurants? Which tables are more popular? What is the ideal shape? The answer to these questions is: four-person, round tables placed against a wall

Note how people rearrange their space to introduce or remove perceived barriers Equally, they personalize spaces with objets d'art or bric-a-brac Consider how neighbours fight over territorial invasion

The world of business is replete with many fine examples of how people choose and use spaces to control communication and show rank Thus executives have their corner offices, with bigger s, on the top floor They have her up; some are even ensuite They uards (that is, personal assistants) They havedesks but uncluttered offices They arecabinets or even coe workers and it shows

Architects know that the way they design prisons, old-people's homes, or student dormitories can profoundly influence interactions in them Proximity and propinquity affect the a, but density and over-crowding have significantly negative consequences on social interaction

The quality of conversations can be powerfully determined by conversational distance We have already mentioned the so- called socialconsultative distance which varies between 15 feet and ten feet and is most commonly used in everyday interactions However, should you sit side-by-side, opposite or at right angles to someone? How far apart should you be? Is it always beneficial to have a barrier (that is, a desk or table) or not? It is clear that the seating alone is instructive: it can be changed to indicate leadershi+p, doure 21 Which arrangeotiation and which for infor? Which would be better for a business lunch or a ro table: four possible positions The moral of the story is simple The physical environle in relation to one another It syes certain conversation topics and tasks An astute awareness of these factors in business can have very significant consequences

FEEL THE UNSPOKEN

Touch (or body contact)