“We are always sending information,” said Joe Navarro, author of “The Body Language Dictionary,” in an interview with Wired magazine. Navarro, a former FBI agent, knows directly how much information we can learn through body movements, facial expressions, and tone of voice. He also knows just how careful we have to be in how we read body language.
For example, let’s say your friend crosses their arms. You may assume they’re angry, but what if they are giving themselves a hug instead? Or maybe your classmate coughs and you wonder if they might be telling a lie. But is it possible they have a cold?
According to Navarro and Eastman, these are common false body language movements. Crossing the arms and coughing can both be calming or relaxing behaviors and are not always evidence of disinterest or lying.
The meaning we give to others’ nonverbal communication can be very confusing. Let’s say you view someone as unfriendly because they do not smile as much as socially expected. But it’s possible that individual could be nicer than you think. In fact, some people simply show fewer facial expressions than others. Eastman says, “The first step in reading behavior is to really understand how often you’re just so wrong.”
Comprehension
1) Who is Joe Navarro and what is his expertise?
2) What are some examples of false body language narratives mentioned in the article?
3) What is Eastman’s advice for reading behavior?
Vocabulary
Match the words to the definition:
1) interview
2) instead (of)
3) assume
4) wonder
5) disinterest
6) behavior (behaviour)
a) to think or want to know about something
b) not interested
c) when one person asks questions to another
d) the way someone acts or conducts themself
e) in place of, a substitute or alternative for something
f) to suppose something is true without evidence
Grammar Highlights
When making a list, we use the structure: Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3. We don’t normally list more than 3 things. We don’t use “…” or “etc”:
“…we can learn through body movements, facial expressions, and tone of voice.”
“…we can learn through body movements, facial expressions, tone of voice. . . etc”
Modal Verb “Might” = maybe, possibly. This word is very common and it’s a good idea to get comfortable using it.:
“…they might be telling a lie.”
*This article was adapted from another article to make it more suitable for English learners. You can read the original article here.