“We are never in a state where we are not transmitting information,” said Joe Navarro, author of “The Body Language Dictionary,” in an interview with Wired magazine. Navarro, a former FBI agent, knows first-hand how much information we can learn through gestures, body movements, facial expressions, and tone of voice. He also knows just how careful we have to be in how we interpret body language.
For example, let’s say your spouse crosses their arms. You may assume they’re closing themselves off, but what if their crossed arms indicate a self-hug instead? Or maybe your co-worker clears their throat 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 narratives. Crossing the arms and clearing the throat can both be self-soothing or pacifying behaviors and are not necessarily evidence of disinterest or deception.
The meaning we give to others’ nonverbal communication can be highly misleading. 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 perceive. In fact, some people experience a flat affect, where they 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) Why do we need to be careful in interpreting body language according to the article?
3) What is flat affect, and how can it affect our interpretation of someone’s nonverbal communication?
Vocabulary
Match the words to the definition:
1) First-hand
2) Gesture
3) Spouse
4) Clear (your) throat
5) Misleading
6) Perceive
a) your husband or wife
b) to cause someone to have the wrong impression
c) to interpret information in a particular way
d) a body movement
e) direct, coming from the original source
f) to cough before speaking
Grammar Highlights
Relative clause sentence structure:
The relative pronoun is optional because it has a new subject:
But is it possible (that) they have a cold?
The relative clause is in positive form, even though it is a question.
But is it possible they have a cold?
*This article was adapted from another article to make it more suitable for English learners. You can read the original article here.