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Guest post by: Glenn Ebersole Become an Author

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Reading body language is a strategic communications tool, which can be a very powerful tool for you and your business. Effective communication involves much more than saying the right words. Your communications are conveyed through emotions and body language and these two elements play a very vital role in getting your message across. As a matter of fact, your body language may often say more than your words because it reveals a lot about what you're feeling and thinking as of the moment. Experience has shown people who are transparent can get themselves in trouble, as there are some obvious ways to determine if people are lying.

Knowing how to read a person's emotions based on his or her body language and gestures is very important for effective communications. This strategic skill will help you be a more strategic communicator, negotiator, and thinker. Here are some examples to illustrate how observed body language could let you know if somebody is anxious, angry, happy, surprised, or sad.

If a person is happy: he or she smiles a lot. We might even find him or her doing a little skip as he or she walks. He or she has relaxed facial muscles and fluid movements; hums or sings to him or her.

If a person is anxious: he or she has a pale face and dry lips; starts perspiring profusely; fidgets a lot and has shifty eyes; keeps shaking his or her leg or tapping his or her foot; makes sudden movements after a while of being still; stutters.

If a person is angry: he or she pounds his or her fist on the table and speaks loudly; clenches his or her fist and leans forward when talking to you; bares his or her teeth and appears to be snarling as he or she talks; has tense muscles.

If a person is surprised: he or she suddenly opens his or her mouth (remember the expression “my jaw dropped”); suddenly takes a step back; widens his or her eyes or clamps his or her hand over his or her mouth.

If a person is sad: he or she has trembling lips; is not able to look you straight in the eye and sometimes even has tears forming; slumps his or her body; uses a rather flat or weak tone of voice.

These are only a few of the indicators of the key emotions that we as human beings feel. Sometimes these emotions might even overlap. For example, a person with shifty eyes could be lying or could just be nervous. So, in order to be able to effectively interpret what the person is feeling, you have to be sure to take the context of the conversation into consideration. In my opinion, reading body language is a combination of an art and a science. Body language is a part of our daily business and personal living. Body language is all around us and we observe it everyday. If someone does not exhibit any kind of body language we think that person is stiff or wooden, with just one expression and pose all the time. We also know that it is human nature to succumb to our emotions sometimes. And sometimes it is through body language that we convey messages that we don't have the courage to or choose not to say out loud. And those messages may be much more valuable and insightful than others.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach encourages you to develop a strong set of strategic skills, including how to read body language as part of your communications skills. If you would like to learn more about how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com

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