Communication (ii)

Body posture: The position of the trunk and limbs, the way of standing or sitting reflect emotional states, as well as attitudes and feelings about the interlocutor.

Some considerations on body posture indicate that:

• There is a close relationship between posture and mood. It is less controllable than the tone of voice and even the face. Example: sunken shoulders and depressive states.

• A change of posture towards the interlocutor denotes warmth, on the other hand, the absence of change of posture and smile, indifference to eye contact is a sign of coldness.

• Two people who agree, or are friends, tend unconsciously to take similar postures of arms, head, body, this behavior is known as echo posture. If one wants to be neutral, it is necessary to adopt an impartial posture (poker player attitude) or simply imitate that of the interlocutor.

Postures are categorized into four types:

• Approach: slight inclination of the body forward.

• Withdrawal: Negative, rejection, shown by backing away or turning away.

• Expansion: Arrogant, negative, proud. Trunk straight or leaning back, shoulders raised, chest expanded.

• Contraction: Crestless, downcast, depressed. Chest sunken, shoulders hanging, leaning well forward with head sunken.

The cultural milieu is a factor to take into account when interpreting postures. In the United States people of a higher status sit in a relaxed manner, put their feet up on the desk, this on the contrary, in European cultures is frowned upon.

The distance shows the degree of intimacy or interest, the angle provides information about attitudes and relationships. For example, a person who maintains a strong attitude, sits forward and is perceived as aggressive, while the interlocutor to provide the same message, but places the body in another position, is considered a confident person, who thinks about his goals, but not aggressive.

Movements can show the emotional state, the acceleration or increase of gestures can be interpreted as nervousness. In the gait can be observed sadness, joy, pride, and so on. An angry person prints more force to his footsteps, the steps of proud subjects are longer, and happy people walk faster.

Facial expressions: These are the most reliable indications of the subject's emotional state. Expressions of happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, anger, disgust, affection can be interpreted. Expressions of happiness, love and fear are more identifiable than those of disgust, pain, contempt. There is consensus on the description of the six basic emotions:

• Surprise: neutral emotional reaction, triggered by a novel or strange event and quickly fades, giving way to other emotions coincident with the stimulus that provoked it. (Eyebrows are raised and curved, eyes open and eyelids contract, the skin under the eyebrows is stretched, horizontal wrinkles appear on the forehead, upper eyelid raised and lower eyelid lowered, relaxation and jaw drop, lips and teeth somewhat separated, can be mixed with expressions of fear, joy, anger, it is the shortest of all).

• Fear or anxiety: They are distinguished in that fear appears before a real danger and the response is proportional to it, anxiety, on the other hand, is disproportionally intense to the possible danger of the stimulus (eyebrows contracted and raised, the eyebrows are drawn together, upper eyelid raised and lower eyelid raised and in tension, mouth open, lips tense and contracted backwards, eyes open wide).

• Anger: Emotional component of the AHI complex (Aggressiveness - Hostility - Anger), where hostility represents the cognitive part and aggressiveness the behavioral manifestation (low and contracted eyebrows, wrinkles between the eyebrows, tense eyelids, hard look, eyes that seem prominent, closed mouth and tight lips, or open in a square shape as if squeezing, dilated or contracted pupils, nose dilated and trembling, flushed or pale face, teeth are sometimes shown).

• Happiness: It favors a positive interpretation to environmental stimuli, it is a more lasting emotional stability. (Commissure of the lips backwards and upwards, the face widens and the cheeks are raised, the nasolabial wrinkle lowers, bright eyes, lively face, wrinkles in the lower eyelid and sometimes raised, wrinkles of the eyes towards the external side).

• Disgust: The physiological sensations are more evident (wrinkles on the nose, asymmetrical lifting of the corner of the lip, lower lip descends).

• Sadness: It is not always a negative expression, although it is considered to be a displeasing expression (inner angles of the eyes upward, inner angles of the eyelids and eyebrows upward, trembling lips, corner of the lips downward).

The gaze: Communicative possibilities of the gaze:

• Most people get annoyed when they lick fixedly. The easiest way to threaten and intimidate is precisely by staring continuously at someone. Adults who use excessive eye contact look like deficient or dangerous people.

• Staring into the eyes can restore the degree of attention of the interlocutor, and expectations. When there is mutual attraction, the degree of eye contact increases, whereas in cases of embarrassment or confusion, there is less contact.

• When the subject affects the eye contact, when you want to persuade, when you avoid discussing intimate situations, when you try to hide or mentor in something.

• When the contact is excessive it is interpreted as superiority, threat, provocation. When it is little, it denotes rudeness, lack of attention or honesty, shyness. When eye contact is avoided by looking at the floor, it shows a submissive attitude.

• When both interlocutors achieve an adequate proportion of eye contact, the conversation will be more pleasant. Generally one person looks a lot at another, if they are separated from each other, when trying to dominate the other, when looking for reactions, when interested. There is little eye contact if they are close to each other, if they are discussing intimate, difficult topics, if an interlocutor has a higher status, if he is introverted or suffers from some mental illness.

The communicative functions of the gaze are divided into:

• Regulating communicative interactions: communicative openness produces eye contact, otherwise contact is avoided. It is reciprocal in greetings, when the purpose is to conclude the meeting, it disappears. It can also indicate to the other person to assume the role of speaker. When maintaining a formal relationship, attempts are made to reduce the ocular exchange, an excess of the same, would derive the focus of attention from the talk to the personal relationship.

• Feedback: The facial expressions of the interlocutor troaliment the conversation, they suggest interest if there is contact, on the other hand, when dealing with difficult topics, or those that need reflection, both senders and receivers avert their gaze.

• Expressing emotions: They are associated with various eye movements, for example, rolling the eyes upward may show tiredness. Surprise and fear are expressions that show large changes in the eye area. Slightly exaggerating habitual patterns expresses many aspects. If he looks away, he does not share what he hears, if he constantly moves his eyes away while speaking, he is probably not sure of what he is saying, if he stares fixedly, he feels confident and tries to look for reactions in the receiver.

• Communicating the nature of the interpersonal relationship: Looking at each other indicates the nature of the relationship. Status can be reflected in the way of looking; with someone of high status the glances are softened, exaggerated with someone of moderately high status, and minimized with someone of low status. Eye contact is maintained much more with someon