An individual schooled in the art of lying can only pull off the action for a short time because body language cannot lie for long. The liar has to relax eventually, and when he does, the truth will surface. That is if you understand the science of body language. College students can also learn about the science of body language. There are private science classes that they can attend as they develop an interest in this field.
In the 1950s, a pioneer of body language, researcher Albert Mehrabian, discovered that the total impact of a message is about 7 percent verbal, 38 percent vocal (intonation and inflection), and 55 percent expression and body language. If body language cues don’t match up with verbal or vocal, we say we are receiving mixed signals.
As they say, actions speak louder than words, and body language can be described as an action. What is so beautiful, is that, with a little training, no one ever needs to succumb to the folly of a liar. With enough knowledge, through time, we can be set free from the entanglements of the insincere. This includes every faction of life, including the life of religion and politics.
Women are known to be more intuitive than men when it comes to reading people. Often, I “know” when something just doesn’t feel right. I experience a butterfly sensation or a “punch in the gut” feeling, which inevitably proves to be correct 90 percent of the time. Rather than it being intuitive, in reality, it simply is the aptitude of reading body language on a subconscious level.
They say that a person should not ignore the first intuitive impression, and this is true because reading body language is a science, and generally cannot fail. However, it takes time to understand the complete picture, as the liar will tell on himself over the course of time. This is why important interactions should take place in person, not over the phone or on the internet.
Understanding the science of body language means realizing that human beings have universal gestures. For instance, if a person doesn’t know or understand what you are saying they will shrug their shoulders. If a person is skeptical of what you are saying their legs will be tightly crossed, the arm will be crossed over the body and the head will be down. If a person says they want to be with you, but their feet are faced away from you, in reality, they would rather be somewhere else.
Learning the art of body language may seem manipulative to some, but there are good reasons to bring it out of the closet and into the open. First, it is self-defense from dishonest or insincere people, and secondly, becoming proficient at understanding it, and using it, gives you the opportunity of making a better impression on employers and potential mates.
If we understand, for instance, that leaning ahead while listening makes us better listeners, it will benefit our relationships. Making eye contact will win you brownie points. The more you know, the better, because while we are defending ourselves from the unscrupulous, we can learn what it takes to make our relationships at home and at the office better.