This is a good article but not published by me, but it's well worth a read.

Before you can use body language to win
friends, respect, and sales, ... or to understand
what people might be thinking or feeling, it's
VERY important to understand gender and cultural
differences in the way that people use body
language overall.

Here's the rub ...

Because women are more communicative in general (while
men are more analytical), they use both verbal and nonverbal
cues more frequently in their communication with others.
A study conducted on the way women and men enter a room
illuminates this. On average, women exhibited 27 distinctive
body movements while men only displayed 12 when entering
a room.

On the surface one might think this difference in initial
expressive gestures relates only to the fact that women
are more outwardly expressive of their emotions. But there
is actually a much more important implication:

When observers are asked to rate the estimated power
or status of a person entering a room, they give higher
ratings to people who make fewer physical gestures!

  •     Critical Learning:

The less you move about when you
enter a room, the more powerful you are perceived to
be. More movement = less status.

The reason for gender differences in expressive tendency
can be traced all the way back to infancy. It seems that
baby boys are more likely to be put down early, and
are less frequently touched than are girls. Girls are
taught from their earliest stages of development that
public displays of affection are acceptable, while boys
are conditioned to keep their emotions and feelings
to themselves. That's why women have no problem
hugging others in most any situation while men find
it difficult to embrace and show empathy under even
the most private circumstances.

The above is perhaps the most glaring example and
serves to highlight the importance of considering gender
in interpreting body language. Generally speaking,
women are much more bodily expressive, and as such,
we require a greater intensity of movement in order
to make a significant interpretation, as compared to
men.

  •     Cultural Differences:

If the differences between male and female body
language are visible, differences between diverse
cultures are even more striking. In fact, the
variations are so profound that we devote an entire
chapter of our book to this subject! In the Cultural
Differences chapter we examine not only the subtle
differences in such gestures as greeting and pointing,
but we'll also delve into behaviors you should adhere
to or avoid when visiting particular parts of the world.
For the time being, suffice it to say . what is
generally accepted in one culture can be taken as
outright obscene in another!

  •     Familiarity vs. More Formal Settings (Home vs.
Work, etc)

When we are around someone we are familiar with,
our body language naturally becomes more relaxed.
Whereas touching and embracing are commonplace
gestures in the presence of friends and family, such
demonstrations of affection and emotion are less
acceptable in the workplace. A normally demonstrative
father may become downright stolid when placed in
the more rigid workplace environment.

In a PROFESSIONAL situation where a man and a
woman are forced into close proximity, one might
create the appropriate distance by omitting an
essential part of the normally seductive body
language, or by making it incomplete. For example,
they may turn part of their bodies away from each
other to eliminate the flirting factor. If you were
to observe the same body language in a clearly
PERSONAL situation however, it might suggest that
the two were angry (or even disgusted) with one
another.

  •     Summary of Contextual Factors:

Women exhibit about 2x as many non-verbal clues
as do men, so look for more intensity and frequency
before you reach your conclusions.

- Body language varies greatly from culture to culture.

- The interpretation of body language varies depending
upon whether the situation is personal or professional.

To best interpret body language, you must take into
account the culture in which it takes place, the gender
of the participants, and whether the environment is
personal or professional.


HowToUseBodyLanguage.com

Best, From: Glenn Livingston
Email to glenn@HowToUseBodyLanguage.com]


Glenn Livingston, Ph.D.
CEO, Psy Tech Inc.
40 Partridge Road
Windham, NH 03087