body language

Communications

(noun)

Body language is a form of mental and physical ability of human non-verbal communication. It consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously.

Related Terms

  • interaction
  • transition
Business

(noun)

Nonverbal communication by means of facial expressions, eye behavior, gestures, posture, and the like; often thought to be involuntary.

Related Terms

  • appearance

Examples of body language in the following topics:

  • Applied Body Language

    • Body language is a form of human non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements.
    • Body language may provide clues as to the attitude or state of mind of a person.
    • Note the significant attention paid to body language.
    • Does it have anything to do with her body language?
    • Discuss the importance of body language as a means of social communication and give specific examples of body language
  • Using Transitions

    • When using transitions, pair them with body language to make them even more effective.
    • However, there is something that can make the quality of your transitions truly bring your speech alive: combining your transitions with body language.
    • You may be surprised to learn that only 7% of the information you transmit to others is in the language you use.
    • 55% Body language—posture, position, eye contact, facial expression, head and body movements, gestures, touch, etc.
    • Armed with this information, it is easy to understand why body language can make your transitions even more attention-grabbing.
  • Symbols and Nature

    • Written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system.
    • Written language exists only as a complement to a specific spoken language.
    • A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveying sound patterns, uses manual communication and body language to convey meaning.
    • This can involve simultaneously combining hand shapes; orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body; and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's thoughts.
    • Sign languages, like spoken languages, organize elementary units into meaningful semantic units.
  • Gestures

    • The gesturer then waves the fingers in toward the body.
    • Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body.
    • Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with body language in addition to spoken words.
    • Gestural languages such as American Sign Language and its regional siblings operate as complete natural languages that are gestural .
    • American Sign Language, or ASL, is a gestural language.
  • Reducing Barriers and Promoting Healthy Conversations

    • Language barrier: Language barrier is another important factor in business communication, if communication happens without a common language, it is not worthwhile.
    • Language Barrier: language barrier is another important factor in business communication.
    • If communication happens without a common language, it is not worthwhile.
    • Eye contact and appropriate body language are seen as important components of active listening.
  • The Structure of Language

    • Every language is different.
    • Every language has a different set of syntactic rules, but all languages have some form of syntax.
    • Context includes tone of voice, body language, and the words being used.
    • Depending on how a person says something, holds his or her body, or emphasizes certain points of a sentence, a variety of different messages can be conveyed.
    • ASL and other sign languages have all the same structural underpinnings that spoken languages do.
  • Milton Friedman

    • The structure of this positive science, like all positive sciences, consists of two parts; first, is a language and second, is a "body of substantive hypothesis designed to abstract essential features of complex reality" (Ibid. p 7).
    • According to Friedman, language is a set of tautologies whose primary function is to organize and classify empirical material to facilitate our understanding.
    • This language has no substantive content.
    • Empirical or factual evidence and presumably the use of the language will reveal how well the analytical filing system functions (Ibid).
    • The body of "substantive hypotheses" or theory is primarily to yield "valid and meaningful (i.e. not truistic) predictions about phenomena not yet observed" (Ibid).
  • Human vs. Animal Language

    • Animal language is any form of communication that shows similarities to human language; however, there are significant differences.
    • Other animals use odors or body movements to communicate.
    • Verbal language is auditory, but other forms of language—writing and sign language (visual), Braille (tactile)—are possible in more complex human language systems.
    • Koko is famous for having learned over a thousand signs of "Gorilla Sign Language," a simple sign language developed to try to teach nonhuman primates complex language.
    • Kanzi is a bonobo, whose trainers claim that not only can he understand human language, but he can manipulate human language to create sentences.
  • Gender-Neutral Language

    • Gender neutrality in language minimizes assumptions about the gender or sex of people referred to in writing or speech.
    • Gender-neutral language is neither masculine nor feminine and avoids using gender specific pronouns such as "he" or "she." 
    • Proponents of gender-neutral language argue that gender-specific language (such as policeman or waitress) often implies male superiority or reflects an unequal state of society.
    • Additionally, many editing houses, corporations, and government bodies have official policies favoring in-house use of gender-neutral language.
    • Different authorities have presented guidelines on when and how to use gender-neutral, or "non-sexist" language.
  • Association Areas

    • Association areas function to produce a meaningful perceptual experience of the world, enable us to interact effectively, and support abstract thinking and language.
    • The parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes, all located in the posterior part of the cortex, organize sensory information into a coherent perceptual model of our environment centered on our body image.
    • It was previously thought that language abilities are localized in the left hemisphere in Broca's area for language expression and Wernicke's area for language reception.
    • In humans, association networks are particularly important to language function.
    • Locations of brain areas historically associated with language processing.
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