Persuading through words is an art.
This is what is called rhetoric, or the set of rules of eloquence, means of expression and linguistic processes that serve the discourse.
Very often, movements accompany it.
These can both support an argument, give rhythm to speech, but also interfere with it.
And for good reason, our gestures are a reflection of our cognitive activity.
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As soon as we have to defend something of which we are not convinced or to hide a feeling, the body reacts, gets agitated.
He cannot be silent and, sometimes, even takes precedence over speaking.
In other words, he betrays us.
It is therefore necessary to remain vigilant and to identify the movements of the body which reveal information.
In
What gestures and words say about others
(Le Courrier du livre), semiologist Élodie Mielczareck helps us to decipher this body language.
• Purse her lips
One might think that it is to moisten a mouth chapped by the winter cold that one tends to pinch one's lips.
But most of the time, people who bite or purse their lips are responding to what Élodie Mielczareck calls
“wrestling stress”
.
When a situation that presents an obstacle arises, a feeling of anger can arise.
So the muscles tense and facial expressions change.
It is a natural reflex.
The body faces the threat and reacts by showing that it can also be threatening.
Biting the lips is then a sign that one is trying to keep calm, while the body trembles with anger, a chattering of teeth occurs.
It is therefore better to spare the interlocutor who grimaces in this way.
Read alsoWhy do we speak with our hands?
• Untimely smile
Faced with an unexpected event, fear often rears its ugly head.
Movements become uncertain, shifting gaze.
Without a doubt, your body wants to escape what your brain sees as aggression.
As the semiologist explains,
“this bodily expression is archaic and ancestral.
We inherited it from our ancestors.
It is part of our baggage as Homo sapiens.”
A reflex linked to fear which, among contemporaries, results in visible swallowing at the level of the neck, yellow laughter or untimely smiles, slight sweating, as well as blushing.
• Look down
When resisting anger and fear is no longer possible, the body only asks to disappear.
Also, talking to someone who lowers their eyes conveys a clear message:
“It is not by talking to me that you will find a solution.”
The objective of the interlocutor is then to take advantage of a moment of inattention to vanish, without anyone realizing it.
• Cross your legs
Just as crossing the arms is synonymous with refusing to interact, crossing the legs indicates a feeling of rejection, of closure.
In 1971, explains Élodie Mielczareck, two researchers analyzed the behavior of hundreds of people in a negotiating position.
Their observation was that no negotiation ends positively when two interlocutors, located face to face, have their legs crossed.