The Definitive Book of Body Language

Read The Definitive Book of Body Language for Free Online

Book: Read The Definitive Book of Body Language for Free Online
Authors: Barbara Pease, Allan Pease
person is being open, they'll expose their palms, but just having their palms exposed makes it difficult for the person to tell a convincing lie. This is because gestures and emotions are directly linked to each other. If you feel defensive, for example, you're likely to cross your arms across your chest. But if you simply cross your arms, you'll begin to experience defensive feelings. And if you are talking with your palms exposed, it puts even more pressure on the other person to be truthful, too. In other words, open palms can help to suppress some of the false information others may tell and encourage them to be more open with you.

Palm Power
     
    One of the least-noticed, but most powerful, body signals is given by the human palm when giving someone directions or commands and in handshaking. When used in a certain way,
Palm Power
invests its user with the power of silent authority
    There are three main palm command gestures: the Palm-Up position, the Palm-Down position, and the Palm-Closed-Finger-Pointed position. The differences of the three positions are shown in this example: let's say that you ask someone to pick up something and carry it to another location. We'll assume that you use the same tone of voice, the same words and facial expressions in each example, and that you change only the position of your palm.
    The palm facing up is used as a submissive, nonthreatening gesture, reminiscent of the pleading gesture of a street beggar and, from an evolutionary perspective, shows the person holds no weapons. The person being asked to move the item will not feel they are being pressured into it and are unlikely to feel threatened by your request. If you want someone to talk, you can use the Palm-Up as a “handover” gesture to let them know you expect them to talk and that you're ready to listen.
    The Palm-Up gesture became modified over the centuries and gestures like the Single-Palm-Raised-in-the-Air, the Palm-Over-the-Heart, and many other variations developed.

     
    Palm-Up = nonthreatening
     

     
    Palm-Down = authority
     
    When the palm is turned to face downward, you will project immediate authority. The other person will sense that you'vegiven them an order to move the item and may begin to feel antagonistic toward you, depending on your relationship with him or the position you have with him in a work environment.
    Turning your palm from facing

upward to facing downward completely

alters how others perceive you.
     
    For example, if the other person was someone of equal status, he might resist a Palm-Down request and would be more likely to comply if you'd used the Palm-Up position. If the person is your subordinate, the Palm-Down gesture is seen as acceptable because you have the authority to use it.
    The Nazi salute had the palm facing directly down and was the symbol of power and tyranny during the Third Reich. If Adolf Hitler had used his salute in the Palm-Up position, no one would have taken him seriously—they would have laughed.

     
    Adolf Hitler using one of history's most notable Palm-Down signals
     
    When couples walk hand in hand, the dominant partner, often the man, walks slightly in front with his hand in the above position, palm facing backward, while she has her palm facing forward. This simple little position immediately reveals to an observer who wears the loincloths in that family.
    The Palm-Closed-Finger-Pointed is a fist where the pointed finger is used like a symbolic club with which the speaker figuratively beats his listeners into submission. Subconsciously, it evokes negative feelings in others because it precedes a right overarm blow, a primal move most primates use in a physical attack.

     
    Pointing finger = “Do it or else!”
     
    The Palm-Closed-Finger-Pointed gesture is one of the most annoying gestures anyone can use while speaking, particularly when it beats time to the speaker's words. In some countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines, finger-pointing at a

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