GETTING A LEG UP ON BODY LANGUAGE 65sions of the emotion attached to the story. They appear in real time along
with the story line and relate his feelings along with his words. Just as we
move our feet to the beat and tempo of a song we like, so too will we move
our feet and legs in congruence with something positive we say.
Interestingly, gravity-defying behaviors of the feet and legs are rarely
seen in people suffering from clinical depression. The body reflects pre-
cisely the emotional state of the individual. So when people are excited
we tend to see many more gravity-defying behaviors.
Can gravity-defying behaviors be faked? I suppose they can be, par-
ticularly by really good actors and perennial liars, but average people
simply don’t know how to regulate their limbic behaviors. When people
try to control their limbic reactions or gravity-defying behaviors, it looks
contrived. Either they appear too passive or restrained for the situation or
not animated enough. A faked upward arm greeting just doesn’t cut it. It
looks fake because the arms are not up for very long, and usually the el-
bows are bent. The gesture has all the hallmarks of being contrived.
True gravity-defying behaviors are usually a very good barometer of a
person’s positive emotional state and they look genuine.
One type of gravity-defying behavior that can be very informative to
the astute observer is known as the starter’s position (see figure 21). This is
an action in which a person moves his or her feet from a resting position
(flat on the ground) to a ready or “starter’s” position with heel elevated
and weight on the balls of the feet. This is an intention cue that tells us
the person is getting ready to do something physical, requiring foot move-
ment. It could mean the individual intends to engage you further, is re-
ally interested, or wants to leave. As with all nonverbal intention cues,
once you learn a person is about to do something, you need to rely on the
context and what you know about the individual to make your best as-
sessment of what that something is going to be.
Leg SplayThe most unmistakable and easily spotted foot and leg behaviors are ter-
ritorial displays. Most mammals, human or not, can become territorial