BODY LANGUAGE: GESTURES, POSTURE, AND SPACEREADING PEOPLE'S POSTURE
Women send revealing subtexts about themselves not only by the
way they sit, stand, and walk, but also by the way they carry
their breasts. With shoulders forward and breasts pulled in and
minimized, the subtext is "I am ashamed of my body." It is impossi-
ble to signal confidence and certainty with this posture.
With men, the abdomen and belly are the vulnerable areas.
When a man tightens his belly and lets his abdominal muscles
pull his stomach taut, the message sent is "I am aware of you. I
want to make an impact on you." The subtext: strength.
The person who leans back in his chair as he listens to someone
else is pulling away from involvement. Leaning forward signals
intensity and interest.
All these statements are generally true, but they are generaliza-
tions. Not everyone uses the same posture to send the same subtext.
There are cultural and regional differences in posture. In her
book Male and Female, anthropologist Margaret Mead noted that
all men do not cross their legs in the same way, nor do they
move and sit in similar postures. The behavior of each American,
she noted, is an imperfectly realized version of the behavior of
others. The postures of Americans are the result of the melting
pot of our culture.
People who like each other or agree with each other tend to
mirror each other's posture. In a business meeting, when people
share a point of view, they tend to share a posture. When one
person in a group changes position, the other group members
will usually shift position to match. If one member of the group
disagrees with the others, his or her posture will disagree as well.
In a discussion in any group or gathering, whether it's a board-