The Definitive Book of Body Language

Arm Signals

folding one or both arms across the chest, a barrier is formed

that is an unconscious attempt to block out what we perceive

threat or undesirable circumstances. The arms fold neatly

across the heart and lungs regions to protect these vital organs

from being injured, so it's likely that arm-crossing is inborn.

Monkeys and chimps also do it to protect themselves from a

frontal attack. One thing's certain: when a person has a

nervous, negative or defensive attitude, it's very likely he will

fold his arms firmly on his chest, showing that he feels threat-

ened.

Why Crossed Arms Can be Detrimental

Research conducted in the United States into the Crossed-

Arms gesture has shown some worrying results. A group of

volunteers was asked to attend a series of lectures and each

student was instructed to keep his legs uncrossed, arms

unfolded and to take a casual, relaxed sitting position. At the

end of the lectures each student was tested on his retention

and knowledge of the subject matter and his attitude towards

the lecturer was recorded. A second group of volunteers was

put through the same process, but these volunteers were

instructed to keep their arms tightly folded across their chests

throughout the lectures. The results showed that the group

with the folded arms had learned and retained 38% less than

the group who kept its arms unfolded. The second group also

had a more critical opinion of the lectures and of the lecturer.

When you fold your arms your

credibility dramatically reduces.

We conducted these same tests in 1989 with 1500 delegates
during 6 different lectures and recorded almost identical results.
These tests reveal that, when a listener folds his arms, not only
does he have more negative thoughts about the speaker, but he's
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