The Definitive Book of Body Language- Fingers-in-the-Mouth
This is an unconscious attempt by the person to revert to the
security of the child sucking on his mother's breast and occurs
when a person feels under pressure. A young child substitutes
his thumb or a blanket for his mother's breast and, as an adult
he puts his fingers to his mouth and sucks on cigarettes, pipes'
pens and glasses, and chews gum.
Reassurance is needed hereMost Hand-to-Mouth gestures can be connected to lying or
deception but the Fingers-in-Mouth gesture is an outward
indication of an inner need for reassurance so giving the
person guarantees and assurances is a positive move.Evaluation and Procrastination GesturesA good speaker is said to be one who 'instinctively' knows
when his audience is interested in what he's saying and can
also tell when his listeners have had enough. A good salesper-
son senses when he is hitting his client's 'hot buttons' and
finding out where the buyer's interest lies. Every presenter
knows the empty feeling that results when he or she is giving a
presentation to someone who says very little and just sits there