The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Definitive Book of Body Language

of customer debt collection. We watched him make a number
of calls and although he sounded relaxed, we noticed that,
when he talked with customers, his ankles were continually
locked together beneath his chair, but he didn't do this when
he was talking with us. When asked 'How do you enjoy this
work?', he replied, 'Fine! It's a lot of fun.' The verbal state-
ment was inconsistent, however, with his non-verbal signals,
although he did look and sound convincing. 'Are you sure?' we
asked. He paused for a moment, unlocked his ankles and, with
open palms, said, 'Well, actually, it drives me crazy!' He said
that he receives several calls each day from customers who are
rude or aggressive and he practised holding back his feelings in
order not to communicate them to customers. We also
recorded that salespeople who don't enjoy using the telephone
commonly sit in the Ankle Lock position.

The Short Skirt Syndrome

Women who wear mini-skirts cross their legs and ankles for
obvious, necessary reasons. Through years of habit, however,
many older women still sit in this position, which can not only
make them feel restrained, but others are likely to uncon-
sciously read it as negative and react towards these women
with caution.

Mini-skirts can give a woman the

appearance that she's not approachable.

Some people will still claim they sit in the Ankle Lock posi-
tion, or for that matter any negative arm and leg position,
because they feel 'comfortable'. If you are in this category,
remember that any arm or leg position will feel comfortable
when you hold a defensive, negative or reserved attitude.
A negative gesture can increase or prolong a negative atti-