The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Definitive Book of Body Language

After you've asked a question and the listener gives his answer

nod your head during his answer. When he finishes speaking

continue to nod your head another five times at the rate of

about one nod per second. Usually, by the time you have

counted to four, the listener will begin speaking again and give

you more information. And as long as you nod and stay silent

with your hand on your chin in an Evaluation position, there's

no pressure on you to speak and you won't come across like an

interrogator. When you listen, put your hand on your chin and

give it light strokes because, as previously stated, research

shows that this encourages others to keep talking.

The Head Shake

Research also indicates that the Head Shake, usually meaning

'No', may also be an inborn action and evolutionary biologists

believe that it's the first gesture humans learn. This theory says

that when the newborn baby has had enough milk, it shakes its

head from side to side to reject its mother's breast. Similarly, a

child who has had enough to eat uses the Head Shake to reject

attempts to spoon feed him.

Shaking the head owes its origin to breastfeeding.

When someone is trying to convince you, watch if they use the
Head Shake gesture while saying they agree. The person who
says, 'I can see your point of view', or, 'It sounds good', or,
'We'll definitely do business', while shaking his head from side
to side might sound convincing, but the Head Shake gesture
signals a negative attitude and you would be well advised to be
sceptical about it.
No woman believes a man who says 'I love you' while
shaking his head. When Bill Clinton uttered his famous
phrase, 'I did not have sex with that woman' during the
Monica Lewinsky inquest, he did not use a Head Shake.