The Definitive Book of Body Languageyourself as a friend or mate. We advise people in positions of
power to wear stronger frames to make serious points, such as
reading a financial budget, and frameless styles when convey-
ing a 'nice guy' image or being 'one of the boys'.Stalling Tactics
As with cigarette smoking, the Glasses-Arm-in-Mouth action
can be used to stall or delay a decision. In negotiating, it has.
been found that this gesture appears most frequently at the
close when the person has been asked for a decision. Continu-
ally taking the glasses off and cleaning the lenses is another
method used by glasses wearers to gain time for a decision.
When this gesture is seen immediately after a decision has
been asked for, silence is the best tactic.
The gestures that follow Glasses-Arm-in-Mouth signal the
person's intention and allow an alert negotiator to respond
accordingly. For example, if the person puts the glasses back
on, this often means that he wants to 'see' the facts again.
Folding the glasses and putting them away signals an intention
to terminate the conversation and throwing the glasses onto
the desk is symbolically rejecting the proposal.
Peering-Over-the-Glasses
Actors in films made during the 1920s and 1930s used Peering-
Over-the-Glasses to portray, for example, a critical or
judgemental person such as a teacher in an English public
school. Often the person would be wearing reading glasses and
find it more convenient to look over the tops, rather than
removing them to look at the other person. But whoever is on
the receiving end of this look may feel as though he is being
judged or scrutinised. The habit of looking over the glasses
can be a very costly mistake because the listener may respond
to this look with negatives such as folded arms, crossed legs or