What Every BODY Is Saying : An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed Reading People

KNOWLEDGE WITHIN REACH 125

pecking order to this and other dominance displays. For instance, while
waiting for a meeting to begin, the office supervisor may assume the in-
terlaced hands-behind-the-head-elbows-out display. However, when the
boss comes into the room, this territorial hooding display will stop. Claim-
ing territory is for those of high status or those in charge. Thus it is the
boss’s right to assume this behavior while everyone else will be expected to
bring their hands down to the table in an appropriate show of deference.

Dominant Pose

Often, individuals will use their arms to simultaneously emphasize a point
and claim territory. This happens frequently during interactions where
people are in disagreement over an issue. I recall a recent incident during a
layover in New York wherein a hotel guest approached the front desk with
his arms close to his body and asked the clerk on duty for a favor. When
the favor was rejected, the guest shifted his request to a demand, and his
arms shifted as well—spreading farther and farther apart, claiming more
and more territory as the conversation became increasingly heated. This
arm spread behavior is a powerful limbic response employed to establish
dominance and emphasize a person’s point of view (see figure 44). As a
general rule, the meek will pull in their arms; the strong, powerful, or in-
dignant will spread them out to claim more territory (see box 32).
In business meetings, a speaker who takes (and maintains) a large ter-
ritorial footprint is likely very confident about what is being discussed
(see figure 45). Spread-out arms is one of those nonverbals with high ac-
curacy because it is limbic in origin and proclaims, “I am confident.”
Conversely, note how quickly someone who is splayed out over several
chairs will withdraw his arms when questioned about something that
makes him feel uncomfortable (see box 33).

Arm Behaviors in Courtship

In courtship behavior, the man will often be the first to put his arm
around his date, particularly when there is a chance that other males