The Definitive Book of Body Language
are mirroring what they see. Men who sit like this are not only
perceived as being more dominant, they are also seen as relax-
ed and youthful. In parts of the Middle East and Asia however,
the Figure Four is seen as an insult because it shows the sole of
the shoe and that's the part that walks in dirt.
Women who wear trousers or jeans can sometimes be seen
sitting in the Figure Four position, but they usually do it only
around other women, not men, as they don't want to appear
too masculine or to signal sexual availability.
Studies also show that most people make most of their final
decision to do something when both feet are on the ground, so
the Figure Four is not conducive to asking someone to make a
decision.
When the Body Closes, so Does the Mind
We attended a conference where the audience was split 50/50
male and female and was comprised of about 100 managers
and 500 salespeople. A controversial issue was being discussed
- the treatment of salespeople by corporations. A well-known
speaker who was head of the salespersons' association was
asked to address the group. As he took the stage almost all the
male managers and around 25% of the female managers took
the defensive Arms-and-Legs-Crossed position, revealing how
threatened they felt by what they thought he would say. Their
fears were well founded. He raged about the poor quality of
management and how this was a major contributing factor to
the industry's staffing problems. Throughout his speech, most
salespeople in the audience were either leaning forward
showing interest or using evaluation gestures, but the man-
agers held their defensive position.
When the mind closes,
the body follows.
