The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Definitive Book of Body Language

The man on the right

indicating he wants

to leave

The above illustration shows two men talking in a doorway.
The man on the left is trying to hold the other man's attention,
but his listener wants to continue in the direction his body is
pointing, although his head is turned to acknowledge the
other man's presence. It is only when the man on the right
turns his body towards the other that a mutually interesting
conversation can take place.
In any face-to-face meeting, when one person has decided to
end the conversation or wants to leave, he will turn his body or
feet to point towards the nearest exit. If this was a conversa-
tion involving you, it's a signal that you should do something
to get the person involved and interested or else terminate the
conversation on your terms, allowing you to maintain control.

What Body Angles Say

1. Open Positions
   We stated earlier that the distance between people is related to
   their degree of interest or intimacy. The angle at which people
   orient their bodies also gives non-verbal clues to their attitudes
   and relationships.
   Most animals, if they want to fight with another animal,
   will signal this by approaching head on. If the other animal