What is 'body language'?
Body language refers to the kinds of cultural differences in the ways in which people use their bodies. But sometimes it's very easy to misread cues. For example, there was a woman I know who was giving examples of active listening as a mode of being a good teacher. And active listening means listening all the way. So she had her students, who were all teachers, role play. One would be talking and the other would be listening. The one who was listening was sitting down, the one who was talking was standing up. The listener in one case, was like this. Now most of us have had a little bit of pop psychology, and most of us believe that when we have our hands crossed in front of us, it means we are resistant to that idea, we are rejecting that idea. And, in fact, when the woman who was seated was confronted about how resistant she was, she says "no, I'm not resistant, that's not true at all, but in Vietnam, when we cross our hands, it means that we're not being, Body language refers to the kinds of cultural differences in the ways in which people use their bodies. But sometimes it's very easy to misread cues. For example, there was a woman I know who was giving examples of active listening as a mode of being a good teacher. And active listening means listening all the way. So she had her students, who were all teachers, role play. One would be talking and the other would be listening. The one who was listening was sitting down, the one who was talking was standing up. The listener in one case, was like this. Now most of us have had a little bit of pop psychology, and most of us believe that when we have our hands crossed in front of us, it means we are resistant to that idea, we are rejecting that idea. And, in fact, when the woman who was seated was confronted about how resistant she was, she says "no, I'm not resistant, that's not true at all, but in Vietnam, when we cross our hands, it means that we're not fiddling and fidgeting and that we are giving you our entire attention." So it was really important in that class, to show that there are different signals, that there are no universal body languages. fiddling and fidgeting, that we are giving you our entire attention." So it was really important in that class, to show that there are different signals, that there are no universal body languages.
