Body language or how to sit

Show me the way you sit and I’ll tell you what you are thinking…Body language can sometimes say more than the most elaborate speech. We use it every day as a basic, involuntary form of communication. It is the language which informs of attitudes, preferences and feelings. Much can be inferred from the way we sit, which seems to represent a spontaneous expression of our character or mood, but is also affected by many external factors.
For example:
A person who sits comfortably in the whole seat makes a statement such as “this place is rightfully mine, I intend to stay here for as long as I wish and I will not be got rid of easily”.

If someone sits cautiously on the edge of the chair and his or her centre of gravity is directly above the toes, the immediate impulse expressed is the desire to get up at any time. The message communicated in this way is “I haven’t got much time and want to leave as soon as I can”.

Anyone occupying just half of the seat as if the other half is left for someone else is said to exhibit a lack of self-confidence.

If you fall down into your seat as if your body is heavy and tired, you may in fact be tired, but what you communicate is a lack of direction, will or backbone.

Those who sit on the chair back to front appear to hide behind the mask of carelessness and casual behaviour; but what is truly expressed is indecisiveness and a desire for a hiding place and protection.

Rocking in the chair and leaning backward is the position of the observer. People who sit like this are usually opinionated and are only waiting for the right moment to express what they are already settled on.

Sitting on the arm expresses familiarity, perhaps with a slight desire to dominate your interlocutors and the whole scene.

These are only some of the examples of what your body language says about you. We are preparing a whole new section called “saying without speaking”, which will tell you much more about the way people sit and the involuntary, wordless messages they send.