Non-verbal communication

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhU5QZPdZ70

Video Info: Learn how to flirt with body language signals and how to read body language in this free video on body language communication skills.
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Take a few minutes off and have a look at the video. Youtube has endless videos like the one mentioned and it offers insights and ways to lure the opposite sex into your awaiting arms.

The video shows or rather explains to the clueless how to flirt and interpret a person touches and other body languages. I have to admit, the video does give new insights and is very informative to say the least.

Body language has always been an interesting, albeit confusing, concept to me. It lays the groundwork for all the mixed messages that men get from women and vice versa. The guy who does not move away when his knee touches yours, the stranger who holds your gaze for a little bit too long and the girl who looks at you over her shoulder, smiling just a little. He/she is probably attracted to you.

Or so you think. Are you sure?

Psychologists have constantly studied the way a person acts in response to another. If a person's feet is pointing in your direction, he/she is interested in you. If she is fiddling with her hair or watch, she is interested. The list is endless. However, real life is never that simple or easy. She might just be nervous or the person's feet is pointing in your direction because he/she is sitting in front of you. Life is hardly ever perfect and with simple answers.

Reading body language alone can lead to miscommunication. One of the easiest example is, of course, mixed messages that a person gets from the opposite sex. What could be seen as plain friendly to a girl may seem suggestive to the opposite sex.

While blog-hopping once, I came across a complain from a blogger that a girl mistook his touch as suggestive. As the two of them (the girl and the blogger) were at a club, the blogger put his hand on her back while she shouted her words in his ear. An action as such would probably be dismissed as "a natural reaction" in Western societies. In Asia, it is interpreted as a sort of advancement. I too, admit that if that were to happen to me I would wonder if the person is showing interest or is just being a "gentleman(?)" (for lack of a better word to describe an action as such). So where does one differenciate the fine line between flirtation and just a simple touch?

On a whole different agenda, talking online lacks the guessing game of body language. One cannot see the other person's reactions, facial expression, gestures and where his/her feet are pointing. It should also be noted that communication happens mostly through body language. The things that are not said is more audible then the things that are.

The guessing game of body language has become a science in today's world. Obviously, there is no way one read a person just by non-verbal communication. The two modes of communication work hand in hand. Face to face communication without body language and gestures lacks intimacy and chemistry. It is no wonder that two people can long for each other even when they call everyday or meet online everyday.

I believe that everyone should study the basics of this concept as it can be used to their advantage be it to deceive or to cover up frayed nerves. If you walk and look confident, you feel confident too and thus, learning about body language allows you to emulate the vibe that you want to give off to others and at the same time possibly give you the inner boost that you need.

However confusing body language is and how many mixed messages one gets in a lifetime, the thrill of trying to interpret body language is exhilarating (when dating) and gives one a certain buzz. I say heck it, take the plunge and miscommunicate through body language!