I often refer to a particular group of people who have influenced me more than any other. I have a close group of friends that I went to school with and we played soccer together and we remain best friends even though they all lead very different lives today. At school we called ourselves the A-Team and we still tend to refer to ourselves as that when we have meetings.
I talked to one of them this week and we were laughing like crazy about something we used to do as kids at school. It wasn’t an exclusive trait of the A-Team, all the kids did it. What was this thing? Every time we didn’t believe anything someone told us, we would touch our chins and say “Oooh, yeah… Jimmy Hill.”
This sounds crazy, doesn’t it? The man who used to present Match of the day on Saturday nights with the best football moments of the day was called Jimmy Hill. A former football player for England and Fulham and had become the most famous pundit in the country. Unmistakably characterized by his spiky spiky beard that he kept on his chin. We would rub our chins and do Jimmy Hill imitations to show that we didn’t believe something we were told.
Especially since one of our friends used to tell us that his dad played for Manchester United, he was also a Formula One racing driver and his older brother had won the World’s Strongest Man competition! “Oh yeah…Jimmy Hill…”
Jimmy Hill’s gesture was not too far off the mark when it came to hand-to-face gestures to indicate deception or suspected deception. Hand-to-face gestures tell us a lot.
When I mention certain hand-to-cheek gestures and hand-to-chin gestures, these too can be noted and evaluated to gauge the temperature of the person’s attitude towards you and your presentation or communication. You can often tell how well you are doing with that communication.
Boredom can be noted with body language quite obviously. If the person snores loudly and yawns, then either they went to bed late or you may not be stimulating their brain as much as would be beneficial or desirable.
When any listener begins to use their hands to prop up their head, it’s a sign that boredom may well have set in and they’re raising their head to keep them from falling asleep. Often the listener’s degree of boredom is related to the extent to which the arm and hand are supporting the head.
It usually starts with the chin held by the thumb and then the fist as interest dissipates further. If the head is completely supported by the hands, this is usually the last sign of boredom.
Many people think that if a person continuously taps their fingers or feet on the ground, it is also a sign of boredom. In reality, they are more likely to show impatience. If you are talking to an individual or a group and their bored gestures are accompanied by continual impatient tapping, then it may be time to change tactics or go!
Assessment is shown with a closed hand resting on the chin or cheek, often with the index finger pointing up. When the person begins to lose interest but still wants to appear interested out of politeness, the position will be altered so that the heel of the hand supports the head when boredom sets in.
When I’ve worked with company department or section heads, I often use this gesture to show they’re interested in what a manager is saying, even if he’s being boring or boring. Unfortunately, however, as soon as the hand begins to support the head in any way, it gives away the game, and the director is likely to perceive the insincerity in this gesture.
Genuine interest is shown when the hand rests lightly on the cheek and is not used as a support for the head. When the index finger points vertically towards the cheek and the thumb supports the chin, the listener is having negative or critical thoughts about the speaker or the topic being communicated.
This gesture is often mistaken for a sign of interest, but the supporting thumb under the chin often tells the truth about the critical attitude.
Perhaps you have seen Rodin’s “The Thinker” which showed a reflective and evaluative attitude. If not, you can google images online.
On any future occasion where you have the opportunity to present an idea to a group of people, watch them carefully as you give them your idea and you may notice that most will put a hand to their face and use an appraising gesture. When you get to the end of your presentation and ask the group for feedback, comments, or suggestions on their ideas, the evaluation gestures usually stop and a chin-stroking gesture begins. This chin flick is the signal that the listener is going through the decision-making process.
When you’ve asked the listeners for their decision and they start stroking their chins, their next gestures will indicate whether their decision is negative or positive. Your best strategy is to stay still and observe their next gestures, which will indicate the decision made. For example, if the chin movement is followed by crossed arms and legs and the person leans back in their chair, the answer is most likely “no.” This provides an early opportunity to resell the benefits before the other person verbalizes “no” and makes it more difficult to reach an agreement.
If after the chin touch he leans forward with open arms or takes your proposal or sample, you probably have a “yes” and can proceed as if you had an agreement.
Someone who wears glasses sometimes follows an appraisal gesture by removing the glasses and bringing one arm out of the frame to their mouth rather than using chin movement in making their decision. Sometimes when a person puts their pen or finger to their mouth after asking for a decision, it is a sign that they are not sure and need reassurance. The object in the mouth allows that person to stop and not feel any urgency to give an immediate response.
Sometimes boredom, appraisal, and decision-making gestures are combined, each showing different elements of the person’s attitude.
Head banging like Homer Simpson: Doh!
When you say a person is a “sore neck,” you’re referring to the age-old reaction of the tiny erector pilus muscles in the neck, often called “goosebumps,” trying to make your non-existent skin pop. Erice to make you seem more intimidating because you feel threatened or angry.
It’s the same creepy reaction an angry dog ​​has when confronted with another potentially hostile dog. This reaction causes the tingling sensation he experiences on the back of his neck when he is frustrated or fearful. Usually he will rub his hand over the area to satisfy the sensation.
Suppose, for example, that you asked someone to do you a small favor and they had forgotten to do it for you. When you ask them the result, they slap each other on the forehead (as Homer does) or on the back of the neck, as if they were symbolically hitting each other.
Although head pats are used to communicate forgetfulness, it is important to note whether pats are being given to the forehead or neck. If they slap each other on the forehead, they indicate that they are not intimidated by you bringing up your forgetfulness. However, when they hit the nape of the neck to satisfy the erector pilaris muscles, it tells you that you are literally a “pain in the neck” to mention it. If the person hits their butt, then… 😉
Acquiring the ability to accurately interpret hand-to-face gestures, as discussed last week and this week, requires time and observation. Of course, there are no hard and fast rules and each should be taken in context to get a good idea.
When a person uses any of the coping hand gestures I mentioned last week and this, it’s reasonable to assume that a negative thought has entered the mind. The question is though, what is negative thinking? It can be doubt, deceit, uncertainty, exaggeration, apprehension, or outright lie. The real skill is the ability to interpret which negative is correct.