Can You Speak The Language of Body?

Body Language Link

Do actions speak louder than words? According to this article, it stresses that body language is important when communicating. One reason I chose this article is because I’m so trusting of people and I find it intriguing that there are signs which can give away people’s hidden intentions. In fact, there are people who read body language for a living. I would love to have a job where I study people all day. It’s like I get paid to people watch! 

This article is related to language because it studies the language of the human body. Once, I remember reading that nonverbal human communication is approximately 92% of communication. What I find most interesting about the article is how the article breaks down body language into several sections then gives a “disclaimer/warning” of some sort. There is a “one size does not fit all” section and a “tips” section. These sections explain that body language differs from cultures and one should not use body language to try to manipulate situations in a negative manner. I find this interesting because I find that knowledge is power and I feel that absolute power can corrupt absolutely. I definitely agree with the article in the sense that certain bodily actions are common. For example, the body language for lying tends to be common and the body language for confidence tends to be common specifically in the United States.

I would love to learn more about this topic. I feel that by possessing the ability to read body language affectively will give me an upper hand when it comes to my profession. I plan on going into the field of human resource management and one of my responsibilities may be hiring people. I need to know how to read people and select the best candidates for employment. Not only does body language affect employment, it affects the world. As humans, we need to understand that different cultures have different expectations for body language such as showing the soles of your feet in Arabic countries is rude. People need to be considerate and respectful. In addition, people who possess body language skills should use their abilities for good.

Now I must end this with a quote I found:

What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What Does a Giraffe Say? Hopefully Not The Same Thing As A Fox...

Link: Giraffe Communication



I find this article to be very interesting because most people seem to overlook the communication process among animals. I chose this article because my favorite animal is a giraffe. Giraffes are stereotyped to be quiet, gentle creatures. According to this article, giraffes have a language of their own and communicate in low tones. These tones are sometimes so low that it'll take evaluating them with infrasound. Unfortunately using certain sound detecting technology can be very time consuming and expensive.

 

Fortunately there are two types of communication processes that humans can study. Giraffes can communicate with sounds. The other process is with body language. The most interesting fact I found was that male giraffes make coughing noises to attract female giraffes. Another example of communication with sounds is between a mother giraffe and her offspring. Mother giraffes make whistling noises at her offspring. An example of giraffe body language is when giraffes are communicating with necking. It actually looks quite violent. I will find a video of necking and post it in my comments box.

 

After reading this article, I agree with the statement that giraffes are smarter than what we give them credit for. I would definitely like to learn more about how my favorite animals communicate. I find it fascinating that these quiet creatures have a language that is so quiet it almost feels secretive. I feel that this topic affects the world because it shows that animals such as giraffes are not as inferior compared to the human species. They are capable of creating their own language system just like we are. It just puts it in prospective that humans overlook a lot of qualities from animals which they used to survive and evolve.

 

So to end this with a quote: Knowledge “speaks” but wisdom “listens”