The Conflict Between Speech and Body Language
Dialogues
A contradiction between a person’s words and the spontaneous signals or gestures emitted by their body indicates a discrepancy between what they say and what they truly feel. I believe that a keen observer, especially one with strong situational awareness, quickly detects this inconsistency and can form an accurate, personal judgment about the other person, potentially revealing their true intentions (honesty or manipulation). The body language signals emitted by the other person will often convey something entirely different from their public statements.
In my personal opinion, based on careful observation of human behavior, my reading of dozens of books on body language, and my continuous engagement with this fascinating scientific field (body language), verbal and physical contradictions are prevalent in today’s turbulent world.
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Consequently, a rational individual, especially one seeking to improve their communication skills, must focus on developing their ability to read contradictions in body language to protect themselves from the influence of liars and swindlers, and to guard against those with malicious intentions. Examples of such contradictions include the following:
- Body and foot orientation: When someone speaks to you sincerely and is serious in their interaction with you, you will notice that their body, particularly their feet, is oriented toward you due to their interest in what you are saying. However, if someone is speaking to you while standing or sitting, but their feet are pointed toward the exit, they wish to stop talking to you or escape your company as quickly as possible. What they say is one thing, while the movements, gestures, and signals of their body convey something entirely different.
- Eye contact reveals hidden truths: Eyes do not lie, and no one can constantly fake their gaze to deceive others. The pupil dilates and constricts according to inner emotions; it constricts when telling the truth and dilates when lying.
- Women are more adept than men at detecting deception and fraud: Some body language experts state that women’s brains contain neural connections not found in men’s brains, enabling women to detect deception and fraud in others, as well as their innate ability to notice contradictions between verbal and non-verbal language.
A Kuwaiti writer
