The Application of the Body Language

Abstract：Human communication can be divided into verbal communication and non-verbal communication， of which non-verbal communication plays a very important role. This article focuses on the application of the body language， in order to let the readers know how to use the body language in daily life， in teaching class and in speech correctly.

Key Words：body language; application

Nonverbal communication， like verbal communication is also a part of culture and also carrier of certain culture. The function of nonverbal communication in the whole communication can’t be overlooked. “We use body language everywhere. Here I just cite some examples of the application of the body language.

1、Body language in teaching

In daily life， when teachers encourage their students or leaders appreciate their employees， they will pat their shoulders to express encouragement. As far as the English teaching in the middle schools is concerned， teachers have to arouse the students' interest so that they may learn better. There are many ways to arouse the students' interest and help them to learn better， and body language used in English teaching is a case in point.

Body language is an important media through which people communicate with each other. It refers to the patterns of facial expressions and gestures that people use to express their feelings in communication. The specialist on body language research， Fen. Lafle. Angles， once said: \"Once it was lost， a baby couldn't have grown into a normal person\". It's also true to the juveniles. In school education， body language plays a positive role in cultivating the students' characters. For， teachers are usually respected， and factually， what or how the teachers say and do will be possibly imitated by the students (sometimes subconsciously). In a short， teachers' graceful body language helps to improve the students' artistic-appreciation and moral character. If the students develop a wonderful body language， which will possibly leads them to form an optimistic and active feeling， they will surely have a more smooth interpersonal relation.

The affection of teachers' body language on the students is reflected not only by establishing a good example， but also by shortening the teacher-student estrangement by which a more harmonious studying atmosphere is created. As a matter of fact， teachers' friendly appearance can greatly encourage the students' studying enthusiasm. Furthermore， the characteristics of theoretic and abstraction of knowledge also requires the vivid， dramatic and an accessible gestures to make it specific and figurative. As a result， the students' interest is motivated and the effect of teaching is greatly improved.

2、Body language in speech

Speech language tips for every public speaker who wants to make his body language more effective when advocating for his persuasion speech topics. This is part four of my speech therapy idea section.

1) Eye contact is crucial for communication. Depending on cultural region and possibly social status， eye contact communicates a wealth of information. For instance， in some countries it is wrong to stare anywhere but the ground if a person is talking to a superior or boss. In European and western countries， it is more polite to look the person that is you are conversing with directly in the eyes.

●Not all the time， try to mirror their speech language.

●Aim for about 2/3rds of your time looking at them， and the rest of the time looking away.

2) Your posture is the next speech language form to clue those around you in about what you are thinking and feeling:

●Develop a neutral stance. This means a firm， not rigid， upright posture.

●To know how this feels， back up to a nearby wall， make sure your heels are touching the baseboards， now line up the rest of your body so that your rear， shoulders， and the back of your head also touch the wall， now suck in your tummy just enough that you are not slouching. This speech language tip may seem awkward at first， but you will feel more energetic and soon it will be second nature.

●Next you need to know two other posture features to present， the lean forward and the lean back. These ever so slightly different postures are the keys to communicating two things. Slightly leaning back gives the impression of self confidence and trust in the other person. Leaning forward ever so slightly conveys interest.

3)Your facial expressions speak louder than your words. Be aware of eye and eye brow movements at all times. The wrong twitch conveys anger or hatred. However， raised eye brows， a slight smile， and tightening of the facial muscles can convey interest and pleasure. So it is advisable for you to spend a few moments in front of the mirror practicing different types of smiles. Some smiles convey happiness and interest， while others may seem fake of off-putting. Never underestimate the power of hearing. Try to listen twice as much as we talk， which includes the conversations we hold inside our heads. Strive for a balance in your textual speech language and body movements.

4) Your hands， arms， and legs play the next biggest role.

There are many hand gestures to use as speech language. While you could make the study of hand gestures a project later on， now it is optimal that you just try to use hand gestures that naturally come to mind. Relate messages when you talk to those you're very close to. Most of these same simple and descriptive hand gestures will fine:

●An upright and vertical handshake is best. Your arms are the next to give you away. Too close to the body and they convey stand-offishness and insecurity. Too far away conveys an outgoing and possibly flamboyant attitude.

●Move them naturally either beside you or keep them behind you. Never ever cross them， unless you really want to show your heated anger about something.

Same speech language tip goes for the legs. A neutral stance， legs a few inches part is best. Keep them as still as possible， nothing shows nervousness more than twitching legs. And be aware of crossed legs， especially where the ankle or calf rests on the knee. This it conveys distrust. Either distrust in the other person， or that they shouldn’t trust you. And be aware of this gesture language in others for the same reasons.

5) Pay attention to the angle of your body when you try to convince the audience about the contents of your speech topics. This gives others a clue into how you feel about them. This includes the angle of the points of our shoes， and how we face our bodies.

Of course， it is hard to do in a room full of people， or in large groups. But in most cases， if we angle our feet and shoulders and face towards the person we most trust， are most interested in， or we are talking to， it is a good figure of speech in our body speech language. This includes the tilt of the head and if we lean side to side.

●Physically leaning to the right or left towards a person signifies closeness or friendship.

●A head tilted to the right or the left is speech language for thinking about what other people are saying.

●A neutral head position tells people we are confident， or in authority， depending on the conversation. Let’s consider personal space， too.

Try to mirror what others do in this case. But generally， there is a point when close is too close and it varies from person to person. Too far away can make people think you are standoffish and don’t like them， or that something is wrong with you. So notice if someone pulls in a little closer， or pulls back a little further and take the speech language hint.

3、Body language in life

In the daily communication， it is a common scene that people can’t communicate efficiently by verbal language alone. And nonverbal communication will express clear meanings in a certain context. And a certain nonverbal communication should be connected with verbal communication or the other nonverbal communication to provide correct information.”（葉顯萍2008:37）So we must choose correct body movement at the right place， when we shake hands with others ，when we talk with others.

4、 Conclusion

It is difficult to master body language because of its complexity， but we can improve our communicative abilities if we try our utmost to learn what we should know and follow the principles mentioned above. What we should do is to remember how people from different cultures act and to keep an understanding and tolerant attitude towards the differences. Only when we make a clear understanding on body language can we use body language of English speaking countries to make an efficient communication and avoid misunderstanding.

參考文獻(xiàn)：

[1]黃紅霞.身勢語中的文化差異[J].武漢交通科技大學(xué)學(xué)報， 2000，第13期，36頁

[2]李樹剛.非語言交際在英語課堂教學(xué)中的運用及其文化差異[J].瓊州大學(xué)學(xué)報2004，第3期，7-20頁。

[3]王揚.多維視野中的語言研究[M].成都：西南交通大學(xué)出版社，2007