People are generally very excited about the fact that Body
Language is something cool and new. But sometimes I fear that there are
individuals who may think that the knowledge of BL is something which is alien
from them, or that BL has no benefit in their lives. So this post is about
telling those who are just discovering the fun of Non-Verbal Communication and
also those who are walking around it looking at it curiously from afar but for
some reason are not coming closer, that non-verbal communication is an
extremely useful tool to have! I am so sure about this because I know I don’t
have to write this piece if you are already acquainted with it; if you use and
understand Body Language, surely you know of all the benefits that it has!
Think about it this was way: most of your life, you must
interact with others. This is how being Human works. We interact with others;
we create connections. And a very important step in the process is both
understanding their position and adequately representing yours’. People want to know the relevance of knowing
and practicing NVC, this is it: wherever there are humans (and if you can
attain mastery, animals) that we have to interact with, knowing NVC is ALWAYS
going to keep you better off in any scenario where you have others to deal
with.
And I am not the only one saying it. We are naturally
predisposed to learn about body language. You often get ‘vibes’ and ‘gut
feelings’ about a situation or a person. Sometimes, you request people to do
something for you they say “Yes”, but you feel that maybe they are not going to
go through with it. For all the female readers, you seem to get gut feelings
about men, and often you find men who may possess everything, but something
seems off about them, you don’t know what. Babies can recognize smiles without
being taught to do so, so much so that they can tell the difference between a
genuine smile and one that is feigned. I have cited these examples simply to
demonstrate that the understanding of non-verbal cues are within us, and over
and above this, it is a vital tool for survival. And this function of survival
is evident in all three examples if we think about where we have come from; in
the wild each of these proved to be pivotal tools that determined whether our hunter-gatherer
ancestors lived or died. We need to be
aware and respond accordingly to potential war-time deserters, dishonest
potential mates and even those individual who will be hostile towards us when
we are too small to defend ourselves (so we know whether to call our parent for
help by crying). When the food resources
were scarce, and incorrect life decisions meant life or death, these small
social choices went a long way. That is why understanding body language is
vital. It allows us to make decisions and take calls based on all the facts.
Even today, you may find non-verbal communication very
helpful. We have not changed as a species and those non-verbal representations
of intentions and feelings still exist, it is for the right perspective to pick
them up. When done correctly, they may find application in multiple directions.
So now, we can use our understanding of this innate function
of ours to make better life decisions with regard to social choices and
communicate and connect with others better.
Please share your experiences! Do you use Body Language in
your life? Are you aware of or have you read any literature on the topic? What
did you feel afterwards?
