An individuals posture and body positioning says a lot about the person and his/her upbringing. They are a major part of a person’s body language and reflect their attitude towards things and people in general to a great deal. The posture and body positioning of people differ if they are from different places. A simple posture such as keeping ones feet on the table can be considered as an offending act to a person belonging to the Arab countries whereas the same body posture and positioning is taken as very normal in America.
The importance of body posture and positioning as a means of non verbal communication is very evident since childhood. A child first learns to communicate through sign language before they learn to speak. As a person grows up, his/her body posture and position becomes a reflection of their self esteem and confidence. Posture and body positioning is an important communication tool as certain dance forms such as ballet depend solely on them to convey many different stories and messages.
How a person says something is more important than what he/she says. An individual’s body language can make the difference between a good public image and a bad one. Suppose while giving a speech, a person keeps shifting from one leg to another and continuously repeats clenching and unclenching of ones fist, then that clearly indicates poor confidence level and nervousness on the speaker’s part. The same public performance with open palms and a relaxed backward or forward leaned posture and body positioning could have spelled success.
The interpretation of body positioning and posture differs from place to place and so does their frequency among people of different places. Its common to see people sitting with their leg up or spread wide as a way of relaxing in the west , this posture is rarely seen to be common in Islamic countries who consider feet to be the dirtiest part of ones body and consider it uncivil and rude to keep it facing someone. As far as different interpretations of the same posture and body positioning in different countries is concerned , a good example is the symbol of ‘OK ‘ in American which is very common and causal there .Incidentally the same symbol is used for indicating money in Japan and in Brazil it is considered as obscene. Another example of a posture with varied interpretation is the gesture of beckoning someone with ones palm up. This particular gesture which is absolutely acceptable in the US is considered as rude in many Latin American countries as they only call animals with their palm up.
Ones posture and body positioning can say a lot about a person’s attitude. A backward or forward leaning posture indicates positivism. Speaking with ones arm folded indicates that the speaker is disinterested, bored and doesn’t welcome suggestions and interruptions. It suggests closing entry to oneself or introverts ness .The same attitude is reflected if a person is facing away from another person while talking as that suggests poor attentiveness or day dreaming.
Posture and body positioning can be used by a person to his /her advantage if used in the proper way .But in the improper way; it can suggest rudeness and uncivil behavior even if a person is not that verbal. Improper hand gestures suggests bad body language and so does shaking ones legs or arms without reason. Sitting or walking in a slouched posture or crossing ones legs again adds to bad posture and body positioning whereas sitting and walking straight , with a spring to ones step, sitting with ones feet slightly crossed and keeping ones chin up adds a charm to an individuals personality.
Furthermore a person’s posture and body positioning can speak volumes about a person .From that individual’s outlook to their personal emotions to dislikes, everything can be revealed by one’s body language. It’s easy to guess the relationship between two persons through their postures and body positioning. If one person is sitting in a relaxed posture and the other one in a stiff position, then probably one is superior to another in rank or relation. If two people are sitting with leaning posture and body positioning towards each other and holding hands , they are probably a couple. A balanced posture (in which a person has his left part congruent to his right) is considered as manner full.
It’s very evident that ones posture and body positioning decides to a great extent how the person is perceived by the world; so working on ones body language is definitely a task worthy of thought.