Familiarity And Personal vs. Professional Settings

When we are around someone we are familiar with, our body language naturally becomes more relaxed. Whereas touching and embracing are commonplace gestures in the presence of friends and family, such demonstrations of affection and emotion are less acceptable in the workplace.

A normally demonstrative father may become downright stolid when placed in the more rigid workplace environment.

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As such, the body language student must take the situation into account, noting whether it is more professional or personal, as vastly different interpretations of postures and gestures in each situation will apply.

For example, consider a work situation involving two members of the opposite sex. While space constraints and job duties may warrant close contact, professional men and women usually want to avoid sending off sexual cues toward one another.

In such a PROFESSIONAL situation, one might create the appropriate distance by omitting an essential part of the normally sexual body language, or by making it incomplete.

For example, a man and a woman who find themselves in close face-to-face physical contact may turn part of their bodies away from each other to eliminate the flirting factor. If you were to observe the same body language in a clearly PERSONAL situation however, it might suggest that the two were angry (or even disgusted) with one another.