Understanding body language is the art of seeing what others are thinking. It is invaluable if you are making a presentation; or even any kind of communication.

 The obvious

Keep an eye out for the obvious indicators that things are not going too well:-

• Looking at the watch;
• Shaking the wrist to see if the watch is still going;
• Pretend yawns;
• Sneak looks at the clock or a neighbor’s watch;
• Touching the watch while still maintaining eye contact.

 Quite obviously, they all mean `this has gone on long enough’.

 The less obvious

All body language is obvious when you think about it; most people don’t think about it and so miss the feedback available from the audience at all times. Watch for some of the following:-

1. Boredom – head in hands, chin resting on palms, body slumped in seat
2. Anxiety – wringing hands together
3. Defensive, un co-operative:- arms crossed, ankles crossed, sitting well back in seat
4. Apprehension – hands on knees, possible holding on to material of trousers, ankles crossed
5. Attentive, but not convinced- slumped in seat, legs stretched out, one hand hanging by side, the other resting on the knee
6. Needs clarification- sitting upright, one leg crossed over the other thigh at right angles with opposite hand holding ankle
7. Open, willing participant- sitting well back in seat, legs apart, arms resting on knees, hand in open gesture
8. Confident superiority- laid back in chair, hands clasped behind head
9. Confident- finger tips together to form a pyramid shape with the hands, sitting well back in chair
10. Reserved, confident- sitting back, fingers interlinked
11. Interested- leaning forward in seat

Obviously, the closer you get to an individual, the more you can see of his or her gestures, and the more body language you can read. Talking to a group, even a small group, will not let you get near enough to0 read anything but the broadest facial and hand gestures.

There are:-

1. Negative evaluation- resting chin on thumb, index finger under the nose, or fingers to ear lobe, or fingers to corner of the eye
2. Exasperation- hand to the back of neck at hairline with facial grimace
3. Wanting to interrupt – fingers to open mouth (not a yawn)
4. Dissatisfied – resting side of face on the palm of one hand
5. Defensive- head down, on eye contact
6. Open- head up, total contact
7. Interested- head on one side, total eye contact