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READING BODY LANGUAGE LIKE THE EXPERTS
The New Yorker
|June 26, 2023
We can understand so much about W people are communicating by simply paying attention to their physical cues. Let's say that you're walking down the street and pass a guy who raises his arm in the air, then swings a knife at you. Body-language-wise, he wants to stab you.

Or how about if you're at work, and your boss calls you into her office, then takes a swipe at you with a knife? Well, that's already two people who have tried to take you out.
Maybe you're on a first date and the person seems pretty great so far. You're starting to feel a physical attraction toward her but aren't sure if it's mutual, because she's not waggling her tongue back at you, and it's been more than a minute.
Another scenario: You're at dinner, and someone at the table next to yours stands up, red-faced, and starts pounding his chest with his fist. At first, you assume that he must be choking. But after taking a minute to think more language-he's critically about his body dead now. Don't be afraid to trust your first instinct with this stuff.
Your eyebrows alone can communicate more than you realize. One raised eyebrow means that you're intrigued, while two raised eyebrows means that you're surprised, and no eyebrows means that you're in Blue Man Group.
This story is from the June 26, 2023 edition of The New Yorker.
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