Reading body language can save your life.

Originally posted by PayMeh

Originally posted by chasingbrahman
This is smart information. While realizing I'm on a steep learning curve when it comes to many survival skills, I've often found comfort in my education and continuing study of social psychology and body language.

Take what people say with a grain of salt. Just watch.

Another thing to keep in mind when trying to understand the intent of a stranger is that whether we want to or not, our bodies "leak" information we want to conceal. Watch the feet. They will always point in the direction the person prefers to go in, or where their deepest concern is. In men in particular, watch their chest - no matter which direction the rest of their body is favoring, a man's chest and shoulders always face what they deem to be most important in the room.

Learn the difference between a genuine and a manufactured smile. Women are typically more "natural" with this skill, but once taught what to look for, anyone can do it.

So awesome! I knew about the smiles and even more broadly fake/over exaggerated facial expressions. I did not know about the feet and chest though! Great addition!

I just found this link for a test to spot the genuine smile. The trick I was taught was not to study the mouth, but the eyes. When a smile is genuine, the space between our upper eyelid and our eyebrows involunarily contracts - but we can't actually force that action in an attempt to deceptively smile because that particular muscle's movement is controlled by a part of the brain only activated by genuine happiness!

www.bbc.co.uk...

The things you speak of are already known to me,watching for these involuntary "Tells" has been a habit of mine for quite some time.

It has become somewhat tiring over the years having always to watch and beware of everything around me,and feels like a symptom of some sort of mental illness at times.

I begin to wonder if there isn't any real delineation between mental illness and mental wellness,and there are always those psychopaths who think they are in a position to decide which is which,and then who am I to decide who is a psychopath........

I think there is some kind of mass insanity sweeping this world,like people enjoy being afraid of their own shadow,like they like to be afraid of something,anything...

And then it comes down to how little people really have to do to survive,I think an awful lot of being addicted to being afraid is that there really isn't all that much to living these days.

Like it's just something to do to keep busy.

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered “Man…. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

This world is killing us all,and we love it.

This isn't the world I want,and it won't change with the people we all trust,who run it,running it.

I don't trust anyone,but you have to trust someone,and sometimes one cannot even trust one's self,and that's the only one,one can trust


Anyways.........

reply to post by PayMeh


That explanation of body language is terrible. That body language expresses nervousness, that's it. People get nervous for many reasons. People that do harm to others are sometimes very good at not looking nervous.

Never trust anyone in that situation. Make the fact that you are armed clear. Speak to them as you would anyone else, while you keep one eye on them and one eye on the area around you.

reply to post by PayMeh


Good stuff. It seems like hardly anyone even looks up anymore, or around them; due to the distraction of phones and such. Also, becoming proficient in reading body language will get you laid.