Body Language: Clue or Confusion?
- Friday, January 14 2011 @ 08:03 am
- Contributed by: Jet
- Views: 1,753
It’s natural to want an “edge” on the game of dating. There’s so much uncertainty when it comes to love that, like poker, we seek to control as many of the variables as we can. Lately, a popular “trick” in the first-date arsenal is analyzing body language.
Body language is one of those things that we often pick up on subconsciously, but supposedly certain “tells” will let you know without a doubt if your date is interested or not. Are they really foolproof? Well, let’s look at some of the most common ones and decide for ourselves.
One of the most common clues that your date is having a good time involves the angle of the entire body. If your date is angled toward you, or leaning forward, or even crossing their legs toward you, these are all considered very good signs. Other clues involve the face - eye contact is, understandably, positive, as are smaller signals like licking lips.
Conversely, the absence of all these indicates an uninterested date. If they have their arms crossed, they might be placing a defensive “shield” between the two of you. If their legs are crossed away, if they look uncomfortable, or keep a distance between the two of you, the date might be headed downward.
But are these signs really accurate? It’s easy to get a number of “false positives” or “false negatives.” For example, anyone who’s ever sat with crossed legs knows it can get uncomfortable after awhile; eventually you have to switch to the opposite side. Your date might be licking their lips because they’re chapped. Your arms might be crossed because you’re cold or tired. And even the most uncomfortable, distant-looking date could simply be having digestive problems.
Ultimately, whether you’re analyzing every word of a profile or the smallest facial twitch, there’s no foolproof way to get an “edge” on dating. Sure, it’s good to know the basics, just in case you catch a blatant signal; however, remember that we also do all of this analysis subconsciously. Perhaps, at times, it’s best to let the primal parts of our brains do the work, and simply enjoy a date.
Body language is one of those things that we often pick up on subconsciously, but supposedly certain “tells” will let you know without a doubt if your date is interested or not. Are they really foolproof? Well, let’s look at some of the most common ones and decide for ourselves.
One of the most common clues that your date is having a good time involves the angle of the entire body. If your date is angled toward you, or leaning forward, or even crossing their legs toward you, these are all considered very good signs. Other clues involve the face - eye contact is, understandably, positive, as are smaller signals like licking lips.
Conversely, the absence of all these indicates an uninterested date. If they have their arms crossed, they might be placing a defensive “shield” between the two of you. If their legs are crossed away, if they look uncomfortable, or keep a distance between the two of you, the date might be headed downward.
But are these signs really accurate? It’s easy to get a number of “false positives” or “false negatives.” For example, anyone who’s ever sat with crossed legs knows it can get uncomfortable after awhile; eventually you have to switch to the opposite side. Your date might be licking their lips because they’re chapped. Your arms might be crossed because you’re cold or tired. And even the most uncomfortable, distant-looking date could simply be having digestive problems.
Ultimately, whether you’re analyzing every word of a profile or the smallest facial twitch, there’s no foolproof way to get an “edge” on dating. Sure, it’s good to know the basics, just in case you catch a blatant signal; however, remember that we also do all of this analysis subconsciously. Perhaps, at times, it’s best to let the primal parts of our brains do the work, and simply enjoy a date.
Subscribe
