Queen Sarkar

Assistant Professor
Rajagiri Centre for Business Studies

Coming to terms with the

Language of the Body
“Wheel of Emotions”- Robert Plutchik
 Primary Emotions

1. Joy
2. Trust
3. Fear
4. Surprise
5. Sadness
6. Anticipation
7. Anger
8. Disgust
 Each primary emotion has a polar opposite

•Joy is the opposite of Sadness

•Fear is the opposite of Anger
•Anticipation is the opposite of
Surprise
•Disgust is the opposite of Trust
Combination of Emotions
• Anger + Anticipation = Aggressiveness
• Anticipation + Joy = Optimism
• Joy + Trust = Love
• Trust + Fear = Submission
• Fear + Surprise = Alarm
• Surprise + Sadness = Disappointment
• Sadness + Disgust = Remorse
• Disgust + Anger = Contempt
• Anger + Joy = Pride
• Anticipation + Trust = Fatalism
• Joy + Fear = Guilt
• Trust + Surprise = Curiosity
• Fear + Sadness = Despair
• Surprise + Disgust = Unbelief
• Sadness + Anger = Envy
• Disgust + Anticipation = Cynicism
• Anger + Trust = Dominance
• Anticipation + Fear = Anxiety
• Joy + Surprise = Delight
• Trust + Sadness = Sentimentality
• Fear + Disgust = Shame
• Surprise + Anger = Outrage
• Sadness + Anticipation = Pessimism
• Disgust + Joy = Morbidness
Parrott’s Tree-Structured Theory
Non-verbal Communication/Body Language
Emotions speak more through body!
 Elements of NVC
•Posture
•Gesture
•Body Movement
•Facial Expression
•Eye Contact
•Space
•Voice
 Posture
•Exhibit poise and grace

•Stand relaxed, comfortably upright,

balancing on both the legs

•Watch out for: rocking/swaying, leaning/hip

sit, frozen poses such as the stiff ‘attention’
 Body Movement
•Move naturally

•Need not stand still or plan every move

•Lean forward to emphasize

•Avoid random, nervous, quick movements

 Hand and Arm Gesture
•Excessive hand gestures is NOT a good sign of
communication

•Avoid hand position in a single posture such as

‘fig leaf’ (clasped in front), ‘parade rest’ (clasped
back), ‘gunshot wound’ (hand clutching opposite
arm), podium clutch, etc.
 Facial Expression

•Face relaxed to look interested/animated; don’t

yawn either while speaking or listening

•Avoid: ‘poker face’, inappropriate expression

such as smiling while speaking unpleasant things
 Eye Contact – the listener-speaker connector
•Spread your gaze evenly across your audience
but not for too long

•Don’t focus on one face!

•Avoid staring at visuals/slides, skywards or at an

imaginary point on wall
 NVC: Types/Jargons

•Physiognomy – Judging through Facial

Expression
•Kinesics - body movement and gesture
•Proxemics - use of interpersonal space
•Oculesics - eye gaze
•Haptics - touch
•Chronemics - time
•Paralinguistics- vocal cues and silence
Physiognomy
• the art of discovering temperament and character from outward
appearance
• the facial features held to show qualities of mind or character by their
configuration or expression
Kinesics
• Comes from the root word kinesis, which means “movement”, and
refers to the study of hand, arm, body and face movements
• It is an interpretation of body movement communication such as
facial expressions and gestures, non verbal movement related to any
part of the body or the body as a whole
Proxemics
• Proxemics refers to the study of how space and distance influence
communication
• Proxemics is a theory of non-verbal communication that explains how
p There are four main kinds of territories in proxemics:
• 1. Body Territory – refers to the personal space, or “bubble,” that one
maintains around their person.
• 2. Primary Territory – one’s home, vehicle or other living space.
• 3. Secondary Territory – a structured place where entry is reserved
for particular individuals and certain norms are expected, such as a
school, office or church.
• 4. Public Territory – an open space where anyone can come and go,
such as a park or shopping mall.
• People perceive and use space to achieve communication goals.
Oculesics
• We also communicate through eye behaviors, primarily eye
contact called oculesics, which comes from the Latin word
oculus, meaning “eye.”
• It is the study of eye movement, eye behavior, gaze, and eye-
related nonverbal communication.
Haptics
• Refers to the study of communication by touch
• The sense of touch is the fundamental component of haptic
communication for interpersonal relationships.
• Touch can be categorized in many terms such as positive,
playful, control, ritualistic, task-related or unintentional.
• It can be both sexual (kissing is one example that some
perceived as sexual), and platonic (such as hugging or
a handshake).
Chronemics
• The study of the role of time in communication, especially
how people perceive the notion and the value of time
• It is a powerful tool to know how to organize your time and
how to react in time.
Paralinguistics
• Paralinguistic signals and cues refer to every element and
nuance of your speech.
• "Paralinguistics is commonly referred to as that which is left
after subtracting the verbal content from speech. The simple
cliche, language is what is said, paralanguage is how it is
said, can be misleading because frequently how something is
said determines the precise meaning of what is said."
— Owen Hargie, Christine Saunders, and David Dickson
Thank You!