What head position transmits in a conversation Charles Darwin not iced t hat when people f eel submissive t hey have a nat ural t endency t o lower t heir head, making t hemselves look smaller and less t hreat ening. Darwin also suggest ed t hat t he habit of nodding t o signal ‘yes’ was linked t o submissive lowering of t he head. Unf ort unat ely f or t his t heory, not every societ y signals af f irmat ion by nodding or dipping t he head. In India, f or example, people roll t heir head f rom side t o side t o signal ‘yes’ or t o show agreement . T his movement is quit e dif f erent f rom t he headshake, because in t he head-roll t he head is rocked f rom side t o side in t he same plane as t he f ront of t he body. T he head can eit her be rocked repeat edly f rom side t o side or t he head-roll can be perf ormed wit h a short , sharp movement of t he head t owards one of t he shoulders. Head posit ion is an import ant element in ident if ying t he int ent ions of a person during a conversat ion, can be used in t he int erpret at ion of part ner’s posit ion wit h ot her element s present ed in our previous art icles: - Indicat ions given by t he f ace of conversat ion part ner - Elbows posit ion of t he conversat ion part ner - T he f requency and cont ext of lif t ing t he shoulders - T he yawn occurrence during conversat ion - Usage of self -comf ort ing Alt hough t here are cult ural dif f erences in t he head movement s t hat people use t o signal ‘yes’ and ‘no’, t he habit of lowering t he head as a sign of submission appears t o be universal. In f act , t he head is used t o signal submission in several ways:
HEAD-DIP TELLS When individuals walk bet ween people who are having a conversat ion, you’ll not ice t hat t hey f requent ly ‘duck’ t heir head down in order t o make sure t hat t hey don’t get in t he way and t o apologize f or any inconvenience t hey may have caused. Some people produce an involunt ary dip of t he head when t hey
approach someone who’s import ant , especially when t hat person is unf amiliar t o t hem or is involved in a conversat ion wit h someone else. By wat ching people’s heads when t hey approach high-st at us individuals, it ’s possible t o ident if y how t hey f eel; t hose who are relaxed about st at us dist inct ions don’t usually produce any submissive t ells at all, whereas t hose who f eel t hat t hey are int ruding on an import ant person are likely t o reveal t heir discomf ort by dipping t heir head very slight ly.
HEAD-NOD TELLS Repet it ive nodding is also an int egral part of conversat ion. You of t en see people who are in t he list ener role nodding slowly while t he ot her person is speaking. T hey do t his bot h t o show t hat t hey are list ening and t o demonst rat e t hat t hey don’t want t o t ake over t he speaker’s role. Fast nodding also shows t hat t he list ener underst ands t he speaker, but because it cont ains a sense of urgency, it shows eit her t hat t he list ener support s t he speaker wholeheart edly or t hat t he list ener want s t o t ake over t he speaker’s role. So while slow nodding sends the message, ‘I understand what you’re saying and I want to continue listening’ , fast nodding sends one of two messages either ‘I totally agree with you’ or ‘I understand you, but hurry up, I want to say something now!’
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