“When seeking to detect body language’s hidden emotions, be observant. Because unobserved signs can be the most telling.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert
“This Is Body Language Advice You’ll Love
How To Control Hidden Emotions Better”
People don’t realize they’re always negotiating.
Body language is powerful. It is a nonverbal communication that conveys hidden messages, expresses feelings, and even deceives others. It can also reveal hidden emotions and thoughts, even when we attempt to conceal them.
Reading body language signs allows you to interpret other people’s emotions and moods better. And that enables you to understand what they think or feel at that moment.
In this article, I highlight how you can better control your body language, along with ways to uncover the hidden emotions that someone’s body attempts to conceal.
Develop Emotional Awareness
The first step to controlling your body language is developing your emotional awareness. Awareness of your emotions can help you recognize when you are anxious, angry, or sad. It also raises your understanding of the signs others emit.
Having that insight allows you to take steps to manage those emotions before they become unmanageable. Knowing the triggers that activate particular reactions will be a benefit, too. Suffice it to say when consciously aware of your feelings, you can be more mindful of your body language and control your emotions better.
Your Body Language And Hidden Emotions
Pay Attention to Your Body Language
When attempting to control your hidden emotions, paying attention to your body language is essential. For instance, you might fidget with your hands or feet if you feel nervous or anxious. By being aware of these behaviors, and others that denote such reactions, you can work on controlling them and preventing them from revealing your hidden emotions.
Be Aware Of Your Facial Expressions
Facial expressions are crucial to observing body language, especially your own. They can reveal much about how you feel, even when you attempt to hide your emotions. You may be familiar with the phrase, “I could tell by their face that something was wrong.” That is how potent your facial expressions are in signaling your inner emotions.
To control your facial expressions better, especially before entering a trying environment:
- Relax your voice: When you feel tense or stressed, your facial muscles can become tight, making frowns or scowls appear. Try to relax your face by taking deep breaths and consciously relaxing your facial muscles.
- Smile: Smiling can help you feel more positive and relaxed, and it can also help put others at ease. If you don’t feel like smiling, try it anyway – it might improve your mood 😊.
- Avoid covering your mouth: Covering your mouth with your hand or fingers can indicate that you are hiding something or feeling anxious. To avoid that perception, keep your hands away from your face, especially when you wish to be more convincing. Sometimes, when people want to hide an emotional reaction, they may cover their mouths to do just that – conceal a hidden emotion.
Unveiling Hidden Emotions Of Others Via Their Body Language
Observe Other People’s Body Language
When trying to uncover someone’s hidden emotions, it is essential to observe their body language. Everyone’s body attempts to stay in a state of comfort, and when it is not, everyone emits gestures to put their body back into a relaxed mood. During their attempts, watch the gestures they engage in. That will signal their attempt to conceal hidden emotions.
To broaden that point, if someone avoids eye contact or begins fidgeting, they may be experiencing nervousness or anxiety. To better define their emotion, note what you were discussing when they exhibited their reaction.
You may consider altering the discussion to a less stressful topic and note how they react when you reengage the stressful subject. If they react the way they did previously, that could confirm their concealment.
Detecting other people’s body language can help you better understand their hidden emotions and thoughts. Do not neglect the value and insight you can glean from doing so.
Body Language Incongruence Is Key To Hidden Emotions
Incongruences occur when a person’s verbal communication mismatches their body language. In other words, when people misalign their body language with their rhetoric, they are incongruent.
When attempting to uncover other people’s hidden emotions, it is vital to look for incongruences. An example is if someone says they are happy and, their facial expression looks sad or angry, they may be hiding their genuine emotions – recall what I stated about facial expressions earlier.
Additional Detection Of Possible Concealment Of Hidden Emotions In Body Language
In addition to what I have stated, you should note someone’s gestures via the following signs when they are:
Avoiding eye contact or looking away frequently
Touching or covering their mouth
Fidgeting or squirming in their seat
Constantly crossing and uncrossing their arms or legs
Blinking excessively or rubbing their eyes
Sweating or fondling their clothing
Making gestures or movements without a point
While those signs alone may not predict someone’s desire for concealment, the cluster of those actions points in that direction.
Reflection
Controlling hidden emotions through body language requires emotional awareness and mindfulness of one’s body language gestures and that of others. Your body language can convey confidence and sincerity or betray you for the hidden emotions you are concealing.
Observing other people’s body language and looking for incongruences between verbal and nonverbal communication can help expose their hidden emotions. By following these tips, you can improve your ability to control your own hidden emotions and better understand the hidden feelings of those around you. And everything will be right with the world.
Remember, you’re always negotiating!
Remember, you’re always negotiating!
Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://megaphone.link/CSN6318246585
After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com
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