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Correctly Interpreting Body Language: Show Me How You Behave and I’ll Tell You What You’re Thinking

Humans communicate constantly – with words, but above all with body language. This says a lot about us. You can pay attention to this when interpreting body language.

Understand body language – why?

Why should you deal with your own body language? Dr knows that Simon Breil from the University of Munster. He researches the connection between non-verbal language and personality perception. It has been proven that the perception of personalities is very strongly influenced by how we present ourselves, “before we have even spoken a word to each other,” says Breil.

It is well known that first impressions count. And this is derived 95% from our body language and only 5% from what we say. Other people form an image of us based on our body language. Precisely because we find it difficult to consciously control our facial expressions and gestures, it often speaks the truth about what we are actually thinking and feeling.

Is my counterpart telling the truth, is he comfortable? Understanding what your own body language and that of those around you is signaling can help you better understand others. communication becomes easier. In addition, a healthy posture can also have a positive effect on the inner body feeling.

What clear signals are there?

The movements in our face sometimes say a lot about our inner being. A frown can symbolize confusion or anger. A real smile is easy to tell apart from an artificial one. Do the cheeks lift, do small wrinkles appear next to the eyes? Body language is difficult to deceive. Another important aspect of facial expressions is eye contact, which can be used in many different ways. When two eyes cross each other on the dance floor, it’s an expression of mutual interest. You pay attention by looking. But be careful: Eye contact that lasts too long can also be uncomfortable or offensive. If the other person avoids eye contact, they don’t seem interested in you or are embarrassed.

It is also important what we do with our arms, legs and hands. There are gestures that are almost universally understood: raising your hand to greet someone, waving goodbye. If you like something, give it a thumbs up. But our body subconsciously controls many gestures. Anyone who has ever tried to keep their hands still while talking will quickly realize that this is almost impossible. Because the centers for speech and hand movements are close together in the brain. Man gestures to visually support what is being said.

Whether it’s for job interviews, lectures or on a first date – a confident posture is convincing. Anyone who walks and stands upright appears self-confident. A dynamic gait and relaxed arms support this impression. A sunken attitude, however, reflects insecurity, possibly also sadness. Anyone who carries their arms close to their body and takes small steps when walking appears tense. During conversations, you should lean forward a little to pay attention to the other person.

This is how you convince with your own body language

Not everyone has the same prerequisites for correctly assessing facial expressions, gestures and posture. However, being able to interpret signals is a first step in working on your own body language. Here it helps, for example, to observe other people, they can be friends, but also strangers. What gestures and facial expressions do they use to underline their words? How does their behavior appear to the outside world? It is also particularly interesting to do the same with politicians. Because they have often gone through coaching.

Politicians appear determined and self-confident through their body language. The same applies here: not everyone is a natural talent. Insecure people can practice body language in front of the mirror. The social psychologist Amy Cuddy developed the concept of “power poses”. Various exercises should help to radiate self-confidence. To expand the chest area, the hands can be crossed behind the head. Hands on the hips and hands on the front edge of the desk should also convey a confident impression.

You want to permanently change your body language? Rhetoric courses, drama, pantomime or dance can also help. The language of the body is constantly being used here. But ultimately, you shouldn’t force anything. Only those who feel comfortable in their own bodies appear authentic.

The man sticks out his chest, the woman crosses her legs

Typical behavior patterns of men or women indicate differences in their body language. The man sticks out his chest, the woman crosses her legs. You should even be able to tell from the gait whether a female or a male is walking in front of us.

Crossing the legs of women can have various external effects. On the one hand, this gesture is a sign of elegance, on the other hand, it can reflect a reserved and insecure character. The latter also applies when women play with their hair.

Men, on the other hand, tend to make sweeping gestures. They take up a lot of space, for example when sitting with your legs apart. This makes them appear more present. However, it is clear that posture is more a question of type and personality than gender.

Different countries, different customs – different body language

If the next holiday in distant countries is pending, you should also be careful when it comes to body language. Many gestures and facial expressions are culturally influenced and cannot be used universally. While for us a head shake means “no”, in Bulgaria and India a slow shake of the head means “yes”.

Eye contact, which is considered friendly in Germany, encroaches on the private sphere of the Japanese. Crossing legs is considered offensive to Arabs and Asians because it shows the soles of the shoes.

And you should also be careful with the popular “thumbs up” gesture. In Sardinia, Colombia and the Middle East, this sign can be interpreted as indecent.

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Learning Languages Made Easy: 5 Tips on How to Quickly Improve Your Language Skills

Whether for school, work or just because: learning languages ​​is important for many people. But it’s not that simple – or maybe it is? Here are five tips on how you can easily improve your language skills.

#1 Podcasts, Series, YouTube and Co.

One of the easiest and most popular methods, especially among the younger generation, is to watch series or films in the original language. In particular, because puns and inside jokes are not lost. It has the positive side effect that you learn new words and phrases in a playful way without realizing it. If the original language is not the target language, you can of course switch films and series to the desired language. This is very easy to do with streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney+.

But even if you don’t want to spend money on the television services, you can easily immerse yourself in the language with the help of YouTube videos or podcasts. There are YouTubers from almost every country in the world who film and upload videos in their native language. Whether vlogs, cooking videos or specific language learning videos. The “genre” doesn’t matter in learning as long as you’re actively listening. This can lead to great difficulties in understanding, especially in the beginning. This can be remedied by subtitles, which can be generated automatically for many videos.

Podcasts also offer audios on a wide variety of topics in different languages. For example, you can easily improve your language skills on the way to work or when going shopping. Special podcasts that specialize in language learning can be particularly interesting here. The Coffee Break Podcasts, for example, upload short audio files on various topics that you can use to learn the language bit by bit. There are also a growing number of news podcasts designed to speak extra slowly and clearly to make it easier to understand.

#2 Read, read, read

If television and podcasts are not for you, you can easily read in your desired target language. Nowadays, the internet makes it very easy to find books, newspapers, etc. in all languages. If you don’t mind reading on your phone, tablet or computer, there are some apps that also offer many books in different languages. Amazon’s Kindle, iBooks or eLibrary from your local library offer a variety of e-books that you can even read on the go. A particular advantage of reading online is that you can quickly and easily look up words that you do not yet know in your target language in the dictionary on your mobile device.

Of course, conventional books have the same effect as e-books and can also help to better memorize vocabulary and proverbs due to their special reading experience.

Above all, reading promotes your vocabulary, but grammar is also learned particularly well here. Because by repeatedly reading a wide variety of phrases, tenses and sentence constructions, they can be internalized particularly well.

#3 Exchange and language trip

Exchanges and language trips are also very popular when learning a new language. Some students have the opportunity to take part in a year abroad or an exchange while they are still at school. After graduating from school, it makes sense to do a gap year while going abroad or to do a semester abroad during your studies. But not only young people should take advantage of these opportunities. There are numerous agencies that offer language trips for people of all ages.

Living with a host family during this time helps immensely to develop language skills. You also learn a lot about the culture and lifestyle of the residents in the host country, which can also have a positive effect on learning behavior.

#4 language tandem

If an exchange or a language trip is too expensive or doesn’t work for other reasons, you don’t have to do without direct personal exchange with people from the target country. Language tandems are a cost-effective and interactive alternative. Such tandems are often offered by schools, adult education centers or universities. But you can also quickly find people with whom you can work together on social networks such as Facebook or Instagram.

In such a cooperation, two people who want to learn each other’s mother tongue come together and exchange ideas. It is usually arranged in such a way that people meet about once a week for an hour and then speak the respective language for half an hour. However, everyone could also speak the respective target language and correct the partner if a mistake is made. There are no limits to the execution of the exchange, it is best for you to find out for yourself how you can get the greatest benefit from it.

#5 Language Learning Apps

As with almost everything, there are numerous apps for language learning that can help you. In addition to the book apps mentioned above, there are also special language learning apps that teach you the language in a playful way. Duolingo and Babbel, which offer their services for countless languages, are particularly well-known and popular here.

With step-by-step learning and goal setting, the apps provide a good learning atmosphere with reminders and rewards. All areas that are important for languages ​​are also learned here: listening, reading and speaking are specifically tested in the individual exercises so that you get fit in all areas.

Learning languages: It’s all in the mix!

Speaking, reading and listening are essential in language learning, so a mix of all is best to learn your target language the fastest. However, one should not overdo it either. At the end of the day, having fun is the most important thing, because without having fun, the whole thing is only half as effective!

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The Dwarf Language Between Baby and Parents

When a baby is born, young couples who become parents for the first time are faced with a great challenge. When the baby demands affection and care, it is important to interpret his signals correctly. In the first months of life, it is difficult to tell if the baby is hungry, cold, or tired. Adults communicate primarily verbally; with babies it is different. They express themselves through body language, facial expressions, and gestures.

Parents can facilitate communication with their baby through dwarf language and use baby sign language. Simple hand signals based on sign language enable interaction between parent and child. This baby sign language works without specialist knowledge and is very easy to learn. Everyone can do this because unconsciously and intuitively everyone uses hand signals to underpin verbal communication.

This makes communication easier

Baby sign language is a simplified form of sign language and originated in the United States, where it was developed 20 years ago. Parallel to the spoken word, parents use baby signs to describe activities, characteristics, and objects in everyday life. Children understand what is said more easily in connection with the signs. Every child has an instinct to imitate. From an early age, children try to imitate the signs and discover a way to communicate what they want without spoken words.

In England, Scandinavia, America, and Australia, learning baby sign language is already standard practice for young families. Vivian König, who lived in England for many years and learned baby signing there, is considered a pioneer of the dwarf language in Germany. She brought this concept from England to Germany.

The meaning of the small signs

Children up to the age of two increasingly use body language to express themselves and benefit from accompanying baby signs in verbal communication during this time. Even children with disabilities such as hearing impairment and children growing up multilingual can communicate with baby sign language, it is a natural helper.

Children learn the signs in everyday life by speaking and acting. The keyword is accompanied by a simple hand movement: the gesture for drinking accompanies the question “Would you like to drink?” The hand is raised to the mouth like a tilted cup.

The heart connection between parent and child

Vivian König is convinced that baby signs create joy and closeness. In this way, babies can be involved in the interaction with their parents from the first few days. This promotes the perception of one’s own needs and articulation. With the use of baby talk, babies are treated with respect from the start, which strengthens the relationship between parents and child, as communication takes place at eye level. The self-confidence, self-confidence, and emotional development of the children are thus supported at an early stage. Babies can already imitate and use the first baby signs at the age of six to nine months.

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