Understand the meaning of hand gestures in body language.
Keeping your hands in your pockets is one of those body language gestures that can have multiple, seemingly contradictory meanings. In body language, the meaning of some gestures is straightforward. You only need to observe one or two gestures to reach a conclusion. In other cases, such as the ‘hands in pockets’ gesture, you need …
To interpret the ‘hands behind the back’ body language gesture, you should first look at its context. This is because it is one of those body language gestures that can have different meanings depending on the context and accompanying gestures. In this article, I’ll cover the possible meanings of this gesture, providing examples and accompanying …
The ‘wringing hands’ body language gesture is where a person squeezes one hand with the other repeatedly or alternately, or both. Usually, the knuckles of one hand get pressed between the palm and the fingers of the other hand. Other times, the person rubs their entire hand as if they were washing it. In other …
The hands on hips pose is one of the most common body language gestures that we encounter. I’m pretty sure that most people, at least intuitively, know what it means. Still, the certainty of conscious knowledge is better than intuition. The former makes it less likely for you to ignore a gesture the next time you …
Why do people engage in nail-biting? What does the nail-biting gesture show? Is it simply because they’ve grown too long? What’s the nail-cutter for then? While nail-biting may have several causes, this article will look at what causes nail-biting gesture in people from the perspective of body language. We’ll also look at some other similar behaviors that …
We’re used to seeing babies sucking their thumbs as it’s their typical behaviour but what makes adults do the same thing? What’s behind adult thumb sucking and why do they put things in their mouths? Laila, an accountant working in a sales company, was auditing accounts when suddenly she put a finger in her mouth, …
‘Hands touching the neck’ body language gesture is one of the most common gestures that we observe in our day-to-day lives. This article explores the different ways in which people touch their necks and what those gestures signify. Rubbing the back of the neck Ever seen two furry animals, like dogs, in a fight? If …
This article will discuss the meaning of head-related body language gestures such as scratching the head, scratching or rubbing the forehead, and clasping hands behind the head. Let’s start with scratching the head or hair. When we scratch our head using one or more fingers anywhere on the top, back or the side of our …
Rubbing hands together is a commonly observed hand gesture. When you rub the palms of your hands together, it means you’re expecting something positive. People make this hand gesture when they’re excited about something about to happen. When you have to deliver a piece of good news about yourself, you’re likely to rub your palms …
Hands are an important means of human nonverbal communication. This article will explore the various hand gestures and their meanings with the aid of pictures. Do you know why humans rule the earth? What do you think has given us the greatest edge over other species? Why, among all the primates, only the Homo sapiens …