Body language

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Body language is a type of nonverbal communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Although body language is an important part of communication, most of it happens without conscious awareness. In social communication, body language often complements verbal communication. Nonverbal communication has a significant impact on doctor-patient relationships, as it affects how open patients are with their doctor. Having open body language, which is typically identified as having a relaxed posture, nodding, eye contact can contribute to patients having higher levels of trust with their doctors. According to, W.Y. Kee, patients who had a doctor that avoided eye contact by looking at a screen or had negative facial expressions contributed to patients feeling dissatisfied after their visit.^[1]

The rise of different technologies has led to humans adapting to non-face-to-face communication, for example, while texting, it can challenge to decode the messages because body language cues like tone and eye contact are not present. With the introduction of texting, humans have adapted to using new ways to demonstrate body language cues, for example, the use of emoticons.^[2] The way body language is expressed changes depending on the gender and age of the person. Women and men express body language differently, especially in the workplace, women tend to express more intense nonverbal cues than men, this makes the cues easier to decode. These nonverbal signals impact the way men and women interact in the workplace, as according to Deepika, women tend be highly comfortable being close and communicating with other women. This is hypothesized to be the case because people that demonstrate similar nonverbal cues can interpret and decode communication signals more effectively.^[3]

As an unstructured, ungrammatical, and broadly-interpreted form of communication, body language is not a form of language.^[4] It differs from sign language, which are true languages with complex grammar systems and exhibiting the fundamental properties considered to exist in all languages.^[5][6]

Some researchers conclude that nonverbal communication accounts for the majority of information transmitted during interpersonal interactions.^[7] It helps to establish the relationship between two people and regulates interaction, yet it can be ambiguous. The interpretation of body language tends to vary in different cultural contexts. Within a society, consensus exists regarding the accepted understandings and interpretations of specific behaviors. However, controversy exists on whether body language is universal. The study of body language is also known as kinesics.