Perceptions of Body Movement

  The way that we as humans perceive even the simplest thing such as a shift in body posture is fascinating. Our bodies non-verbal movements have the capability of completely changing not only the way that our verbal messages are received, but also our movements can change the way that our personalities are perceived.

  I recently started a new part-time job. At the end of each day, the MOD(Manager-On-Duty) rounds up the employees and discusses the way that the day went. As I looked around the room at the other employees I noticed how I had subconsciously placed each person into categories in my head just by looking at them. There was two chairs in the room, one of which was obviously reserved for the MOD. As I stood and watched the other employees file in I made a mental note of which ones looked at remainding chair, debated whether to sit in it, but in the end stood off to the side. Then one girl came in and strode directly to the chair. She plopped down on the chair and slid down into an extremely relaxed position. She remained in this position for the remainder of the meeting, keeping a neutral expression on her face throughout it. Due to this, I found myself automatically assuming that the girl obviously had more seniority over the other employees and was therefor able to stake claim to one of the chairs. Later on, I found out that this was not actually the case, the girl had in fact only been working at the store for less than a month. Through her relaxed body position, this girl was able to change the way that I had perceived her. If instead the girl had walked in  and stood around the MOD like the others had, I imagine I probably wouldn't have given her a second thought and placed her in the same category that I had placed the others in.

   The manager's body position also affected the way that she was perceived. As the employees filed into the room, the MOD was facing the opposite direction of the door writing something on a paper. After all the employees settled, the MOD continued to finish what she was writing for a couple more seconds. Then she turned her chair around to face the workers and straightened up in her chair. These non verbal cues gave off an impression of authority and power over her subordinates. Feeling slightly intimidated I shifted in my spot, throwing off my own subconscious non-verbal cue of unease(which hopefully nobody else caught). The MOD then smiled and launched into a joke regarding how the day went. I laughed and relaxed my position. The MOD non-verbal communication was strategically able to relax her workers after a long day of work and yet, her body position was still able to communicate a sense of power. I admire that skill in not only a manager but any body seeking a role of influence.