See What I Mean: The Language of the Body

See What I Mean The Language of the Body

Brad Nunnally UX Solution Architect | Perficient XD @bnunnally SxSW 2015

@bnunnally SxSW 2015


Gone Hollywood


Glimpse The Soul


State of Mind


Albert Mehrabian found that the total impact of a message is about 7 percent verbal (words only)

and 38 percent vocal

(including tone, inflection, and other sounds) and

55 percent nonverbal.


A Reflection of Self


Express Feelings


Decisions

SCIENCE shows that a decision is made up to 7 seconds before the decision has been verbally communicated.


Predictions


Why Should Designers Care?


Seeing Signals

‣ Allows you to ask smarter questions

‣ Aware of sensitive topics

‣ Predicting when you might risk breaking trust


Collaboration


Present Yourself


Bad News…


Disagreement…


Agreement


Voiceless Participants


What are the signs?


Openness


Trust & Acceptance‣ Acceptance of an idea or

person

‣ Signal of openness and trustworthiness

‣ Offering up something


Presenting Core‣ Feeling Safe & Secure

‣ Making presences feel known

‣ Showing excitement


Confidence

‣ Confidence in oneself

‣ Standing one’s ground

‣ Increasing Personal Space


Closed Off


Aggressiveness

‣ Seeking Dominance or Control

‣ Seeking Resolution

‣ Uncomfortable


Defensive

‣ Attempting to reassure oneself

‣ Protecting their “core”

‣ Feels threatened

‣ Disagreeable

‣ Tense and closed off

‣ Feeling anxious or rejected


Desire for Privacy‣ Get distance from others

‣ Showing a sense of insecurity

‣ Close minded


Handshakes


Face


Eyes

‣ Pupils signal honesty or deceit

‣ Direction indicates if they are using memory or imagination

‣ Corners show authenticity

‣ Blinking shows level of comfort


Nose

‣ Flaring shows discomfort or displeasure

‣ Coloring indicates emotional state

‣ Pinching or rubbing are signs of doubt

‣ Or needing to sneeze

‣ Wrinkling conveys a sense of distaste


Mouth

‣ Pursed lips signal displeasure or frustration

‣ Biting lips or cheeks is a sign of anxious feelings

‣ Twitching indicates cynicism or disbelief

‣ Smile, mixed bag of meanings

‣ Full, Half, Smirk, etc


The Body


Cowboy

‣ Sizing up another person

‣ Generally an aggressive stance

‣ Looking to establish their presence


Hands & Head

‣ Ready to “take the floor”

‣ Disengaged from current conversation

‣ Broadcasting a sense of confidence


Edge of Seat

‣ Passionate or excited about what’s going on

‣ Ready to take action


Cultural Differences


Universal Signs


http://www.paulekman.com/universal-facial-expressions/


Different Meanings


Physical Expressions


Game Time!


Charades!!

‣ 1 Host

‣ 4 “Guests”

‣ Host needs to guess each Guest’s general demeanor

‣ Guests can only communicate non-verbally

Happy Sad

Giddy Tired


Charades!!

‣ 1 Host

‣ 4 “Guests”

‣ Host needs to guess each Guests general demeanor

‣ Guests can only communicate non-verbally


So What?


Take Aways

‣ Reading body language is a good soft skill for designers and researchers

‣ Context MATTERS! Sometimes someone might just be a little cold

‣ Don’t focus on a single signal, but focus on all of them


How Do You Practice

Reading?


Watch Yourself


Watch Others


Ask… If Appropriate


Mimicking


Read Up


Start Acting

Thank You!Brad Nunnally UX Solution Architect Perficient XD

Email - [email protected] Twitter - @bnunnally Site - www.onestraythought.com

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See What I Mean: The Language of the Body

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