I've been watching a show on TV called "Lie To Me". It's all about people giving off body language tags that reveal their inner truth. The shows aren't all that exciting, but they are fascinating - which is why I continue to watch. The science behind the concept is intriguing.
What is interesting in a coincidental way, is that the class I'm currently taking is also talking about this. About how we reveal ourselves through body language. The class is not a psychology class - exactly - but a class about revealing character emotions in our writing.
According to the instructor (Margie Lawson), most writers use the same tags: running hands through hair, arching an eyebrow, chewing lips, rubbing jaw, narrowing gaze, crossing arms across chest, shrugging, and a couple of others.
I have to admit, I do use these. The why is not easy to answer. Probably because they are easy gestures. But to really do my characters justice, I should be doing more.
All we have to do is watch someone - anyone - at any point in our day and see what their body language is. In that meeting - do you see the woman playing with her pen? Endlessly twirling it between her fingers? Or the man who keeps tugging at his mustache or lip? Do you see someone walking with their shoulders back, head held high? Or slumped over, as if they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders? These are all indications of inner emotions.
It's one of the big problems with communicating over the internet. We do not get to see the other person's body language and we miss so much. That's why emoticons were invented. :) So we have a visual tag to go with our words.
As you go about your day, watch out for the various tags people use. If you're a writer - jot them down so you can use them in a future story.
Friday, March 06, 2009
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3 comments:
Great post, Vicky. I saw some things on the news recently where they used body language in an interview of a celebrity to show when he was lying or avoiding a question. It was very interesting but I'm not sure if you wrote some of those intricate things into your writing if the reader would understand. You'll have to tell us more of what you learn in your class. It sounds very good.
I'm glad you blogged about this. I'm very guilty of using the same body movements over and over, but I contend that it's because real people use those body movements over and over. :) Or at least, I do. Anyway, I need to think harder and pay more attention to enrich my books. Thanks!
Body language is often more truthful than verbal language because it is unconscious. Unless, of course, we have learned to control it. We may lie with the words we speak but our body language often betrays what we are really feeling. Check on my tweets on Twitter as BLCoach (body language).
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