Ellis - The Writers A-Z of Body Language

The Writers AZ of BodyLanguage

Tim Ellis

Kindle Edition

Copyright2012 Timothy Stephen Ellis

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Table of Contents

To Pam, with love as always

The idea for thisbook materialised from an internet search for the body languageassociated with someone being wary. I wasted a lot of writing time,but couldnt find anything. I resorted to my reference tomes, butwading through them revealed that there was no easy way to find whatI was looking for. Hence, this book.

As we know, the use ofadverbs is frowned upon in the world of fiction, and looking atsomeone warily is telling rather than showing. Thus, notwanting to be frowned upon, I try not use adverbs. Some obviouslyslip through the editing and proofreading process, and I apologiseunreservedly to my readers for such fictional crimes.

What we need to do isshow the reader by the characters body language thathe or she is wary, or angry, or happy, or any of the other myriademotions (six primary emotions recognised by all cultures are:happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, surprise and fear), attitudes,and feelings that manifest themselves as non-verbal and oftenunintended communication known collectively as body language.

It has been suggestedthat some of your dialogue tags such as he said or she saidbe eradicated through the use of body language, and this will furtherenable you to add variation to your writing.

Body language (orKinesics) is communicated from one person to another by means offacial expressions, head movements, eye contact, hand gestures, bodypositions and actions, tones of voice, and so on.

Generally, as writers,we know (or can have a good guess at) the majority of body languageassociated with the varied emotions, attitudes and feelings that ourcharacters display. Sometimes, however, you might want to usesomething new, or simply check your character is behaving in theright way, and this book will help you to do that.

Remember also, that theinterpretation of body language must be set within a context orsituation, that there may be cultural or ethnic differences, and thatbody language is relative to age and gender. Body language can alsobe extended to include:

How we position our bodies;

Our closeness to and the space between us and other people(proxemics), and how this changes;

Our facial expressions;

Our eyes, and how our eyes move and focus;

How we touch ourselves and others (haptics);

How our bodies connect with inanimate objects such as: pens,cigarettes, spectacles, clothes, cups, and so on;

Our breathing, and other less noticeable physical effects such asheartbeat and perspiration;

The pace, pitch, intonation, volume, variation, and pauses, etc., ofour voice (para-linguistics).

This book is not meant to be anacademic treatise on body language it is an alphabetic list for easyreference by writers both beginners and the more experienced to cherry-pick body language for their characters that matches thecontext and situation. If you want to delve deeper into the subjectthen I would recommend the following books:

Morris, D., (2002) People Watching the Desmond Morris guide to BodyLanguage, Vintage, London.

Pease, A & B., (2004) The Definitive Book of Body Language,Orion, London.

You will find thecontents of this book set out as the title indicates from A-Z.Please remember that many words for emotions, feelings, and attitudeshave synonyms (i.e. angry, enraged, furious, irritated, maddened).Some (but not all) synonyms have been included after each word, andalso in the A-Z list. The same body language has obviously been usedfor the synonyms after each word.

This is a Second Edition, andalthough I have tried to be thorough, Murphys Law dictates that Iwill have missed some emotions, feelings, attitudes, and subsequentbody language I apologise in advance. Additionally, if you wishme to include omissions, or you think I have got something wrong,please feel free to contact me via my website:

TimEllis
October 2014

Acceptingideas : Hands are flat onthe table; stroking the chin indicates thinking; head is inclinedforward; nodding head; legs are spaced out from each other; smilefrequently; unbutton jacket this indicates friendliness andwillingness to collaborate; hands are open this also indicatesgenuineness.

Accessingfeelings : Looking rightand down.

Admonish(berate, rebuke, scold): Finger wagging up and down.

Advocate(support): Leaning back; legs/feet crossed; arms looped over chairback; hands clasped behind head; nodding; head tilted; sucks glasses;strokes chin; lots of eye contact; high blink rate; looks up right.

Affectionate(love, caring): Giving compliments; devoting time and attention;giving thoughtful presents; frequent embraces or holding hands;kissing; hugging; writing an epic love poem; saying I love youor you brighten up my life on a regular basis; maintain eyecontact.

Afraid(frightened, scared): Lack of eye contact; looking at the floor,hands, or surroundings; (may also be a wide-eyed stare and unwaveringeye contact); raised eyebrows; furrowed brow; flared nostrils; mouthtightly clenched; biting upper or lower lips; maintains a greaterarea of personal space; position objects between him/her and theobject of fear; slouching or hunching in an attempt to minimisethemselves; fight or flight mindset; feet pointing away fromthe person; crossed hands or arms; rocking back and forth; rapidbreathing; speaking very quickly, or little.

Aggravated(exasperated, riled, infuriated): Deep frowning; pursed lips; sneersand snarls; intense eyes used to stare a person out and intimidatethem; invading personal space; touching; poking; shoving; insultingor threatening behaviours; making sudden movements; head shaking fromside to side; running hands through hair. eyes rolled up; frown.

Aggressive(belligerent, combative, threatening): Standing with hands on hipsand splayed legs; finger pointing at person; clenched fists;disapproving frown; pursed lips; sneer; jaw clenched; holding eyecontact; flared nostrils; curled lip; shaking fists; whole armsweeps; exaggerated movements; finger-pointing; glaring; increase involume of voice; invasion of personal/intimate space; sitting withopen legs (mainly male).

Agitated(flustered, upset, nervous): Men will stand with their hands claspedin front of their genitals; women will fold their arms across theirchest; bites nails/lips; forced laughter; one arm across bodyclasping other arm by side or self-hugging (female); handbag held infront of body (female); holding papers across chest (mainly male);adjusting cuff, watchstrap, tie, etc.; holding a drink in front ofbody with both hands; holding drink on one side with hand from otherside (seated); touching or scratching shoulder using arm across body;pacing; clearing throat; exhaling audibly; fidgeting; jiggling moneyor keys; tugging ear; wringing hands; adjusting tie; clutching objecttightly; scratching; rubbing arms; restlessness unable to relax;playing with hair; tapping foot or hand; easy to anger; stomp/pacefrom room to room; slam doors, bang objects down; frowning; oralnoises such as sucking or clicking sounds; inability to focus erratic behaviour; forgetfulness; bottom lip jutting out; pursinglips; scowling; speaking impatiently.