The Ultimate Body Language Book

obstruction from any limbs or objects.
When closed postures are combined with other closed postures, the signal intended is made more
obvious. For example, leg crossing in combination with arm crossing is much more potent than either
alone. Add to this an expressionless face, turning away, and one is left to assume that communication is
not welcomed at any level. On the other hand, we might be faced with someone who has their legs
crossed but the arms are opened and honest. In this case, we might assume that it is a deliberate and
conscious attempt to appear relaxed, when in fact the person might not be relaxed at all. It might be the
case too, that someone has mixed feelings and is reserved at one level, but open at another level.
Reading opened and closed body language is tricky business, but all cues are additive. Cues of the
same origin, happening together, serve to strengthen an open or closed reading, but so too does
conflicting cues. Conflicting cues tell us that someone has an internal reservation, made obvious
through their mixed message.
It is fortunate for those of us who wish to modify our body language, that we have control of our
conscious mind, since we then can modify our body language as desired.
Of course, since de-linking of our bodies and minds is difficult, these changes bring about inherent
change in our attitudes as well. For example, it’s fairly easy to consciously carry open postures, such as
palms up, arms and legs uncrossed, and hold active eye contact, however holding these postures
necessarily leeches back into us creating open feelings.
In this chapter we will examine the vast array of open and closed body positions that we can use to
come across as more or less open, as we desire. Naturally too, we will be able to identify this same
body language in other people and use it to our advantage when reading them.