The Ultimate Body Language Book

Chapter 8 – Dominant and Submissive Gestures
The Leg Over The Chair
Having one leg over the arm rest of a chair is a full on assault to the rest of his company. I use “his”
because men are much more likely to use this posture than women. The posture shows aggression,
dominance, ownership and an informal attitude. Ownership here can mean simply of the chair, but in a
larger context it also means ownership of the situation as a whole, the ideas in the room, and even the
people. The sitting position is so informal that it means that a person holding it, cares not about what
anyone else thinks.
While, with friends this posture could be acceptable despite its offensiveness, it’s definitely not
acceptable during an interview, in public, or when meeting important people. To send the proper
message with our legs use a comfortable, yet proper sitting position which is a sign of respect for those
around you. Either leave a slight gap between the legs, use the figure-four leg cross (for men only), or
us the English style leg cross where the legs lie parallel one over the other. Women should almost
universally cross their legs so they lie parallel, even if they are wearing pants but especially if they are
not.
Chapter 8 – Dominant and Submissive Gestures
The Full Body Steeple
The full steeple, sometimes called ‘hooding’ or the ‘hooding effect’ is a high confidence/dominance
display.
The full body steeple occurs by placing both hands up and behind the head while seated. The postures
is completed by combining it with the figure-four-leg cross which happens by placing the ankle of the
opposite foot across the knee, or made even more dominant by leaving the legs splayed wide open. As