The Ultimate Body Language Book

Clenching and gripping can have many other forms as well, including clenching the jaws tight or even
talking through the teeth, cracking knuckles, pulling the hair or even plucking it, pinching one’s self,
and clenching the fists by turning them into a ball. In my observations of other people, I have noticed
some peculiar emotional behaviour that includes the grotesque such as squeezing pimples to plucking
nose hairs to more damaging and extreme behaviours such as hitting the head and scratching called
“self harm” but can include any other painful and repetitive behaviours serving to sooth emotional
stress.
The more astute will notice tension from something so minor that most won’t even notice, and the
carrier of which, will have no conscious awareness. That is, sitting in an awkward position, or rather,
sitting in a less than fully relaxed position. This cue tells us that they won’t and can’t permit themselves
to take on a more relaxed position because they should be doing something else more pressing or
useful. Perhaps watching television isn’t of highest priority when one weighs the importance of a report
or an essay for school, that the house needs tending to, or family time has been ignored. Notice a fully
relaxed position for a person over time, and then note when they aren’t holding it, then you’ll know
something isn’t right in their minds! Identify the pattern, call them out on it, and then look like a
genious!
Chapter 11 - Emotional Body Language
Nervous Hands
Nervous hands clasp to steady.
A telltale clue to nervousness is when the hands begin to shake. Since the hands are designed for fine
motor control, they are easily affected by a surge of adrenaline stimulated from stress from nervousness
or excitement. Any stimulus, good or bad, can stimulating the muscles in the hands to fire out of
control creating quivering. The limbic mind driven by fight or flight response is what causes hand
shaking which makes the nonverbal cue particularly honest and predictive.