WHEN BODY LANGUAGE GOES,BAD 3 Let me begin by giving you some general advice.The main thing is to relax and be natural. Trying too hard to use "body language"will make you seem a bit strange.Instead3,you should allow your body language to naturally follow your words.If you say something positive,then your face,body and hands should show it too.If you are expressing a sad and worried feeling,then your face,body and hands should change with that feeling.As you think about it more and consider how you can use your body to communicate,you will become more and more natural. 4 More specifically,let's talk about hand gestures.Using our hands,we can emphasize our main points,remind our listener how many main points we have,and let our listener know when we are changing topics.A dramatic movement of the hand or moving our hands wide apart can signal how important something is.We can even use two fingers,either close together or far apart, to show how big something is.To show very strong feeling we could clap our hands together loudly or make a fist(put our fingers in a ball as we want to hit someone)and hit a table or desk. To show that we welcome someone,on the other hand,we can hold our hands out with the palms up,and maybe move them towards a chair to invite someone to sit next to us. 5 Of course,we can also use our fingers to count,but be careful.People in some countries do not count the same way as in China.In France,for example,people do not count"one"by holding up their first finger,called the"index finger"4.Instead they hold up their thumb.In Japan,some people put their thumb down(with the four fingers up)to mean "one"!This can create confusion sometimes,so be sure not to use only non-verbal communication.Use words too,so that your listener will be sure to understand you. 6 Some hand gestures that are popular are waving to someone as greeting or holding your index finger and thumb into a circle to mean "okay".However,there are some countries where these can have bad meanings!It's important to be careful when using certain common gestures. Don't assume that everyone in the world understands one gesture in the same way.Still,you can use basic gestures most of the time,and then when you see a strange reaction from your listener, you can make sure to emphasize your real meaning by using words and a different hand movement. 7 Facial expressions are a very common way that we use to communicate every day.When speaking English,it's generally good to smile at your listener from time to time,especially when he or she has made an interesting comment.When listening,also nod your head up and down to show you are really interested.From time to time,you can add a sound of agreement,such as"Uh huh"or even just "mmmm",to show you are listening.Above all,it is important to maintain eye contact while listening.Sometimes it is OK to move your eyes away when you are speaking, 33 3 Let me begin by giving you some general advice. The main thing is to relax and be natural. Trying too hard to use “body language” will make you seem a bit strange. Instead3 , you should allow your body language to naturally follow your words. If you say something positive, then your face, body and hands should show it too. If you are expressing a sad and worried feeling, then your face, body and hands should change with that feeling. As you think about it more and consider how you can use your body to communicate, you will become more and more natural. 4 More specifically, let’s talk about hand gestures. Using our hands, we can emphasize our main points, remind our listener how many main points we have, and let our listener know when we are changing topics. A dramatic movement of the hand or moving our hands wide apart can signal how important something is. We can even use two fingers, either close together or far apart, to show how big something is. To show very strong feeling we could clap our hands together loudly or make a fist (put our fingers in a ball as we want to hit someone) and hit a table or desk. To show that we welcome someone, on the other hand, we can hold our hands out with the palms up, and maybe move them towards a chair to invite someone to sit next to us. 5 Of course, we can also use our fingers to count, but be careful. People in some countries do not count the same way as in China. In France, for example, people do not count “one” by holding up their first finger, called the “index finger” 4 . Instead they hold up their thumb. In Japan, some people put their thumb down (with the four fingers up) to mean “one”! This can create confusion sometimes, so be sure not to use only non-verbal communication. Use words too, so that your listener will be sure to understand you. 6 Some hand gestures that are popular are waving to someone as greeting or holding your index finger and thumb into a circle to mean “okay”. However, there are some countries where these can have bad meanings! It’s important to be careful when using certain common gestures. Don’t assume that everyone in the world understands one gesture in the same way. Still, you can use basic gestures most of the time, and then when you see a strange reaction from your listener, you can make sure to emphasize your real meaning by using words and a different hand movement. 7 Facial expressions are a very common way that we use to communicate every day. When speaking English, it’s generally good to smile at your listener from time to time, especially when he or she has made an interesting comment. When listening, also nod your head up and down to show you are really interested. From time to time, you can add a sound of agreement, such as “Uh huh” or even just “mmmm”, to show you are listening. Above all, it is important to maintain eye contact while listening. Sometimes it is OK to move your eyes away when you are speaking