Fast Body Language Skills -- Quiz #1: Confidence

A genuine smile typically involves both the lips and the eyes. When a person genuinely smiles, their eyes tend to crinkle at the corners and the skin around them may wrinkle slightly. This is often referred to as a "smile with the eyes" or a "Duchenne smile." It is believed that the involvement of the eyes in a smile is what distinguishes a genuine smile from a forced or fake one. The eyes convey sincerity and warmth, adding an extra layer of authenticity to the smile.

The hands-on-hips gesture is a relatively aggressive gesture. Though demonstrating confidence is a key element in sparking attraction and interest, it may be a little over the top. That's why this gesture is associated with the emotion of Confidence and not Interest.

Openness, Confidence, Attentiveness, Suspicion, Frustration

In addition to eye-contact, they share the arms-open gesture.

The smile is the most highly differentiated and can indicate the emotions of Interest, Openness, and Confidence.

Confidence and frustration can both be expressed through eye contact and hands-on-hips gestures. Eye contact is often associated with confidence as it shows assertiveness and self-assurance. On the other hand, hands-on-hips gesture can be a sign of frustration as it conveys impatience and annoyance. Both gestures can be used to convey these emotions depending on the context and individual's body language.

The eye-contact gesture can indicate openness because maintaining eye contact during a conversation suggests that a person is engaged and receptive. It can also indicate frustration as avoiding eye contact or giving intense stares can be a sign of irritation or dissatisfaction. Additionally, eye contact can indicate suspicion as someone may look at another person's eyes to assess their trustworthiness or to detect any signs of deception.

The gestures of steepling and hands-behind-head are associated with both confidence and arrogance. Steepling involves placing the fingertips together and forming a triangle, which is often seen as a gesture of confidence and self-assuredness. Similarly, placing the hands behind the head is a display of relaxation and confidence. Both of these gestures can also be perceived as arrogant, as they signify a sense of superiority and self-importance.

According to the Emotion Map for Confidence, there is a significant amount of gesture overlap with the emotions of Openness, Arrogance, and Frustration.

Both hands-on-hips and eye-contact can indicate up to 5 different emotions. Both are equally low differentiated.