I’ve always been fascinated by body language. Like many writers, I like to observe others
and see if I can gain insight into what they are thinking and feeling based on
more than just what they say. Over my
next several blog posts, I will focus on some aspect of body language.
Body language is defined as the nonverbal ways we
communicate with each other. Some
researchers state that it comprises between 50 to 70% of all
communication. So it’s important that
writers understand what their characters are doing is at least as important as
what they say.
It has been said that our eyes are the windows to our
soul. But there are other things that
our eyes can show us as well. Gaze,
blinking and pupil size can also be very telling.
During a conversation, direct gaze can signal interest and
attention. However, if it becomes too
prolonged and focused it can be threatening.
Think about the movie “The Terminator” when the Terminator stares at the
policeman and finally says, “I’ll be back.”
The audience instinctively knows that this is not going to end
well. By contrast, looking away or
breaking eye contact can mean that the person is uncomfortable, distracted or
hiding their true feelings. Every parent
knows this look that indicates that his or her child has done something wrong.
Blinking is a natural reflex. But doing it too much or too little can have
meaning. Rapid blinking can signal
distress or discomfort. Increase in the
rate of blinking can mean someone is thinking more or feeling stressed. This
can indicate dishonesty because the liar has to think more about what they are
saying than if they simply tell the truth. To combat this, the person may force their
eyes open and appear to stare. Decreased
blinking can also increase the power of the stare and can portray either dominance
or romantic intent.
Pupil size can also indicate emotions. Cognitive effort can dilate pupils. People are said to have “doe eyes” or
“bedroom eyes” because dilated pupils can indicate sexual desire. The dilation of pupils during sexual interest
may indicate that the person is considering how to attract and sustain interest
of the object of their desire. Contracting
of the pupil can signal a dislike of the other person, much like squinting. Therefore, small pupils can also make someone
look threatening or unpleasant. This anger
or negativity can cause what is sometimes known as “beady eyes” or “snake
eyes.”
Using the proper dialogue tags or actions can increase the
impact of your story. If your story is
in first person, then body language can become even more important. Regardless of whatever narrative style a
writer uses, use of body language techniques can deepen the story and add
interesting layers to the plot.
