You are what you say

Today in class we have spoken about communication and the ways people use to express their point of view and listen to other people’s ideas.

The first part of our discussion dealt with the difference between a debate and a dialogue stressing that the latter has got more positive features than the former. Dialogues do allow interlocutors to talk about their ideas and learn something that can possibly make them change their mind. Unlike a debate, in a dialogue you must not uphold your opinions in order to defeat your opponent’s ones, but every point of view is worthwhile and respected even if not necessarily accepted.

As a dialogue is usually constructive, people talking must have discussion skills to avoid any useless misunderstanding, fight and insult. Moreover attention must be paid to how your body moves while you are talking, as your body language can be misinterpreted. For instance a same gesture can have a different meaning for people who have a different culture. For this reason you have to control both your language and body thus showing diplomatic skills and understanding.

In the following list you can read some useful body language tips: 

• When we talk to other people it’s important to keep eye contact but without exaggerating: if we stare at people too much they can think there’s something wrong in them, but if we look at them only once in a while they’ll probably think that we lack interest in them or in their conversation. 
• A good posture helps you feel more comfortable and less nervous when you talk to someone. 
• When you are listening to someone it’s better to tilt your head from left to right once in a while. 
• When we talk to someone it’s important to keep our arm movements midway. If we cross our arms we show disapproval. 
• When we move our bands, palm down gestures are usually considered as dominant and also aggressive. Conversely, palm up gestures are seen as open and friendly. When we shake hands it’s better to keep our hands in a vertical position to convey equality. 
• When we are standing or sitting in a face-to-face or group situation we must be careful not to be too close or too far away from the others.