Body language is the quietest, most secret and most powerful language of all.It is said that our body movements communicate about 50% of what we really mean while words themselves only do 7%.So while your mouth is closed, just it is your body language that is saying.

When it comes to body language at the office, you may be making some big mistakes that could cause you trouble.The following are some tips on what you should not do when using body language at your office.

Don't touch your co－workers, even if it's on the back of the arm or shoulder.Many of your co－workers are not comfortable with any body contact (接触) with others.Be careful not to touch anyone at your office.

Don't avoid eye contact.Eyes can speak.Lack of eye contact means cheat, and it can also point to no safety or lack of confidence.Trust and confidence are things you will communicate to the other person if you hold eye contact 50% of the time.

Don't have a bad handshake.You're going to show your kindness at once with a firm palm (手掌) to palm handshake.Showing the palms of your hands is an amiable gesture as it shows that you have a peaceful purpose.It means acceptance, and that you're open to new ideas.Be careful of the dead fish handshake.

Don't lean (倾斜) your head while listening to others.When listening to others, you should listen to him or her carefully with your head straight.For women especially, you think you are expressing interest by leaning your head when you are listening to others, but you actually come across as if you don't understand what's going on.

Nail biting and hair pulling are two forms of body language. Both nail biting and hair pulling can be either conscious or subconscious body language gestures, each showing some interesting aspects of the character, emotion and inner working of the individual.

Nail biting is a non-verbal gesture. In adults it’s often a habit adopted and carried through from childhood and can become apparent in stressful situations throughout adulthood. To most people, nail biting is associated with nervousness and shyness and is an involuntary response to certain social situations. In many cases, it’s an adaptor behaviour that channels nervous energy, inactivity or boredom and doesn’t disturb normal functioning. In severe cases nail biting can become a repetitive behaviour that is intentionally performed. It can result in great physical damage.

So when we look deeper, in both adults and children, it has been suggested that severe nail biting is often referred to as a method of “self-heating”. This indicates that nail biting is a subconscious behaviour indicating increased anxiety and low self-confidence.

Hair pulling can indicate a number of emotions and behaviors. For example, children who bite their nails or frequently pull their hair may be nervous or have low self-confidence. Hair pulling may be a comforting action for a child who is tense and anxious, and may become habitual later in life in stressful situations. Routine and severe hair pulling can be a compulsive disorder that may be linked to genetics, anxiety and depression. It’s most commonly thought to be a stress-related condition.

However, hair puling is also another non-verbal body language that can signify different things in different situations. For example, in some situations, it can mean interest and desire. However, in other situations, it can suggest anxiety, incompetence, uncertainty or shyness.

Contrary to popular belief, looking at someone’s face alone is not enough to tell us whether they are shouting in celebration or screaming in frustration, researchers claimed. While people may believe they have the ability to read each other’s faces, body language is the real clue that shows whether the strong emotions someone is feeling are positive or negative.

In one study, groups of participants were shown a series of facial expressions such as tennis players photographed just after winning or losing a point.

In some cases the volunteers were able to see the player’s full body, but in others they were only shown either their face or their body with the other removed.

Participants could clearly tell whether the players were winning or losing when shown the full picture or just the body, but their guesses were no better than chance when based on the face alone.

Those who were allowed to see the full image were convinced that they had made their judgment based on the players’ facial expressions even though results from the two other groups suggested otherwise.

The researchers carried out a second study where volunteers were shown a wider range of faces showing emotions including joy, pleasure, victory, pain and defeat.

Using photo editing software, the researchers attached the faces to bodies expressing the opposite emotions and asked participants to act out the emotions they saw in the photos.

The resulting poses(姿势) were like the body poses in the photographs but not the facial expressions, which means that people base their understanding of strong emotions on the body instead of the face.

Dr. Aviezer, who led the study, said, “These results show that when emotions become extremely intense, the difference between positive and negative facial expressions becomes unclear. The results may help researchers understand how the body interacts during emotional situations.”