Human Interactions in AI Era

Three months ago, I visited my friend’s house after a long time. We had met face to face a couple of times before but it was going to be an enlightening interaction for both of us. We had a long conversation at his house and we shared our experiences. We ate food together and laughed. We shook hands together and hugged each other before I left his house with a subtle smile on my face and a deep satisfaction in heart.

During our conversation, my friend made a kind of statement that I wasn’t at all expecting to come out from his mouth. Although he’s not highly educated, I know that he reads a lot. He said, “Interacting face to face is a hormone altering experience.” Indeed, a face-to-face interaction is capable of altering hormones of the persons involved in it. His educational statement has partially inspired this article.

While most of us are very busy in our occupations, professions, enterprises and daily activities throughout the day, frequency and duration of face-to-face interactions have decreased. Now, most of our interpersonal interaction and communication takes place electronically i. e. phone calls, video calls, text chats or emails. Being social animals, we’re losing a lot and it might do more damage to us in future.

A face-to-face interaction is the default mode of our communication. A face-to-face interaction goes beyond exchanging or listening to words by staying close to each other. We do silently exchange a broad range of nonverbal cues, along with the spoken words if any. Over the millions of years, we’ve communicated with each other face-to-face, even while facing some limitations.

"In this AI era, it’s not only about reading the body language of a person that you’re interacting with face-to-face but also ensuring that you’re interacting electronically with a real or living person..."

Electronic communication has undoubtedly helped us in bridging the huge time and space gaps. However, it brings the greatest nonverbal disadvantage in the human interactions. Especially, text messaging or chatting has completely robbed us off the richness of nonverbal cues that can be exchanged during a face-to-face interaction, a video call or an audio call. Aren’t we utterly deprived?

Although a video call allows us to see each other, it doesn’t allow us to touch each other as we can do during a face-to-face interaction. Also, we mostly can see the face and the upper body of the other person. Additionally, a lot of physical, nonverbal and environmental cues are absent during electronic communication. For example, we can’t detect each other’s body smell.

As most of us are getting more and more involved in audio calling, text chatting and writing emails with each passing days, it clearly appears that most of us are rapidly losing the natural ability to quickly recognize and accurately decode the variety of nonverbal cues, even in a regular and normal face-to-face interaction. Silently, we’re heading towards a greater crisis.

Today, having an account on different social media platforms is very common in all age groups across the globe. There’re several applications installed on our smartphones to fulfil the need to connect and communicate with thousands or millions of people at the same time. One can chat in real time with a person who is living a thousand miles away.

A need of the time or an addiction?

With the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, we’re most likely entering an unprecedented phase of interactions in which separating reality from illusion could become harder or even impossible. Most of us already have an unimaginable amount of personal data uploaded on the internet and various social media platforms. It has already made us vulnerable to huge social damage by tailor-made deepfakes images and videos.

Due to large language models (LLMs) and AI chatbots, knowing if someone you are text chatting with privately for days is a real human being will be harder or even impossible in near future. Even there’re a great chance that an AI chatbot would perfectly mimic the words, phrases and syntaxes of somebody you know very well for many years. Such level of deepfaking has an unimaginable deceptive, manipulative and persuasive influence.

Deception, manipulation and persuasion by deepfaking or perfectly mimicking somebody is extremely dangerous for us as a society that is being divided by many factors. The worst side of deepfaking is that we simply can’t catch and punish a digital being for the crime it has committed or manipulated us to commit. Hence, we simply can’t imagine the amount of damage that could be done to us by digitally deepfaking entities.

"We need to create stronger social bonds within our families, relatives, friends, colleagues, neighbors and communities by spending more time in face-to-face interactions than ever before."

Many researchers and experts are trying to tame the AI systems to prevent them from working against us. As of now, it’s not 100 % certain that it can be done in the first place while witnessing the wild growth of the AI systems. Nevertheless, the great possibility of deepfaking for deception, manipulation and persuasion can’t be denied because anti-socials would certainly take an advantage of it.

Especially, if a person feels socially disliked, deprived, unheard or undervalued then there’s a great possibility that such person could easily fall prey to the silent anti-social brainwashing. After developing a strong rapport, the person can be easily convinced, disinformed or manipulated by an extremely persuasive deepfake entity to do anything against the society.

Perhaps, it’s the need of this socially challenging era that we avoid electronic interactions without any serious necessity and engage more and more in regular face-to-face interactions, discussions or conversations as much as possible. It would certainly give us back the real social benefits and people reading ability that most of us have been strongly lacking for years.

Are you interacting with a deepfake entity?

While exchanging and detecting various nonverbal clues (subconsciously or consciously), greeting, smiling, laughing, touching, mirroring, gesturing at, making eye contact with, sitting/standing along and reciprocating each other during a face-to-face interaction leaves deeper effects on our brains and minds. Indeed, it can't be achieved through electronic interactions.

In this AI era, it’s not only about reading the body language of a person that you’re interacting with face-to-face but also ensuring that you’re interacting electronically with a real or living person and not a digital deepfake, an invisible or an intangible entity that you simply can’t catch, question and/or punish for its damaging deception, manipulation or persuasion.

We need to create stronger social bonds within our families, relatives, friends, colleagues, neighbors and communities by spending more time in face-to-face interactions than ever before. Are we going to achieve the same? This greatest question will persist if Artificial Intelligence wouldn't enslave and/or destroy us.

Potentially damaging DeepFake relations can be greatly avoided, only by creating close, functional, trustworthy, constructive, empathetic and DeepReal relations.

[#GLOBAL ALERT: Under the rapidly growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots or agents, the continuation of democracy or the existence of democratic institutions can only be guaranteed by getting involved in talks, debates, discussions or conversations with the real or living people, irrespective of the differences in opinions. If we don't our spend time in doing it then society is destined to doom.

Provoking narratives, social media trolls, hate speech, deepfake images, deepfake videos, misinformation, disinformation and fake news have already made it a little harder for most of us to engage in constructive, sympathetic and factual talks, debates, discussions or conversations on a regular basis, even with the people we know for years.]

Related Articles:
1) Importance of Touch 2) Social Footsteps 3) Face to Face 4) Can body language reveal thoughts? 5) Nonverbal Advantage in Investigation 6) Artificial Intelligence and Body Language 7) Are human emotions really universal?

Amygdala Hijack: Irrational Physical Reactions

Have you ever woken up panting, sweating and screaming in the middle of the night after having a nightmare? Have you ever jumped into an unnecessary fist fight with somebody who wasn’t hostile towards you at all? Have you ever got scared and ran away from somebody who wasn’t frightening you purposefully? From suddenly bursting into screams while sleeping with closed eyes to shouting, frowning, clenching fists and pointing fingers at each other in traffic, we the so-called rational animals behave and react irrationally at multiple occasions throughout our lives.

Although we’re only watching a terrifying dream just like we watch a picture or movie, we react as if we’re physically involved in a terrifying outcome at the very moment. On the other hand, shouting, frowning, clenching fists and pointing fingers at each other isn’t going to achieve anything but we react as if we’re preparing ourselves and challenging other riders, drivers or passengers for a close combat. In the worst case, such reactions from two sides can eventually turn a busy city street into a small battle ground for a violent physical fight between two insanely aggressive animals.

Most of such irrational and instinctive physical reactions lead to troubles, injuries, accidents and causalities only. Only upon realizing on our own or making to realize by somebody after a few moments, we feel as if we were hijacked and we reacted without any rational and conscious control on our whole body. We instantaneously react as if we’re controlled by some ghost, daemon or evil spirit which is pulling all strings of a brainless puppet. So what exactly turns an educated, thinking, rational, normal and civil looking individual into a wild and raging beast?

Road rages are on rise. Beware!

What exactly drives us wild just for a few moments is not any ghost, daemon or evil spirit but a very small part sitting deep inside our brain behind such irrational reactions. This part is called as Amygdala which is a central part of the limbic system (paleomammalian cortex) that initiates basic behavioral responses and different emotions in humans and mammals. Using the signals coming through different sensory organs, vigilant Amygdala constantly scans for the whole surrounding environment for cues, signs, hints and indications of risks, dangers and challenges to survival.

It’s almost impossible to sit inside a time-machine and travel back into the Earth’s remote past in which dangerous wild creatures were roaming freely on the face of the planet. However, just try to imagine yourself walking through a tall grass and you suddenly stumble upon a saber tooth tiger which is waiting in ambush. Only way to survive is either to start running away from it as faster as you can even without looking back at the predator until reaching at a safe distance. Your whole body needs to react without wasting time in rational thinking and detailed analysis.

Dr. Daniel Goleman

This ancient system has greatly helped us in surviving the life-threatening situations and creatures over the millions of years. However, it’s turning us into wild beasts in today’s world which is almost free from the same situations and creatures. Only after doing enough damage to us or others, we end up in regretting or apologizing about what we’ve done instantaneously. This short-lasting neural phenomenon is called as ‘Amygdala Hijack’, as mentioned by Dr. Daniel Goleman is his famous book ‘Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ’.

Out of four distinct behavioral responses and seven basic emotions, both Anger (Fight) and Fear (Flight) responses can be extremely damaging in today’s world especially if they get intensified to an unnecessary proportion just within fractions of a second. These two responses can prove extremely damaging to career, health, relations, well-being and even longevity. Daily newspapers and news channels unmistakably report the news of crimes, abuses and offenses which are committed by very normal individuals which get hijacked by Amygdala.

How exactly the so-called ‘Amygdala Hijack’ takes place inside the human brain? Let’s try to understand the same briefly. Inside our large brains, signals gathered by any sensory organ go to Thalamus first. Some part of sensory signals is sent to Amygdala and the remaining part of it is sent to Neocortex and more specifically the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) which is the thinking part of human brain. Neocortex takes comparatively more time than Amygdala in patiently analyzing the incoming sensory signals before initiating an appropriate response.

On the other hand, Amygdala is much quicker in reacting to incoming sensory signals just like a hyperactive Chihuahua which barks at every stranger coming through main gate of a house. Amygdala rapidly searches for memories of experiences inside Hippocampus (emotional memory bank). If sensory signals are found to be associated with any negative memories then a defensive response is activated. Amygdala takes less than a second to do the same, similar to an experienced sniper who doesn’t miss to hit its target in sight.

Two different paths of sensory signals

Especially if an individual is already stressed, had a bad start of the day, underwent traumatic experiences or has enlarged Amygdala then the individual is more likely to react instantaneously in self-defense than responding constructively, thoughtfully, peacefully, rationally, patiently or logically. As we experience it routinely, even a few abnormal words coming out from mouth of a familiar and caring individual can unmistakably kick-start the Amygdala Hijack in already troubled individuals.

A considerable percentage of modern population appears stressed without any apparent challenges, threats and dangers in the sight because the brain unmistakably releases cortisol and adrenaline into bloodstream to prepare the whole body to either fight with or run away from the individuals or situations that threaten us. Even if we partially or fully succeed in suppressing limbic impulse consciously under social pressure, secreted stress hormones don’t quickly go away.

Amygdala Hijack doesn’t at all miss to give clear warning signs through sudden change in body language. Due to secretion of cortisol and adrenaline hormones, breathing rate shoots up with breathing location shifting from belly to chest. Eyes become widely open. Fists are clenched. Skeletal muscles are flexed. Nostrils are flared. Eyebrows are pulled downwards and pulled inside. Under the tight grip of rage, glaring without blinking or batting the eyelids can be observed.

Today’s modern world is vastly connected yet became more complicated than ever before. Learning about various disturbing incidents occurring in different parts of the globe contributes in building stress, terror, tension, despair anguish, insecurity, discomfort and apprehension. It increases the possibility of Amygdala Hijack in future. While living in small and geographically isolated clans, our primitive ancestors never faced this unprecedented situation.

Amygdala Hijack doesn’t need to happen only while facing life-threatening situations, circumstances and challenges. A few wrong, abusive, ridiculing, unexpected and inappropriate words uttered during normal interactions and conversations are enough to trigger Amygdala Hijack in stressed, troubled, traumatized, sociopathic, endangered, intoxicated and serotonin-deprived individuals. Heated verbal exchange can quickly turn into nonverbal violence.

[#Critically Important: Empathy, laughter, meditation, spirituality, acceptance, visualization, conditioning, compassion, mindfulness, introspection, physical workout and breathing exercise (Yoga/Praanaayaam) greatly help in minimizing or avoiding Amygdala Hijack or irrational and uncontrolled reactions during many interactions, encounters, incidents and situations.

Also, good sleep, good nutrition, happy childhood, warm parenting, emotional support, stronger relations, promising environment, positive social interactions and deep knowledge about human body silently motivate people not to react to each and every sensory signals unnecessarily.]

Related Articles:
1) Fear Factor 2) Basic body responses in stressful situations 3) Body Language Brain 4) Turtle Effect: Body response under threat 5) Surprise vs Startle Reflex 6) Body Language in Depression 7) Body Language of Extreme Narcissist 8) Body Language of Extreme Psychopath 9) Chicken and Egg Paradox 10) Body Language under Stress

Nonverbal Advantage in Investigation

How much a small cigarette can reveal about the smoker standing next to you? Can you ever imagine if a small cigarette can shake an entire nation and an alliance? Can you ever imagine if a small cigarette can help in discovering perhaps the greatest intelligence breach in world history? Yeah! It surely can but only if you could detect its shaking in the hand of an individual who sold nuclear weapon launch codes for money while betraying his country.

You might have read a lot of stories of secret agents and spies. The fictional super-spy James Bond is celebrated on silver screen and loved all over the world. While secret agents and spies are depicted saving the world in movies, the individuals who catch evil spies and double agents are never talked about. Now, I'm going to share a short story about a very special individual who succeeded in bringing one of the smartest cold war spies to justice. In near future, his spy-catching pursuit might get converted into a movie too.

On one fine Sunday morning of Tampa (Florida) in August 1988, a young FBI agent was asked to meet and ask a few questions to a former American soldier named as Roderick James Ramsay. While asking him questions about another soldier named as Clyde Lee Conrad who was arrested in Germany upon suspicion of involvement in intelligence leakage, the FBI agent noticed subtle shaking of a burning cigarette in his hand. His hand revealed what his face was hiding from the FBI agent.

"The body reveals what the face conceals." - Joe Navarro

Why should a cigarette shake in Roderick’s hand upon listening a name of an individual? A single random instance then it could be an observational error. Right? However, every time the FBI agent intentionally but sporadically mentioned Clyde Conrad, the cigarette shook. It shook three times to give the agent a valid assurance to convince the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to start an elaborate and lengthy investigation which surprisingly lasted for next 10 years, till 1998.

Many frightening and mind-boggling revelations and disclosures were achieved by the FBI investigators. They were so serious and sensitive that many intelligence agencies or institutions like The Pentagon (United States Department of Defense), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), British Military Intelligence, Section 6 (MI6), German Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) or 'Federal Intelligence Service' and Hungarian Információs Hivatal (IH) followed the whole case very closely.

The single decisive observation of discomfort upon listening a name led to the revelation of a most horrifying intelligence leakage during the cold war. The accidental assignment to the case of Roderick James Ramsey changed the career of the young FBI agent which went on to become the world’s nonverbal communication pioneer and an inspiration for many crime investigators. The whole world knows him by his name as Joe Navarro. After 25 years of duty, he retired in 2003.

FBI agent Joe Navarro succeeded in bringing
one of the smartest cold war spies to justice.

Crime investigators, police officers, interrogators, detectives, secret-agents and spies simply cannot convince or pursue the investigation agencies, authorities and governments to start an investigation or take an action based upon a single body language clue. However, such subtle clues silently give a great insight into the minds of suspects. Clues of discomfort and distress given away by sudden body shifts, movements, gestures and expressions are stronger enough to not let them miss, ignore or neglect.

Our body gives away the clues of discomfort and distress not just upon seeing the discomforting and distressing visuals but also listening to the words which cause them. Mentioning names of the victim(s), weapon(s) used, partner(s) in crime and location(s) of crime or only known to the guilty arouses the nervous system of the individuals being questioned about the crime. It causes discomfort and distress in real time which the careful observer can capitalize on.

The courts ask for evidence not body language clues. If the investigator cautiously asks the right questions in the right sequence, by focusing on discomfort and distress clues, it can help the investigator to evince information of lead or probative value. However, observation is the key because these behaviors are very subtle and they disappear quickly.

Clues of Discomfort can be subtle/unnoticeable for most of the times.
(Image Courtesy: Body Language Decoded documentary)

Great investigators, analysts and profilers always look for subtle details. Some suspects might just sit for hours showing no expressions on their face while giving answers to the questions. However, the rest of their body can give away vital clues of discomfort and distress such as the one which were preciously picked by the experienced eyes of the FBI agent Joe Navarro who earned the title ‘spy-catcher’.

As Mr. Navarro often says, the body reveals what the face conceals. The secret is good observations, careful interviewing and keeping good notes of the observations. Hence, getting the nonverbal advantage in an investigation is only up to the the eyes of the investigator.

[#Special Note: This article is my sincere attempt to let the readers know about the world saving investigation of my great guru Sir Joe Navarro. I’ve taken a formal permission from him only through email for mentioning the famous investigative pursuit and publishing his photos in this article.

The whole story can be read in his book Three Minutes to Doomsday: An Agent, a Traitor, and the Worst Espionage Breach in U.S. History. The story might get converted into a movie for which famous actor George Clooney and filmmaker Grant Heslov have secured rights.]

Related Articles:
1) Body Language of James Bond 2) Inside Interrogation Room 3) Entire body can’t lie 4) Observation is the key 5) Artificial Intelligence and Body Language 6) Human Interactions in AI Era 7) Body Language and Lie Detection

Can body language reveal thoughts?

We have seen mentalists or psychic readers which can tell your credit card’s PIN number, your personal cell phone number, your address or even other private details just by observing you or asking your name in the very first meeting on a road or during a stage show.

Going even further, some mentalists or psychic readers can tell details about an individual just by looking at its photographs. Such ability empowers the readers to see through an individual like a large X-Ray machine. This is outstandingly mind blowing but equally scary too.

Although highly debated or doubted, mentalism or psychic reading might be a latest phenomenon in a million year long human developmental. However, everybody doesn’t need to a mentalist or a psychic reader to know about others because we all commonly share different emotions, moods, feelings, intentions, impulses, urges, desires, biases, approaches and attitudes. Human body is designed to express, convey, display or give them away almost unconsciously throughout our lives.

We can decode or understand somebody’s psychological, social and cognitive status and condition just by keenly observing its body language in a given context and at a given moment. Hence, decoding body language is largely and mostly equated with reading minds of the others in real-time. It’s practically and socially an extremely advantageous ability. Surprisingly, everybody has this natural ability. However, the degree of accuracy of reading others differs from one individual to another.

Being human is more than creatures with mostly predictive and instinctive behaviors. We possess a unique ability of thinking. Thinking sets us apart from creatures but thoughts set two individuals apart. Unlike commonly shared spectrum of physical expressions and behaviors, it’s the kind of thinking and thoughts which sets one individual apart from another. Obviously, the greatest question is Can body language of an individual reveal its thoughts?.

Before trying to find the answer of the question, let’s try to understand WHAT EXACTLY IS THINKING?. Thinking or forming thoughts is a conscious and also higher cognitive process which takes place even without any sensory stimulation or input. Process of thinking broadly includes judging, reasoning, forming opinion, crafting concept, generating idea, solving problem and deliberating. Emotions interfere with thinking process whereas thoughts regulate emotions.

Triune Brain or Three Brain Sections

We humans have three different sections of brain i. e. Reptile, Limbic/Mammalian and Neocortex. Both reptile and limbic sections initiate and regulate behaviors, expressions and displays related with survival, social interactions, territorial needs and mating. On the other hand, the thinking process supposedly takes place within and largely governed by neocortex (literally 'new brain') which is recently developed section inside the brain which sits right above the reptile and limbic sections.

Statue of the thinking man or the thinker is famous. The man is sitting with isolated, adapting closed body posture, giving support of his right hand to his face, maintaining downwards gaze or almost closing his eyes. By sitting at one place, he has diverted his entire physical energy and focus towards the (deep) thinking process or contemplation. While thinking about something, almost every human individual unconsciously switches to the similar kind of body posture.

Normally, frequency, intensity and duration of physical movements is strongly correlated with thinking process due to energy demand dynamics. Brain is an energy hungry machine which consumes almost 20% of the entire energy that body produces. Moreover, thinking alone burns 2/3 out of the same. Minimized or completed halted body movements help in diverting blood, glucose, oxygen and nutrients to the brain and especially the neocortex.

The Thinking Man

By looking at physical isolation, minimized movements, lowered muscle movements on face, steady neck and unmoving eyes; we can instantaneously know that an individual is thinking at the moment. Eye ball movements can give clues about cognitive processing such as memory recall.

Tiny muscular movements and/or micro-expressions on face reveal how the individual is reacting to its own thoughts. Diverted gaze, fixated eyes and partially or fully closed eyelids suggest the high degree of deliberate focus and concentration while thinking.

Hence, we can easily know if an individual is thinking just by looking at its overall body language. However, body language itself cannot reveal the thoughts of the same individual. The textual, numerical, symbolic and geometrical details of ongoing thoughts cannot be known. Other than using sign languages, it’s extremely tough or even impossibly to convey the exact details by using facial expressions, emblems, postures and hand gestures voluntarily.

Spoken language is the only medium of expressing, sharing or spreading thoughts, ideas, concepts, opinions, judgments and plans which are the ultimate products of activities taking placed among billions of neurons or brain cells. They are almost impossible to read from outside until expressed voluntarily. We simply can’t understand the exact details of thoughts until an individual conveys them verbally, puts them down on a paper or acts upon them ultimately.

Don’t you still believe it? Please let me explain it very simply. This very article made up of hundreds of words, numbers and special characters put under several paragraphs is the final product of my own thoughts about this very extremely interesting subject. Without publishing the same, how come you could have understood my own thoughts about it? Indeed, it was next to impossible! Isn’t it? Hope you clearly understood my point by now.

"An individual's body language can and does reveal thinking but not the exact details of its thoughts."

By the way, technology is trying to read human thoughts. In 2019, Facebook made an announcement of developing a device that can read thoughts directly from ongoing neural activities and translate them into words. Initially, this development is intended to help the patients who are suffering from paralysis to express their thoughts. However, end goal of is to provide the Brain Machine Interface to control and operate other devices.

Do you have Tin Foil Hats to prevent 'Thought Hacking'?

[Special Note: Our brain has an unique ability of visual thinking which is absolutely free from the words and languages. Visual thinking is thinking in the form of images, illustrations, icons, pictures and symbols.

Visual thinking utilizes our brain’s visual processing center and it is extremely useful in organizing data, connecting different pieces of information, understanding complex concepts or ideas and modelling.]

Related Articles:
1) Is Human Communication 93% Nonverbal? 2) Self-communication by gesturing 3) Why exactly languages evolved? 4) Body Language Brain 5) Words and gestures are alike 6) Would aliens have emotions? 7) Human Interactions in AI Era 8) Are human emotions really universal?

Reading Body Language - Baseline

Many body language experts, behavioral analysts or social readers confidently claim of being able to read any individual quickly by assuming that a particular behavior has a fixed meaning universally e. g. crossing hands over chest is a defensive stance. Additionally, there are thousands of books, presentations, articles and videos which are filled with many of such quick body language reading tips that can instantaneously turn an ordinary individual into a so-called 'master people reader'. However, the great question is that Has it really helped many of us in becoming a real expert?

We tend to conveniently ignore that every individual isn’t exactly identical to other even in a small group of closely related people. Although there are a lot of fundamental similarities among all of us, everybody isn’t exactly the same while perceiving, moving, behaving, speaking, expressing, reacting and interacting with others. Therefore, it’s really important to know how an individual normally moves, behaves, speaks, expresses, reacts and interacts in normal, routine, comfortable and stress-free situations, conditions and circumstances.

This detailed and attentive process is called as establishing the Baseline of an individual’s behaviors. Once we establish the baseline of an individual, we can easily detect changes happening in real time when the same individual is experiencing stress and discomfort. Being able to establish the accurate baseline is the key to detect deviations, anomalies or nuances in the same because they silently convey that something is off e. g. an outgoing, talkative and socially interacting young man suddenly starts staying all alone, silent and secretive.

Developing a good rapport with an individual within a less amount of time to establish its baseline is what highly successful interrogators, lie detectors, undercover agents and intelligence officers do before they start asking serious questions. Once the (sufficient) baseline is established, they can detect subtle changes is body movements, postures, gestures, facial expressions and speech quite easily and accurately. By doing the same, they can quickly pick (level of) stress and discomfort in responses from the individual.

Although Polygraph machine isn’t unanimously and universally considered as a reliable tool for detecting deception, establishing the baseline is the starting point of polygraph tests. The individual who is subjected to the polygraph test is asked a few normal questions like name, gender, birth date, birth place, color of dress, today’s date etc. which don’t induce stress and discomfort. It’s done to establish the baseline of physiological responses so that deviations, anomalies or nuances in them can be accurately detected later.

Establishing the baseline isn’t only game changing in interpreting an individual’s body language in motion but also still images especially portrait photographs. Recently, while looking at Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu’s portrait photo on cover page of Vogue magazine’s Indian edition, I really wondered if she was showing an expression of contempt on her face or not. Did Winning the Miss Universe title for India after 21 years turn her into a contemptuous lady?

Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu (India)

Understanding the great importance of establishing baseline before arriving to wrong conclusion, I checked a few of solo photographs from her earlier life. This confirmed that asymmetrical smile on her face was not about winning the crown but it's the way she has been portraying smile on her face from her childhood. I guess that she might have undergone a rigorous and prolonged training to break her smile baseline especially in front of people.

Establishing baseline is at the core of accurately detecting changes with their severity in real time. It's also very important to keep in mind that Behavioral Baseline can and does change with and/or due to (change in) age, occupation, experience, influence, training, conditioning and learning.

Related Articles:
1) Hand Gestures 2) Facial Expressions 3) Postures 4) Para Language 5) Micro Expressions 6) Context 7) Proxemics 8) Congruence 9) Clusters 10) Challenges 11) Interpretation 12) Asymmetrical Smile but not Contempt 13) Face of liar(?) 14) Inside Interrogation Room 15) Truth about Lying 16) Artificial Intelligence and Body Language

Online Etiquette

Since Covid 19 (Corona Virus) pandemic took the entire modern world in its tight grip, billions of people have lost control over their normal daily routines. Both social and work lives have been affected thoroughly and changed dramatically within just a moment after lock-down were declared by local governments.

Millions of working professionals all over the world have been forced to work from home, using devices like laptops, computers and cellphones. Their work-life has been confined to boundaries of their homes. Coincidentally, I'm one of them only.

Getting ready to go to the work place, interacting with many individuals on the way to office or at the work place, staying, working and eating together, attending meetings and going out on regular breaks with workmates is a daily routine of billions of people on this busy planet.

No matter how much monotonous, boring and mechanical it is, most working individuals like to spend their lives for decades like this. However, forcing most of us to Work From Home (WFH) has completely changed it, just at a moment's notice. Most of us weren't prepared for the same, both physically and mentally.

Facing and interacting with people effectively to achieve a specific common goal is already a great social and professional challenge. Additionally, online meetings, seminars, workshops, interviews and conferences have further intensified the same. Many individuals are finding it hard to interact online and thus making a lot of mistakes during online interactions.

Hence, I thought to come with a brief list of etiquette and good practices to help many working from home individual in appearing professional, attentive and interactive during online meetings.

Following is a list of the same:

1) Before interaction begins, ensure that you look enough professional. Ensure that you're wearing adequate and proper cloths. Ensure that your hair are well set.

2) Along with maintaining a professional look and composure, choose a quite and safe place to be able to seat undisturbed for a while to attend the meeting.

3) Maintain a proper, upright and steady posture so that your face and torso wouldn't appear appear leaning too much forward. Avoid playing or fidgeting.

4) Keep maintaining a proper distance between yourself and camera of the device so that other participants can see your entire face and neck.

5) Avoid making sudden, erratic and aggressive body movements until you really need to leave your place in emergency or the meeting ends.

6) Make sure that other participants can hear you and/or see you properly by setting up camera and microphone before meeting.

7) While a meeting in going on, don't touch your face and scratch your head/neck. Don't put fingers in mouth or bite nails.

8) Let it be only a voice meeting or a video meeting, avoid doing anything else simultaneously other than attending it.

9) While all others can see and hear you in the meeting room, avoid looking at your cellphone and listening music.

10) Make controlled hand gestures, nod your head and smile whenever it's necessary. Don't just seat coldly.

11) While all others can see you in the meeting room, maintain a proper and adequate eye contact.

12) Make sure that you've everything necessary with you to present, refer, recite or show.

13) Mute your microphone whenever you're not talking. Avoid whispering and talk fast.

14) Politely ask to repeat if you haven't heard somebody or something properly.

15) Don't forget to greet others at the beginning and the end of the meetings.

16) Choose a good background, blur it or replace it with a proper image.

New variants of the virus are emerging almost all over the world after a few days. Hence, there seems no relief from this ongoing pandemic that we all are facing since the beginning of 2020. Work From Home (WFH) might become a permanent routine for millions of working professionals from here onwards.

Be professionally ready for online meetings.

Many companies and professionals have switched to the long-term or even permanent Work From Home working mode already. Better prepare yourself properly to face it effectively.

Unlike rest of the subconscious body language cues, ettiqute need to learned by oneself or taughed by others consciously.

Wishing you all a very happy Working From Home!

Related Articles:
1) Workspace Etiquette 2) Elevator Etiquette

Basic Bodily Cues

Living is all about moving and replicating. All living creatures, beasts and beings continuously, instinctively, unconsciously and involuntarily strive to survive and replicate/reproduce by competing, cooperating, sharing, negotiating and comprising. It involves different types of physical movements, flutters, maneuvers, responses and defenses.

On the planet earth, all carbon-based, evolved and diverse living creatures do follow some very basic bodily behavioral patterns irrespective of their species, physical features, body size, body weight, body structure, population, habitat, diet, social structure, problem-solving ability and biological complexity. Perhaps, these patterns could be universal.

There are very few basic bodily cues and behavioral patterns which have been further transformed, diversified and amplified into various reflexes, facial expressions, postures, gestures, vocal tones, responses and feedback in multi-cellular, complex and large creatures including us. Matter of facts, artificial robots too follow them.

While reading each pattern, please keep in mind the opposite side of the pattern i. e. after 'verses' (vs.) word is opposite to or can be mostly opposite to what has been described for the former one e. g. Closing is opposite to Distancing or vice a versa.

1) Forwarding vs. Withdrawing: Extending, stretching, protruding, forwarding any body part or orienting the whole body towards somebody or something has to do with aiming, accepting, venturing, exploring, probing, searching, surrendering, drawing attention, offering, invading, warning, threatening, blocking, confronting, demanding, defending, leading, directing and willing or trying to participate, touch, initiate exchange, connect, attach, seize or provide support.

2) Raising vs. Lowering: Standing tall, gaining height or raising any body part or the whole body upwards has to do with showing strength, departing, declaring, demanding, declining, denying, provoking, challenging, risking, rebelling, resolving, braving, leading, opposing, uprising, unsharing, increasing visibility, visual field, range, reach, territory, domination or superiority and providing cover, shelter, support or safety to minors, subordinates or helpless.

3) Closing vs. Distancing: Coming close, moving close, reducing distance or closing gap with something or somebody has to do with harboring interest/curiosity, liking, agreeing, accepting, sharing, participating, invading, attaching, lacking fear, braving, preparing to attack, threatening, trusting, evaluating, examining, experiencing, sensing and providing refuge, shelter, affection, intimacy, nourishment, nurturing, resources, support or safety.

4) Fixating vs. Fleeting: Focusing attention on something or somebody has to do with aiming, liking, showing interest, harboring curiosity about and concentrating entire energy and attention over a considerable amount of time for learning about, understanding, examining, measuring or analyzing to obtain, acquire, attack, invade, earn, win, control, chase, pursue, catch, capture, hunt, seize and rule it.

5) Shrinking vs. Spreading: Shrinking, contracting, collapsing or downsizing has to do with sharing, deteriorating, weakening, decaying, controlling, averting, concealing, disliking, disagreeing, distrusting, differing, retreating, refusing, loosing, denying, defending and protecting self in the face of danger, risk, threat, challenge, calamity, superior, larger or dominant entity.

6) Hiding vs. Exposing: Hiding behind something or somebody or taking cover has to do with resting, ruminating, mustering energy, avoiding, waiting, stalking, ambushing, planning, strategizing, sheltering, securing, healing, recovering, escaping, defending and protecting self in the face of danger, risk, threat, challenge, calamity, superior, larger or dominant entity.

7) Startling vs. Settling: Startling, shaking or moving abruptly has to do with experiencing an shock, stir, disturbance and disruption caused due to sudden and involuntary exposure to or confrontation with unsuspected, unexpected, unlikable, unpleasant, undesired, untimely, unwanted, uncontrolled or inexperienced stimulus, sensation, thought or entity.

8) Moving vs. Stalling: Moving body has to do with asserting existence, traveling, migrating, acting upon, working, playing, performing, struggling, attracting, chasing, carrying, pursuing, competing, catching, foraging, losing patience/interest, escaping and defending self in the face of danger, risk, threat, challenge, calamity, superior, larger or dominant entity.

9) Gathering vs. Dispersing: Gathering or bringing together to form a group has to do with protecting each other, debating, deciding, strategizing, exchanging, celebrating, collaborating and initiating or attempting to achieve cooperation, agreement, unity, strength, safety, superiority, prosperity, solidarity, peace, harmony, intimacy, friendship and dominance.

10) Attaching vs. Detaching: Attaching, clasping, tethering, touching or tying with somebody or something has to do with accepting, bonding, confirming, enjoying, sharing, seeking, sucking, consuming, transferring, exchanging, extracting, earning and providing shelter, refuge, affection, nourishment, nurturing, resources, support or safety.

11) Flexing vs. Relaxing: Tightening muscles of any body part or the whole body has to do with enduring, suppressing, resolving, expressing anger or hostility and initiating or preparing to move, lift, carry, crush, drag, pull, push, punch, press, throw, strike, seize, fight, hunt, invade, penetrate, control or defend.

12) Seizing vs. Releasing: Seizing, grabbing or clutching somebody and something has to do with seeking support/security, feeling insecure, controlling, coercing, exploiting, consuming, stealing, hurting, torturing, punishing, silencing, dominating, suppressing, subjugating and asserting ownership.

Let it be a painting, a statue, a creature, a human, a casual social interaction between two persons or a serious encounter, if you start analyzing or examining cluster of postures, gestures, expressions, giveaways, responses and feedback only in the given context on the basis of aforementioned patterns then you would easily overcome ambiguity, uncertainty, obscurity and confusion while arriving on firm conclusions.

12 Basic Bodily Cues are quite logical, geometrical and universal.

An entity under examination might be following two or more patterns at the same time e. g. the statue of Sagittarius is following Forwarding, Rising, Fixating and Tightening patterns so Sagittarius seems (poised) to shoot the arrow at some higher and farther target. Remaining three examples above too are following two or more patterns at the same time.

Possibly, you can plot the checklist of patterns and their counter-patters mentally, digitally or on paper to derive firm conclusions about (living) entities and encounters under examination. Perhaps, this whole checklist can be turned into a computerized or digital tool.

If you pay a close attention then you would wonder to realize that all these patterns are quite logical, geometrical and universal. Sharing similarity with the classical 12 Zodiac Constellations, I personally call these basic patterns as Cue Constellations (CC).

Critically important factors for deriving conclusions from the aforementioned bodily cues are Cluster, Context and Congruence (if words and verbal dialogs are involved).

Perhaps, it's the first of its kind article written and published on a website that is dedicated to body language.

Related Articles:
1) Hand Gestures 2) Facial Expressions 3) Postures 4) Para Language 5) Micro-expressions 6) Context 7) Proxemics 8) Congruence 9) Clusters 10) Challenges 11) Interpretation

Entire body can’t lie

After Sir Charles Darwin, detecting and decoding facial expressions has dominated nonverbal studies, research and analysis. There are different software applications available in market which are dedicated to facial expression decoding, including the one you might have installed on your own smart phone.

However, on the evolutionary time-scale, expression of different emotions through movements of facial muscles is recent addition. Also, with the help of a sophisticated brain, we’ve gained mastery in hiding, suppressing, modulating or manipulating facial expressions of emotions and feelings.

Our faces can lie but entire body can’t. Don’t you believe in this? Let me share with you an incident and my investigation about same based upon body language clues which would definitely shatter your faith in relying entirely on facial expressions during interactions.

In last week, my wife and I took a public transport bus for Pune, India. It was past midnight when we took the bus. Three persons, two adult men and a young lady, took the bus along with us. It was having one column of 2 seater couches and another 3 seater couches placed in multiple rows. Two columns were separated by a narrow walk-through passage.

It was carrying passengers almost half of its normal seating capacity so most of them were sleeping by stretching their legs on couches covering all adjacent seats. My wife and I found two empty adjacent seats for us at the front side of bus. Soon after we took our seats and relaxed, the bus took off from station.

The young lady managed to find a seat on a 2 seater couch just three rows ahead of us. An adult passenger came right behind her hurriedly and managed to find a seat on a 3 seater couch. Having enough space between him and the lady, he could observe her clearly from his place.

He tried to start a conversation with her by asking few trivial questions but the lady didn’t respond him at all. After some time, the lady relaxed in her seat and the man left his seat and found an empty 3 seater couch at the back of the bus. He stretched his legs on the long couch and fell asleep or it at least appeared as if he fell asleep.

We are more vulnerable in darkness.

I told my wife about what had just happened as she was busy in preparing to fall asleep. After some time, my wife fell asleep and I started thinking about the way the adult man was looking at the lady despite of her lack of attention towards him. He was running his eyes on her from tip to toe repeatedly with blank face as if he was measuring her.

His trivial questions which he could have asked to the bus conductor, driver or other passengers were actually intended to get the lady’s attention. She definitely might have sensed his true intentions and turned down his moves for getting closer to her.

As part of the standard procedures, bus conductor asked bus driver to switch of the light so that passengers could fall asleep for next few hours. Soon after the man went at back of the bus, I too fell asleep. After 3 hours, I suddenly woke up and found what I was not expecting at all. The adult man was seating at the place where the lady was seating before lights were switched off.

The man was appearing restless and disturbed in his seat. She had disappeared from area in front of us in the bus. Where she might have gone? Did she go off from the bus at some place? So many horrifying thoughts came into my mind so I asked my wife to wake up and shared what happened.

Out of social responsibility, I checked if the lady was still riding the bus or got off somewhere. When I turned my sight at the back of my bus through the narrow passage, I found her seating at the same place where the adult man found a couch to sleep before lights were switched off. As it clearly appeared, both of them had swapped their places. What might have led them to switch their places?

As I was looking at him from behind, the man was nervous and disturbed. On the other hand, the lady appeared completely relieved and confident. Their bodies were conveying entirely opposite states of mind. Something might have gone wrong. What it could possibly be, after all?

Let’s go back in time briefly and check history of their bus journey. The man had seen her getting while catching the bus. Both of them were complete strangers for each other. The lady was traveling alone but she was cautious about her safety. The man gave many lustful giveaways through his gaze and body orientation.

By asking trivial questions, he tried to gain her attention but she wisely turned down same. After 3 hours, there ended up switching their places. Surprisingly, the man was restless and the lady was relaxed. Are you getting it? What clues their bodies where giving? Wise readers might definitely have figured it out by now.

Opportunists consider a lonely woman as an easy target.

Undoubtedly, if the lady would have paid him enough attention and engaged in conversation with him (or in other words - “got into his trap”), he would definitely have dared to seat close to her in same couch. She refuted his attempt by sensing his true intentions. When all passengers fell asleep, the man might have managed to get close to her, talk with her and touch her in wrong way.

Being aware about his true intentions, she might have gathered her courage in no time. Finally, she got away from him at a safer place where he wouldn’t dare to reach her. With no other place left to seat, the wrongdoer sank in her seat. Bus driver and bus conductor would have sensed his wrongdoing and might have warned him off. Even their faces wasn’t at all giving any clear clues, their bodies were talking loudly to my eyes as they would have to eyes of any keen observer and situationally aware individual.

The way he followed her inside the bus and sat close to her, initial verbal interaction between them, his lustful eyes darting on her body, her wisely turning him down and above all - swapping each other’s seats at the end was enough to suggest what exactly might have happened between them to do so in the public transport bus which was traveling at night and filled with passengers who had fallen asleep excluding the bus driver. The lonely young lady wasn’t too stupid to approach the same man, who was measuring her lustfully, for requesting him to swap the seats in the darkness.

Right from a single celled microbe to multi-cellular and large creatures, entire bodies give so many different kinds of clues that we can hardly image about. Faces might, can or do lie but other parts of our bodies simply can’t or don’t. Other body parts convey entirely different message than what face is trying to express consciously or unconsciously.

Are you looking at the whole elephant?
Or just a few separate parts of the same?

The method of whole body's nonverbal decoding could solve many problems in our daily social lives including thefts, attacks, exploitation and crimes. Many puzzling questions related with incidents and crimes can be solved by whole body's nonverbal decoding only because entire body simply can’t lie.

Many good observers, social analysts, interviewers, detectives, investigators and even interrogators emphasize on facial clues but underrate, ignore, overlook or don’t pay conscious attention at what rest of the body of an individuals is giving away unconsciously.

Physical space, body positioning, posture, orientation of face and torso, gaze, shoulders, legs, hands and fingers talk louder let alone movements, expressions and gestures made by them.

[#Kind Appeal: This article was written with sole purpose of bringing mass social awareness about women’s safety, security and dignity in face of growing incidents of teasing, harassment, exploitation and coercion in public transport vehicles.

Although this article talks written through body language perspective, the great social issue is wide-spread. Hence, I kindly appeal all of you to share this article on different social media platforms.]

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Why exactly languages evolved?

Have you ever played dumb charade? You might need to. A week ago, my wife and I had a prolonged and heated argument over a topic (we’re not a ‘very different couple’). At the end of arguing, out of her disappointment, my wife suddenly jumped into ‘Verbal Non-cooperation’ mode with me. She declared that we wouldn’t talk with each other, just to cool off from heated arguments that we just had.

Whoever talks first would loose thus need to give some kind of gift to other. By the way, we gave liberty to each other to communicate nonverbally i. e. through facial expressions, gestures, body movements and some very basic sounds.

Within just a minute after we got into ‘Verbal Non-cooperation’ mode, I had to ask her about very important thing about this so-called ‘silent standoff’. I started by using hand gestures, facial expressions and sounds to explain what exactly I wanted to ask her about. I was trying harder to explain and she was trying even harder to understand.

After few frustratingly failed attempts, I eventually broke into words overthrowing the agreement. Actually, the question I wanted to ask her was - For how many hours or days from now we’re going to be in this mode?. This question was very easy to ask verbally than nonverbally.

Have you ever asked yourself this question - WHY (or HOW) the very language I speak and write in EVOLVED? Well! This so-called simple question is very complex to answer in a single sentence. So many theories have been proposed over years about evolution of spoken languages and writing systems.

Like other experts in this field, I’ve my own theory about same to which I call as Nonverbal Failure Theory (NFT). It doesn’t discuss about HOW exactly languages evolved but pin points WHY exactly languages evolved. Let me introduce all of you with this theory.

Like all other creatures, we evolved to communicate primarily through bodily expressions because they are embodied, non-confusing and easily understandable. Moreover, everything we observe, experience, sense through different sensory organs, store in memory and eventually respond to is basically nonverbal.

Body language is outward manifestation of emotions, feelings, motives, intentions, orientations and aspirations. It was only nonverbal mode of communication or body language through which our remote ancestors used to exchange information and knowledge among themselves. It still happens today, between a mother and a child. Haven't you observed it?

Nonverbal mode of exchange or body language is so profound, irreplaceable and inseparable from vast world of creatures that even two members of two entirely different species can communicate between each other easily. Except modern humans, rest of the creature world successfully survives through communicating nonverbally. Isn’t that amazing?

Let’s take a look at our closest evolutionary cousins. Male gorillas don’t (need to) write letters to their potential mates to win their hearts and chimps don’t (need to) speak over hours among themselves to create strong social bonds and bonobos don't need to sing the songs of eternal peace and brotherhood.

Communicating with dogs nonverbally isn't much harder for us.

We all know that our ancestors faced same challenges like every other creature. To survive successfully, any creature has to 1) defend itself from predators and adverse climatic conditions 2) mark and protect certain physical area for shelter 3) find and preserve food to live upon 4) attract a mate, protect it and produce off-springs 5) take care of off-springs and teach them techniques, methods and manners 6) cooperate and coordinate with members of same species as well as others to seize opportunities and minimize risk to survival.

To be able to survive and pass genes to next generation, any living creature must be able manage fairly well on all six fronts, both on it own and communally. For doing same, it needs to communicate effectively. Communication is said to have taken place effectively between two individuals only when the sender succeeds in inducing the most accurate meaning of indented message in the mind (or brain) of the receiver.

Being primitive, honest and clear in nature, nonverbal mode of communication is still the best. However, it has its own limitations, challenges and issues.

When environment, living conditions, resources and survival challenges remain same over a considerable amount of time; creatures don’t need to adapt to new tools, techniques and methods. They can carry on surviving and passing genes by using old and same methods, tools, techniques and methods which their ancestors invented, devised and taught to later generations. When entirely new challenges appear, they have to adapt anew to survive.

Was it a dramatic alteration in early human’s survival challenges that ultimately led to evolution of speaking and writing? According to Nonverbal Failure Theory (NFT), language evolved when Nonverbal mode of communication failed to meet the very challenges and demands of human world that went on becoming complex. It kept on expanding through continual exposure, experience, exploration, observation and experimentation.

Languages and scripting methods were invented by us just to overcome huge barriers and shortcomings that facial expressions, gestures, body movements and some very basic sounds posed in expanding human world and changing living environment. Human bipedal anatomy, erect posture and free hands greatly helped in development of speech and scripting.

In modern world, can we explain or describe mathematical formulas/equations, theories, findings, patterns etc. without using alphabets, numbers and signs? Simply, we cannot.

When our ancestors started to realize that body movements, gestures, facial expressions, postures, smells, sounds and colors were not efficient or adequate to express, convey, explain, propagate and record complex & lengthy information, occurrences and phenomenon; they completely revolutionized the way of human communication.

It must have started by making different kinds of grunts, growls and sounds through their primitive voice-boxes to identify, convey and talk about different entities, occurrences and phenomenon. Continual changes in producing sounds from throat paved path for evolution of spoken languages.

Carving images and basic shapes on cave walls, writable surface of pots, lather, wood and fabric paved path for evolution of writing. Both spoken and written mode of communication catapulted human evolution. This very article is result of our ability to write down information and data systematically.

However, nonverbal mode of communication is still most effective and efficient, especially when it comes to expressing and acting on something that simply can’t be conveyed, done or carried out through speech and scripting. Action speaks louder than words. Right? Moreover, effectiveness of nonverbal communication wouldn’t wither in future, as long as creatures thrive on this marvelous planet to which we call Earth.

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