The normal, relaxed manner of a person when they are calm and unpressured.
Before a difficult subject arises you notice how a friend usually sits, speaks and gestures at ease. That relaxed picture becomes the yardstick against which every later change can be measured.
Establish the baseline first, then read meaning into deviations from it rather than into isolated acts. A gesture only becomes significant once you know whether it is unusual for that person.
Without a baseline almost any reading is guesswork, so gather it patiently before judging. Jumping to conclusions before you know someone normal manner is the surest route to error.
Interpreting several cues together rather than resting a conclusion on a single gesture.
ExploreThe influence of the surrounding setting on how a behaviour should be understood.
ExploreThe use and management of personal space, including how close people stand or sit.
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