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Advanced Research in Scientific Areas 2012 December, 3. - 7. 2012

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Abstract Body language never lies, not just in the game of pickup, but also in the game of athletics. How can one accurately evaluate this before ever seeing any athlete performance or for example, a golfer's swing? This is so because people are constantly throwing off a storm of signals. Micro expressions, hand gestures, and posture register almost immediately, a silent orchestra that can have long-lasting repercussions. On some level, we all possess this awareness and understanding of the value placed on confident body language but, because most men grew up playing sports and not practicing coolness with beautiful women, we are often more likely to accurately comprehend this phenomenon in the arena of athletics. To use one sport to elaborate upon the subtle, predictable and transferable indicators of confident body language; anytime, one goes golfing and is paired with golfers with whom he/she has never played before, one can instantaneously tell who will be gunning for par and who will be spending time searching for their ball in the woods. Keywords- body language, athletics, confidence, golfer, signals

Body language is a form of mental and physical ability of human non verbal communication which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously. James Borg states that human communication consists of 93 percent body language and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words themselves; however, Albert Mehrabian, the researcher whose 1960s work is the source of these statistics, has stated that this is a misunderstanding of the findings. Others assert that "Research has suggested that between 60 and 70 percent of all meaning is derived from nonverbal behavior. Body language may provide clues as to the attitude or state of mind of a person. For example, it may indicate aggression, attentiveness, boredom, relaxed state, pleasure, amusement and intoxication among many other clues. People are constantly throwing off a storm of signals. Micro expressions, hand gestures, and posture register almost immediately, a silent orchestra that can have long-lasting repercussions. The newly included emotions are Amusement, Contempt, Contentment, Embarrassment, Excitement, Guilt, Pride in achievement, Relief, Satisfaction, Sensory pleasure and Shame.

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(Sporting) body language communication

Danica Pirsl
Faculty of sport University of Nis Nis, Serbia Email: danicapirsl@yahoo.com

Ivana Djordjevic
Faculty of sport University of Olomouc Olomouc, Czech Republic

II.

BODY LANGUAGE - NATURE OR NURTURE?

Body language is part of human evolution, but as with many other aspects of human behavior, the precise mixture of genetic (inherited) and an environmental (learned or conditioned) influence is not known, and opinions vary. Julius Fast noted this, especially regarding facial expressions. To emphasize the shifting debate he cited for example: 1) Darwin's belief that human facial expressions were similar among humans of all cultures, due to evolutionary theory. 2) Bruner and Taguiris opposing views - in the early 1950s, after thirty years of research, they largely rejected the notion that facial expressions were inborn. 3) Ekman, Friesan and Sorensen's findings in 1969, having discovered consistent emotional-facial recognition across widely diverse cultural groups, which supported Darwin's evolutionary-centered ideas. The discussion has continued in a similar vein to the modern day - studies 'proving' genetic or environmental cause 'nature' or 'nurture' - for one aspect of body language or another. The situation is made more complex when one considers the genetic (inherited) capability or inclination to learn body language. Is this nature or nurture? It's both. Body language is partly genetic (inborn - 'nature') - hugely so in certain aspects of body language - and partly environmental (conditioned/learned - 'nurture'). Some body language is certainly genetically inherited and consistent among all humans. Other body language is certainly not. The use and recognition of certain fundamental facial expressions are now generally accepted to be consistent and genetically determined among all humans regardless of culture. However the use and recognition of less fundamental physical gestures (hand movements for example, or the winking of an eye), and aspects of personal space distances, are now generally accepted to be environmentally determined (learned, rather than inherited), which is significantly dependent on local society groups and cultures. Certain vocal intonation speech variations (if body language is extended to cover everything but the spoken words) also fall within this environmentally determined category. In summary, we can be certain that body language (namely the conscious and unconscious sending and receiving of non-verbal signals) is partly inborn, and partly learned or conditioned. Body language is part 'nature' and part 'nurture'.

I.

INTRODUCTION

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Specifically, the body language of the athlete performance or to put it more down to earth, golfer's set up, we can intuitively recognize body language and physical confidence deriving from his/her posture, when merely standing over the ball. In the same way that a woman can evaluate if you're cool or not before you've ever spoken a word, one can tune in to the body language of golfers and unconsciously recognize the subtleties and nuances of a good golf set up with just a quick glance. Once your antennae are up and you are focused on the body language in sports, you know in the blink of an eye, who is an athlete and who is not. One can remember those days back in summer camp when teams were being picked for Kick Ball and there was this new crop of kids that one had never seen before but, as the Captain, one had to choose who he/she wanted on your team. Was it really difficult to tell who was going to be up at the top of the order and who was going to be riding the bench? Of course not. You knew instantly and intuitively who the best players/athletes were just by the way they were standing up against the wall and waiting to get picked for the team. Guess what, when you are standing up against the wall at the bar (hopefully, not for too long), to determine if you will be chosen for a woman's proverbial team, she can size you up in just a heartbeat, based simply on your body language. Try to digress, back to adulthood and the body language of the confident golfer athlete. For those of you who have ever played golf, received golf instruction, or have seen a picture of a golfer in a magazine, you know the importance of starting from the ground up and getting set up for the swing. Just look at golfing greats like Tiger Woods and Ernie Els over the ball and you will likely be able to tell that they are the body language golfing equivalents to James Bond. So, unless you've been living under a rock during the past 10 years, you have probably watched Tiger Woods play at least a little golf on television. Time and time again, he just looks like the best golfer on the course and I'm not even talking about his actual swing. Just watch him walk down the fairway, read a putt, talk to his caddie and at the most fundamental level, set up to hit a golf shot. However, if I showed you a side by side picture of the set up of Tiger and an average golfer, you would probably feel a visceral difference between the two, but you might struggle to put a finger on or articulate what this difference is. Does this sound anything like what a woman might say when she is asked to observe the difference between a man with confident body language and one with ordinary body language? Too many times to count! IV. GOLF EXAMPLE OF BODY LANGUAGE

Another great golf example of body language is Ernie Els who carries himself in a different kind of confident way. His nickname is the Big Easy and it has nothing to do with New Orleans and everything to do with the relaxed and flowing nature with which he gracefully moves on the golf course and in life. While we have looked at the sport of golf to this point, this same body language confidence could also be applied regarding athletic success across all sports. When seeing Michael Jordan come off the bench after a timeout at the end of

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III.

BODY LANGUAGE AND PHYSICAL CONFIDENCE

a game, based just on the way he walks back onto the court, you know he is going to make the shot. The same could be said for Derek Jeter when he calmly steps into the batter's box in a clutch playoff situation-his inner body radiates poise and you know that he will come through with a hit. Good body language transcends sport and can come in all shapes and sizes, so even if your personality and body language doesn't necessarily reflect the dominant and aggressive Tiger Woods/Colin Farrell type, you could instead be the smooth and effortless Ernie Els/George Clooney type. Enough talk about athletes and celebrities, let's get down to the nuts and bolts by dissecting the finer points of the confident, athletic golfer's set up and how it relates to powerful and winning body language with attracting women:

First, you must have your weight balanced and evenly distributed between your heels and toes. You should then be standing tall and taking up space with a nice wide stance (if you are hitting the driver) whereby, your feet are slightly wider than shoulder width apart. From there, you should have tallness in your legs with a slight flex in the knees so that you're your lower body FEELS relaxed, yet dynamic. Your hips should be open in a vulnerable position, your chest is out and your shoulders are back. Moving right along, the arms should hang naturally at your sides and be fully extended without any signs of tightness. Next, when gripping the golf club, there should also be a strong, softness with your hands to further ensure that you are tension-free. (Golfing legend Ben Hogan used to say that he could actually tell how good a golfer was by looking strictly at his hands and how he placed them on the club). Additionally, your head, neck, and back should be in alignment and at a slight angle. Finally, you should keep your head still, jaw relaxed, and making solid eye contact with the ball and be sure not to fidget or shake with any part of your body.

Once in this position, ideally, you could stand this way for hours and always feel ready to hit the ball down the fairway at a moment's notice. Does this description of the confident golf setup seem like it could slightly resemble alpha male body language with women? I think so. But, would any new golfer be able to tune into these intricate details, naturally knowing what to do or even understanding them from looking at a picture in a magazine? Probably not! The same goes for men learning the art of self-assured, attractive overall body language. This bodily form of everyday confidence IS a learnable skill that can be conveyed through instruction, practice and awareness.

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In examining the importance of body language in athletes, we should also consider the flip side of the coin. Bad body language can often be easy to spot and once this chink in the armor is detected, any betting man could accurately determine the likelihood of a negative result or performance in the athlete, just by looking at him. Once observed, we then intuitively interpret this bad body language as revealing feelings of insecurity, discomfort and doubt. On a practical level, professional golfer Sergio Garcia went through a rough patch in his game when he would literally stand over the ball, nervously gripping and re-gripping the club over and over again for periods of 30-60 seconds, before he actually swung it. After watching this body language disaster (reminiscent of the guy at the bar who is anxiously swaying from side to side, pecking and leaning in incessantly when talking to a girl), do you really have to know anything about golf to predict that Sergio wasn't going to win any golf tournaments until he got this significantly noticeable physical quirk fixed? Of course not, confidence is manifested through the body and you don't need to be golf instructor extraordinaire, Butch Harmon to ascertain the golf confidence level of Sergio Garcia. In the same way, a woman doesn't need to be super-socialite Paris Hilton to detect if you are a man who has confident body language-Rosie O'Donnell could tell just as easily. Hopefully, now you can understand why one doesn't need to see a golfer take a full swing to know how good he/she is or why a woman doesn't need to hear a guy say to her "Who lies more, men or women?" to tell how cool he is. VI. CONCLUSION

It's always appeared difficult to hone in on the many subtleties of both solid body language in sports and solid body language in pickup, but once you are more aware of them, they

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V.

THE FLIP SIDE OF THE COIN

can be learned and practiced (in the mirror, at the bar, at the bookstore, the office, or even on the driving range), until the day arrives when you are ready to play your game. These skills will often feel uncomfortable or awkward at first because they are new to you, whereby you are not used to consistently using your body in this way. But, over time these postures, positions and movements will become fully internalized, unconscious and automatic. So, eventually, it won't matter if you are on the tee at the 18th hole of the Masters with a one stroke lead or you are talking to Heidi Klum at a fashion show, your body will be confidently prepared for any situation. REFERENCES
[1] [2] Borg, James. Body Language: 7 Easy Lessons to Master the Silent Language. FT Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-13-700260-3 Markku Haakana 2001. Laughing Matters: A Conversation Analytical Study of Laughter in Doctor - Patient Interaction. Department of Finnish Language, University of Helsinki Hall, Edward T. (1966). The Hidden Dimension. Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-08476-5 Engleberg, Isa N. Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies. My Communication Kit Series, 2006. page 140-141 Pease, Allan (October 21, 2004). The Definitive guide to Body Language. Chapter 1: Orion Media. ISBN 0752861182. Edward Twitchell Hall, The Silent Language, 1959, Doubleday E T Hall, Proxemics - A Study of Man's Spatial Relationship, 1963, International Universities Press J S Bruner and R Taquiri, The Perception of People, 1954, Handbook of Social Psychology, Addison Wesley Julius Fast, Body Language, 1971, Pan D Hartland and C Tosh, Guide to Body Language, 2001, Caxton P Ekman, E R Sorenson and W V Friesen, Pan-Cultural Elements in Facial Displays of Emotion, Science Vol 164, No 3875, 4 Apr 1969 C Boyes, Need to Know Body Language, 2005, Harper Collins Judi James, The Body Language Bible, 2008, Random House

[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

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