This article throws light on some of the misconceptions about the body language of an individual. Many people, who are keen about body language, want to know what their body language should be during a conversation with the boss, at an interview, while teaching, etc., so that they may "project the right signals". Is this possible? To answer this, one has to have a thorough understanding of the concepts involved in body language, so that there can be clarity about the application of knowledge.

Human beings are considered superior to other animals, for their speech and thinking abilities. Linguists have also found out through their research that animals can neither remember and talk about their past nor imagine and talk about their future. They react to various stimulations in different ways, by emitting different kinds of sounds. Human beings have the advantage of speech but even before the man's ability of speech evolved, communication took place among the human beings through sign languages. In due course of time, humans learnt to utter distinctive sounds to convey their feelings. This eventually led to the development of language that helped them communicate their thoughts clearly.

Body language or Kinesics is the non-verbal or speechless communication that occurs among individuals. For example, if somebody stares at us, nods or shakes head when we say something, it surely conveys something to us. It is a response to what we have said. Does a happy man need to announce that he is happy or can we make it out by ourselves? This is called non-verbal communication. Instead of using the words, this communication takes place with the help of body gestures. So this language is called body language. Among all the ways we use to communicate, body language is the most prominent one. However, these days, spoken language has got so much of importance that man has either stopped or neglected the body cues.

Further, body language is the indication of an individual's inner feelings and emotions at a given point of time. Though speech can help an individual to express or understand these things, non-verbal communication is more accurate than speech as it is unplanned and unintentional. We express more through our gestures than our speech.

HRM Review Magazine, Body language, Non-Verbal Communication, Soft Skills, Corporate Sectors, Gestures, Unintentional Human Gestures, Vocabulary, Communication skills, Non-Verbal Behavior, Application of knowledge.