In an article for The Writer, Todd James Pierce offers advice for writing effective nonverbal communication. “As humans, we are hardwired to visually observe our world, to understand it through sight and sound, by watching what people do, not just what they say,” he says. “Animals often communicate with their bodies, and even after the invention of spoken language, we, as sophisticated human creatures, communicate with our bodies as well.”
When we listen, we take in more than words. We also pay attention to tone and body language, which often betrays the meaning of the verbiage. “When the message of the body is at odds with the message of the mouth, most people believe the body,” Pierce notes. A line of dialogue, without further description, can have only a limited range of meanings. When you add body language, the messages you can portray are numerous.
Common emotions, such as happiness or anger, are easier to portray in fiction, as our physical responses cross cultures. When people are happy, they smile, regardless of country of origin. You don’t need a lot of description to show that your character is happy, sad, surprised, or scared, but more complex emotions require a more sophisticated approach.
“Manipulators are a type of gesture that people will often engage when they are anxious, stressed, or uncomfortable, such as hand wringing, neck rubbing, or chin scratching,” Pierce writes. “When we’re stressed, we tend to touch our bodies, as we find it comforting.” These gestures can signal concern, discomfort, frustration, or hesitance. “All of these gestures signal to readers that the information they are about to receive should be handled with critical skepticism as it may – or may not – be filtered through a character’s need to alter, improve, or omit details, even if they aren’t strictly telling a lie,” Pierce notes.
Liars often have physical “tells” that can clue you in to their fabrications. “Children who are lying tend not to look people in the eye, but adults do, as they’ve been taught that the absence of eye contact can be construed as a sign of lying,” Pierce says. “Adults, when telling lies, might try to control their eye connections in a way that seems slightly forced. Liars also tend to take slightly longer to answer a question and add more space between their words, largely because they need more time to think through their answer than a person telling the truth.”
Confidence or a lack thereof are also strongly communicated with body language. “Submissive gestures are expressed by the body folding in on itself, often at the shoulders, and moving away from possible aggression or conflict,” Pierce writes. “Gestures of confidence include hands on hips, perhaps an inflated chest, and an overall posture in which the body takes up a good deal of space.” Adding these gestures to dialogue – particularly to dialogue that convey an opposing or neutral message – add layers of meaning and conflict to your writing.
Sometimes, body language can comprise the majority of your character’s communication or even the entirety. Sometimes, the body can send messages a character doesn’t know are being conveyed. For example, a character unaccustomed to carrying a weapon might walk stiffly or keep his hands near the concealed weapon, sending a major signal to anyone who understands the signal.
There are times you’ll want to interpret body language for your readers, such as when a gesture can have multiple meanings depending on context, or when writing for younger readers. “In middle grade, nearly all action is explained, as the reading audience is often too young to interpret gestural cues on their own,” Pierce notes. “In a similar fashion, fast-paced books – such as some mystery novels and thrillers – will often interpret gestures as a way of helping readers to turn pages quickly. Literary fiction, however, rarely interprets gestures and instead allows readers, through their skills of observation, to assemble meaning, guided by well-placed details.”
