By Paola Pascual on May 11, 2020 11:50:47 AM
Because communication is not all verbal, Amy Cuddy explains how body language can shape who you are and how others perceive you. In this post, you will learn vocabulary and expressions related to body language and some questions to practice comprehension and expression.
TED Talk: Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are
Topic: Body Language | Length: 21:02 | Speaker: Amy Cuddy
"Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy argues that "power posing" –standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident– can boost feelings of confidence, and might have an impact on our chances for success."
Vocabulary from the video
Vocabulary related to body language and personality:
|
General English:
|
Vocabulary practice
Look at the sentences below taken from the video and rewrite them using different words but expressing the same meaning. You can either only change the underlined words, or change the whole sentence structure, up to you!
Example: I find that a really good time to do this is Friday afternoons.
- OPTION A: I think that a really good time to do this is Friday afternoons.
- OPTION B: Friday afternoons is for me the best time to do this.
- 1. Tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.
- 2. It could significantly change the way your life unfolds.
- 3. So a handshake, or the lack of a handshake, can have us talking for weeks and weeks and weeks.
- 4. And those judgments can predict really meaningful life outcomes like who we hire or promote, who we ask out on a date.
- 5. You want the person who's powerful and assertive and dominant, but not very stress reactive, the person who's laid back.
- 6. And we make sweeping judgments and inferences from body language.
- 7. It was inevitable that I would become interested in power dynamics.
Discussion questions
Practice your speaking skills with the questions below. In the first section, you will be able to test comprehension. In the second set of questions, you will get some interesting conversation prompts related to the TED Talk.
Comprehension questions
- What is the talk about?
- What things do you agree and disagree on?
- Did she bring up any differences in body language between men and women?
- What are some of the characteristics of powerful people?
- According to the talk, can you “fake it till you make it”?
- What is 'impostor syndrome'?
Conversation questions
- To what extent do you think body language is important? Why?
- How much do you personally use body language to communicate?
- How does your native culture use body language? How is it different from others?
- What do you think about eye contact? When is it a positive thing and when can it be seen as negative?
- How much do you notice other people's body language?
- Think about what happens when you are talking to someone. What messages would the following send?
- standing with your hands on your hips
- putting your hands in your pockets
- crossing your arms
- fidgeting with a pen
- looking at the floor
- winking at the other person
Keep improving your business English
Take your professional English communication skills to the next level with Talaera. Join one of our free webinars and read more about our English programs, for you or for your teams.
For any additional information or questions, reach out at hello@talaera.com. Interested in getting the best offers and receiving free content on Business English communication for you and your teams? Subscribe to our newsletter!
Did you enjoy this post? We have more like this:
- 21 Helpful Tips For Remarkable and Outstanding Presentation Skills
- 30 Must-Know Idioms About Negotiations & Agreements
- How To Learn The Difference Between 'Really' And 'Very'?
- 150+ Useful Email Phrases That Will Make Your Life Easier
- The 10 Proven Tactics You Need To Make Your Boss Say Yes
- What’s the difference between FOR and TO? Finally explained!
- 14 Simple Rules That Will Make You A Better Communicator
- Learning Business English? +20 Top Tips You Need To Know
comments