Patti Wood Body Language Expert Blog

Hitler Was a Materful Mimic and Did Mean Spirited Imatations.

Hitler had a playful side. He was very mean spirited, and loved to use his body language and paralanguage abilities to mock others.

Few people know that Hitler was a great mimic and ham and did mean spirited imitations of people in his inner circle. I don’t know if there are photos of him in mimic mode, but I think that is so fascinating. I could give you names of some of the people he imitated if you want to grab stills of them. I feel this speaks to his ability to create a persona and his lack of respect for even those loyal to him.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

The Secret of Hitler's Voice, Hitler Was Gassed and Had to Learn How to Speak Again.

The secret? On 14 October 1918, Hitler and numerous comrades in his regiment were seriously wounded by England’s first use of chlorine gas and Hitler was temporarily blinded. He lost his voice and had to learn to speak again. This is fascinating to me. It explains his gravelly voice and shows his determination. He worked very hard to improve his voice as he recovered because he had a passion and a vision to be a great speaker and leader one day. Yes, creepy yet, true.

As he rose to power, he worked with a coach to change his voice and body language to suit each person or crowd. He would prepare the night before each meeting or speech, having gathered as much lintel all the person or group as he could and customize his content and his delivery for maximize persuasive impact.
I spent three months analyzing his voice and body language in over 100 videos and sometimes I was mesmerized, other times i was quite sick and couldn't sleep.

He could vary his voice and delivery like a great actor, going from soft calm and soothing like a lullaby to a child to loud fist filled gavel of voice filled with rage. He would use various accents, and change his style from low brow language to sophisticated light and urbane depending on his audience and he could use a joking lilt of a voice one minute and a menacing taught with one paragraph.
All in all, Hitler worked very hard to be a powerful speaker and spread his evil.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Hitler Was a Big Whistler. Hitler use to whistle this song.

Hitler Was a Big Whistler. He loved to whistle the song “Who is afraid of the big bad wolf”

Whistling can occur when someone is happy and content or it can be a way of self-soothing when someone is under stress or scared. You have to look at the person's other behaviors and the context to analyze the meaning of someone's whistle.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also, check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Cry it out. Letting baby “Cry it Out” causes stress that kills brain cell.

Cry it out. Letting baby “Cry it Out” causes stress that kills brain cell.

This is a fascinating article. It is related to other posts I have done on the importance of loving care and touch for babies and the effects of stress on the brain.

I know. A dramatic headline. Made you look. But it's not fiction. It turns out that the "Cry It Out" method of baby sleep training, where you ignore that your kid is screaming, crying and turning 40 shades of purple so that she can break herself out of the habit of being spoiled and cuddled to sleep, does more harm -- way more -- than good.

In her recent piece for Psychology Today, Darcia Narvaez, an associate professor of psychology at Notre Dame, writes that when babies are stressed, their bodies release cortisol into their systems -- a toxic hormone that kills brain cells. Considering their brains are only 25 percent developed when they're born full-term and grow rapidly in their first year, killing off baby brain cells is a huge no bueno. Narvaez notes that studies out of Harvard, Yale, Baylor and other prestigious institutions show that said killing off of baby brain cells can lead to the higher probability of ADHD, poor academic performance and anti-social tendencies, and that human babies are hardwired for hands-on comfort and care.

"Babies are built to expect the equivalent of an 'external womb' after birth... being held constantly, breastfed on demand, needs met quickly," Narvaez writes. "These practices are known to facilitate good brain and body development. When babies display discomfort, it signals that a need is not getting met, a need of their rapidly growing systems."

Um, remember that scene from the True Hollywood Stories: Rick James episode on the Dave Chappelle Show -- the one where Rick James is grinding his feet into Eddie Murphy's couch? Yeah. *insert an image of Denene doing the Rick James foot stomp into the couch thing here* In your face, Nick Chiles! For the record, I argued and fussed and fought with my husband over "Feberizing" our Mari. The infant self-soothing technique, invented by Dr. Richard Ferber, requires parents to let their babies "cry it out" for a predetermined amount of time, in increasing intervals, before they comfort them -- and even then, comforting involves talking to and rubbing the babies; picking them up or cuddling them is forbidden.

Now, it's been 12 years since we tried this "cry it out" thing with Mari, but I promise you, I can still hear her screaming in her crib in the next room. My breasts would throb at her every whimper, and every second on the clock would feel like an eternity while I waited for my chance to go in and pat her on her stomach, rub her arm and cheek and tell her, "it's okay, baby--Daddy promises you won't die from crying."

But I was. It just didn't feel right to let my child scream and holler and thrash by her little self in the dark in her crib when I knew full well that a little rocking in her glider, maybe a song and a sweet nuzzle of her cheek would send her off to dreamland. Granted, some nights that meant multiple rocking/singing/nuzzle time, but, to me, it was a small price to pay for feeling like I was mothering my baby and helping her feel like her mommy was there. Always there.

Of course, plenty other parents think differently about it and that's their right. We all do what we think works for our kids, our families, our lives. Not gonna point fingers at y'all. But I will point them at the hubs. When I showed this Yahoo Shine story chronicling Narvaez's anti-cry-it-out research -- and an interview in which Ferber actually backs off his own method--to Nick, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "It ain't fun for the baby, but that shit worked. Everybody got some sleep. You going for two years with only three hours of sleep at night isn't healthy either."

I think he might have said those exact words to me the first time I left Mari in her crib. Still, as much as his reasoning made sense, it just didn't feel right to me -- her mother. And when Nick told Mari we did this to her when she was a baby, she was incredulous: "What? You use to let me cry? You didn't come get me? You just left me there by myself?!"

That was Daddy, baby!

Yeah. That Ferber training didn't last long in our house, and I don't remember even trying it with my Lila. (Which might explain why our daughters' nighttime routines were a little worthy-of-a-Broadway-production hectic for longer than they should have been. But whatevs.) My babies and I benefited greatly from our nightly bonding sessions and co-sleeping arrangements, and I'm glad I did it for as long as I did.

Now that we've got this babies need to cry it out business out of the way, I've got some ideas on what researchers need to look into next: I'm waiting for the study to show that beating your kid like she stole something in what is supposed to be a friendly game of Go Fish and Checkers causes brain melt. I'm looking at you, Nicholas Chiles. I'm looking at you.

This post originally appeared on MyBrownBaby.com.

Couple Body Language, What Your TV-Watching Position Together Says About Your Relationship

What Your TV-Watching Position Together Says About Your Relationship
By Lane Moore for Cosmopolitan Magazine

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a51225/what-does-his-body-language-say/

Have you ever wondered what's really going on between you and your favorite Netflix and chill partner? Cosmopolitan.com spoke with Patti Wood, body language expert and author of SNAP: Making the Most of First Impressions Body Language and Charisma to find out exactly what your TV-watching position means.

Position: Both of you sitting on opposite sides of the couch.

You both definitely need your space, which isn't necessarily bad, but it does show that you're both independent people. That said, if you used to sit in a closer position and suddenly switched to this one, it could be a sign that one or both of you needs to withdraw from the other's affection.

Position: You putting your head on his lap while he sits upright.

This is known as a parent/child position. The person whose head is cradled is allowing themselves to be vulnerable and wants to feel taken care of. Putting your head on someone's lap says, "I trust you to be gentle and caring with me." The person offering their lap is assuming a caretaker role. If this isn't your usual position but you're in it lately, it could mean that one of you is going through a hard time and needs comfort. If it's the primary position you always go to, that's an indicator of you both being happy with your usual roles in the relationship.

Position: Both of you spooning horizontally on the couch.

If your go-to is lying down and spooning, Wood says you both have both a strong sexual chemistry and feeling of security in the relationship. The person being spooned is basically saying with their body, "I can turn my back on you and know I am safe. You have my back." The person doing the spooning is saying, "I want to surround you and take you in." This position has also been shown to increase intimacy in couples and reduce the stress of both partners, so if it works for you, keep doing it.

Position: Both of you sitting close to each other, holding hands.

If you usually find yourself sitting like this together, you're both using an innocent way of connecting and really focusing on your partner. Because your hands are intertwined, you can't really do anything else (like pick up your phone and check your Instagram for the 80th time), so that means you're forced to be totally present with your partner. Wood says she often sees this position with elderly couples who have a strong bond and less of a need to stay busy and connected to the outside world.

Position: Both of you sitting close to each other with your head on his shoulder and his arms at his sides.

If you usually have your head on his shoulder and he stays in place like a statue, you're trying to connect with him and feel safe and protected, but if he never reaches out to connect with you, that's not a great sign. If he doesn't reach out to touch you or moves away from your head, it shows he doesn't want to feel connected to you and wants to remain more independent.

Position: Him sitting upright, you with both arms wrapped around him like a sloth.

This one depends a lot on how your partner is responding to it. If your guy isn't looking at you very much or touching you at all, he's probably not thrilled with the position. If you wrapping yourself around him makes him feel like you are trying to possess him, he might be turned off by that neediness. Wood says this one depends so much on how he's reacting to it. If he seems into it, then you're both likely expressing how connected and happy you are with each other.

Position: You both on the couch with only your legs or feet touching each other.

Wood says a lot of couples who end up in this position have been together a long time, but still want to stay connected in some physical way. It's also a position you might take if you've been fighting and want to stay connected, but you're still kind of mad at each other.

Position: You sitting close to each other with his arm on the back of the sofa.

If you love to sit close and he always has his arm wrapped around the back of the couch when you do, that shows he has a desire to protect you and connect with you. He wants to let anyone nearby know you're his and that you're truly connected to each other,