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Your dog your pal. Dog and Pet Owner body language

Have you ever communicated with your dog without saying a word? Has your dog every noticed your mood or comforted you? Do you like to hang and just chill with your dog? I would love to see a photo of you sharring a look, hanging out on the couch, walking with your dog or of your dog greeting you happily when you come home. Send it to me in a jpeg at Patti@PattiWood.net


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
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Ways to say, "I love you." through greetings and goodbyes.

Quoted in the Toronto sun today.
http://www.torontosun.com/life/2010/02/09/12807046.html

Love signals

Say hello to love.

Celebrity body language expert Patti Wood says warm, caring greetings are extremely important love signals for keeping the love alive.

“Always make a loving ritual of hellos and goodbyes,” stresses Wood.

No matter where you are in the house, drop whatever you’re doing, and greet your spouse with a kiss and or a hug hello when they come home. “Go to them immediately, even if you are on the phone, cooking or online.” This communicates that he or she is the most important thing to you.

“You are saying nonverbally, ‘You come first,’” says Wood, adding that no warm welcome actually increases the chance of arguing later on.

Goodbye hugs and kisses have a big impact too. These gestures say “I leave you with love,” says Wood. “With a touch goodbye, you anchor to your mate.”

 She also recommends creating a “secret” – a non-verbal love signal shared just between the two of you. “The look can mean, ‘I love you,’ ‘I want you right now’ or ‘You look great to me’,” suggests Wood, a savvy motivational speaker.

Your secret love signal could be as simple as a sly smile, or your lips puckered up, or maybe a quick wrinkling up of the nose. It could be as simple as a tilt to the head to indicate you’d like to rest your head on his shoulder as a gesture of warmth and respect, says Wood, of pattiwood.net.

Words are not needed, she adds. “The secret love signal can recreate the love each time it is given.”

She also suggests focusing on care-taking signals to strengthen relationships, like bringing someone a glass of water or making them a cup of tea. Picking up their dry cleaning for them or even packing them a healthy snack for work.

Wood adds that standing close to one another, making eye contact and showing sincere interest by leaning in when you’re speaking to one another also contribute to a great connection.

It’s touch or go - and never too late to re-ignite that loving feeling


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Can Dogs Understand Us When We are Mad?

Sparky, get off the couch!”
Sparky freezes his body on the couch.
I can’t believe you are on the couch." "Sparky bad boy.”
Sparky looks down and away but still doesn't get off the sofa.
“We have company be good and get down.” You say motioning
from the couch to the floor.
Sparky gets off the couch his head and haunches down.
"Good boy for getting off the couch." you say sweetly and kindly.
Sparky approaches you wagging his tale in submission and friendliness.

Your dog is not responding to your words nor does he feel guilty or know that he has done wrong. Though dogs can understand some words. Typicaly he is responding to your nonverbal communication. Your voice and your behaviors. Dogs may look guilty, but they are typically responding to their powerful humans. Dogs have the human mind equivalent of a 2 to 2 and ½ year old. They don’t feel guilt. Guilt doesn’t typically develop in humans until age four. If you ever raised a teenager or dated a jerk or jerkess you now a sense of right and wrong may not develop even in an adult. What dogs do understand is your tone of voice, your facial expressions, your gestures and posture. Dogs have been bred for generations to be astute readers of human body language. They have learned to associate mad Pet Mommy or Pet Daddy with certain behaviors and respond accordingly.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Body Language Methods to Avoid a Bore or Stop Talking and End a Conversation.

Avoiding a bore. Tips to stopping or ending a conversation.

Yesterday morning I did a BBC radio program on how to avoid a boring co-worker. One of the producers on the show had called the Host of the show and pretended he was having a conversation with him in order to avoid talking to a borring co-worker that was walking towards his desk. That is one technique here are other tips for avoiding or ending a conversation. Excerpts from my book.

There are things you do subconsciously to shut down conversation that you can do consciously to close down a conversation with someone.

You can close the window of your eyes, by closing both your eyes for just a brief moment longer than you do for an ordinary blink.

You can do a head bow and bring your down the head avoiding or breaking eye contact as the person approaches or less dramatically and more quickly if you are already in conversation.

You can turn shut your mouth tightly so help avoid giving facial feedback to the boring co-worker as feedback increases the likelihood they will continue talking.

You can turn your heart away and you can turn your toes away.


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Work Out, Gym Body Language, First Impressions

Quoted in Working Women.

WEIGHT LIFTING FOR WOMEN
A Quick Strength Training Guide For Women
Tackle daunting machines and dumbbells with this guide--and burn more fat
Jen Ator; Additional reporting by Alex Kish

Lifting weights has some seriously cool benefits: It increases lean muscle mass, which boosts metabolism and helps torch calories and shed stubborn fat. It also improves the quality of your sleep, wards off back pain, and protects you from disease.

Despite all this, many women dodge the dumbbells at the gym—in fact, only 21 percent strength-train two or three times a week. It may be that the rest are misguided, feel intimidated, or are just plain avoiding it!

Well, the excuses end here. We enlisted top trainers to create this easy-to-follow weight-room cheat sheet. The payoff of pumping more iron will be a leaner, sexier you.

1. Have a Plan
When you enter an unfamiliar situation (say, the free-weight zone), your body will naturally freeze for a moment and only your eyes will move, says body-language expert Patti Wood, author of Success Signals: Body Language in Business. It's an obvious physical sign that you're confused. Decide beforehand what you'll do as soon as you go into the room. For example, make a beeline for the dumbbells. But which ones? Lifting too much too soon can hurt your form and put you at risk for injury, but grabbing two-pounders won't get you results. New York City personal trainer Dan Ownes gives a head-to-toe exercise barometer of just-right weights for beginners:

If you're doing...lateral raises
Start with...2.5 to 5 pounds in each hand

If you're doing...biceps curls
Start with...5 to 8 pounds in each hand

If you're doing...flat-bench dumbbell rows
Start with...12 to 20 pounds

If you're doing...chest presses
Start with...12 pounds (body bar) to 45 pounds

If you're doing...squats
Start with...zero (body weight) to 45 pounds


2. Stay Steady
The occasional slam of a weight stack is par for the course when you're using resistance equipment like the cable machine or seated leg press, but causing a storm of noise is a classic newbie doh! And it's more than just bad manners. "Lowering the weight without control can result in injury," says Brad Schoenfeld, owner of the Personal Training Center for Women in Scarsdale, New York, and author of Women's Home Workout Bible. "It can also prevent you from getting the tone you're after, because you don't work through the full range of motion." Lower the weights slowly enough that you can perform every rep of the exercise with good form (and less clanking!).


3. Breathe Easy
Even seasoned lifters sometimes forget to breathe during a tough move. But it's counterproductive. "You starve the body of oxygen, which forces your heart to work a lot harder," says certified strength and conditioning specialist Josh Kernen, owner of Bridgetown Physical Therapy & Training Studio in Portland, Oregon. Exhale during the major exertion in each move, and inhale while returning to the starting position.


4. Break a Sweat
Go full-steam, or you might as well go home. A good way to gauge your effort: Monitor how hard you feel like your body is working. It's called your rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and it's usually measured on a scale of one to 10, with one being very little exertion (like lounging in bed) and 10 being the max (running away from an angry dog). To build and tone muscle, aim for an RPE of at least seven or eight during workouts, says Kernen. "Even if you're happy with your tone, you still have to hit six or seven to maintain muscle mass."


5. Think Total Body
Your muffin top may be the only thing that's motivating you to hit the gym, but it's a mistake to attack just your least-favorite assets. "Spot-reducing exercises simply don't work," says Schoenfeld. Full-body workouts torch fat more efficiently because they build more lean muscle mass, which in turn burns more calories per day. And think about it: Wouldn't you rather eradicate all your jiggle?





Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Body Language at Work, First Impressions

Reading body language in your co-workers so you can tell what they really think about you.


What Your Colleagues Really Think of You
Wondering about your workplace relationships? How to tell what your colleagues really think of you
Jennifer Barrett; Additional reporting by Alex Kish

You don't have to wait for someone to get tipsy at the holiday party to find out how you're viewed at work. "We get nonverbal messages from the people around us every day—often, we're just not paying enough attention," says Sherron Bienvenu, Ph. D., a communications professor emerita at Emory University's Goizueta Business School and author of Business Communications. Following is a crash course in ferreting out whether your workplace colleagues think you're smart, likable, or neither!

Your Coworkers Like You If...

They initiate conversations
Coffee klatches have gone the way of cigarette breaks—they're all but extinct. Nowadays most people communicate by e-mail, IM, or phone. "So if your colleagues are chatting you up in the hallway, they're taking time to break routine to speak to you," says Patti Wood, an Atlanta-based body language expert. If they avert their eyes or sneak glances at their watches during a conversation, they may not be so into you.

They offer feedback
During a one-on-one, does your coworker nod thoughtfully and lean into your conversation? Do the corners of her eyes crinkle when she smiles in response to funny comments you make? "The more animated a person's face, the more emotionally invested they are in the conversation," says Tonya Reiman, a New York City-based body language expert and the author of The Power of Body Language.

They're smooth talkers
"People deviate from their normal speech patterns when they're nervous or uncomfortable," says Maryann Karinch, a body language expert based outside Denver and a coauthor of How to Spot a Liar. Someone who normally speaks at a leisurely pace might become a speed talker, while a person who usually talks quickly might pause for long moments. If they enjoy your company, you won't notice a change in their vocal stride.

WORK RELATIONSHIPS: DECODE YOUR COWORKERS
What Your Colleagues Really Think of You
Wondering about your workplace relationships? How to tell what your colleagues really think of you
Jennifer Barrett; Additional reporting by Alex Kish

Your Coworkers Respect You If...

They keep quiet
Asking for your opinion—that's a no-brainer. But letting you take control of a conversation is a less obvious way to show how much they care about what you have to say. "You can see the degree to which other people respect you by observing how often they look to you for a reaction or a cue," says psychologist Ann Demarais, Ph. D., a coauthor of First Impressions: What You Don't Know About How Others See You. "And when a problem arises, they turn to face you."

They make room for you
"When you sit down at a meeting, see if your neighbors move their stuff closer to themselves and out of your way, or push their chair back a bit to give you more room," Demarais says. "That shows respect."

They copy you
What they say about imitation and flattery is true: "Subconsciously, we try to mirror people we like and respect," Reiman says. So if you notice your coworker mimicking your movements—for example, picking up her pen or cupping her chin with her hand when you do—she probably admires you.
What Your Colleagues Really Think of You
Wondering about your workplace relationships? How to tell what your colleagues really think of you
Jennifer Barrett; Additional reporting by Alex Kish

A Coworker Has A Crush On You If...

He goes the extra mile
He spends an hour trying to fix your frozen computer, gives up his chair at a crowded conference room table, or offers to pick you up a latte during his afternoon coffee run. Maybe he's just an incredibly nice guy—but more likely, he's into you.

He drops your name
Saying things like "Hi, Jane," or "How are you doing, Jane?" may seem like common courtesy, but it's actually an intimate gesture. Consider it the verbal equivalent of a touch on the arm—a way to get more personal.

He's a stand-up guy
In the civilized world as in the wild, strong, physically imposing alpha males have the best shot at mating. So men instinctively want to make themselves seem bigger and badder around women they're interested in, Reiman says. If he suddenly stops slouching and puffs out his chest when he's around you (the old "I'm just stretching my arms" routine), take note— he may have a crush.


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Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Top Ten Favorite Books

I am a voracious reader. I devour at least one novel a week. In fact, since junior high I have averaged about two books a week. If you are going to have an addiction, a "Jones" for books is not a bad one. As a body language expert, I am often taken with the talent of certain authors to detail a facial expression, gesture or tone of voice. In my friend John and I's Evening and Emory Class called the Meeting of the Minds we would ask the students to bring their favorite book on the fourth week of class. We often ended up trading Top Ten favorite book lists. My list changes a bit from year to year. The Secret Garden has been on my list since grade school. My affinity for Science fiction is no longer apparent from this list. I have taken off two books that where on the list I had in High School, "Stranger in a Strange Land" and Arthur C Clark's "Childhoods End." Though it is Junior Fiction Phillip Pullman's "The Golden Compass" was not on the list till 1998 when I found it on the search for something like the Harry Potter books. I took that wonderful book off the list this year to put on a book that still haunts me, "The Post Birthday World." While I really enjoyed, "Julie, Julia" and "Eat Pray Love", last year they did not make the list this year. In fact, I am back to old favorites. Here is the current list.

Patti's Top Ten Novels
Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
About a Boy by Nick Hornsby
Angels Ashes by Frank McCourt
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
The Post Birthday World by Lionel Shriver
The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Nyasaland
The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

In Junior High and High School I loved science fiction of all kinds, I read every Agatha Christie novel (I think there are over 87 novels) and everything I could find about King Aurthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In grad school I found the female perspective of the Aurthur legend, "The Mists of Avalon." I can still remember reading the 1,400 page novel over a spring break. Most of the reading was done while I sat in a beach chair at my mom's house in SawGrass Florida. I faced toward the ocean for seven days, but didn't get any sun on my chin, because my face was down inside the novel. The Book description on Amazon says, "Even readers who don't normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews. The Mists of Avalon's Camelot politics and intrigue take place at a time when Christianity is taking over the island-nation of Britain; Christianity vs. Faery, and God vs. Goddess are dominant themes."

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Speaking, risk.

I called my sister the night before a Live TV interview and shared with her that I was scared out of my ever loving mind. I feared being humiliated in front of a national TV audience and having it forever live on YouTube. She said, "Then why do it?" "Why put yourself through that?" "That doesn't make sense?" I said, "I do it because if I don't do it, I won't know if I can, and that would be excruciating." "If I do do it I will know I can do even more." "I have done this a million times, but if I don't keep working harder, I will not grow."





Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Not a Timid Soul

After I finish speaking I often have audience members come up and ask how they can speak with out fear. I share with them, that I have many tools that I use that I can teach them to reduce destructive fear, use constructive fear and ride the wave of excitement to enjoy speaking. The fear is there when you care, it inspired you to work hard, to do your very best, and then risk to go beyond the hardest thing you have ever done, go beyond what you think is your very best. To take a step and even dare to leap into the void and believe that you can fly. Here is a quote to inspire you and to continually inspire me.

Roosevelt on Sweat and Timid Souls
One of my absolute favorite quotes.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
~ Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
American statesman (26th US president: 1901-09)
from "Man in the Arena" Speech given April 23, 1910

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Photo-retouching against the law? Attractiveness

In the UK Photo shopping could become illegal. Conservative parliamentarian Valérie Boyer, asks, When writers take a news item or real event and considerably embellish it, they are required to alert readers by calling the work fiction, a novel or a story based on dramatized facts. Why should it be any different for photographs?”
She proposes, "...doctored photos meant for public distribution to carry the warning “Photograph retouched to modify the physical appearance of a person.” and that anyone violating the rule could be fined about $55,000. For more info and the really scary before and after Ralph Lauren Adds link http://ethicalstyle.com/tag/photo-retouching/

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Retouched photos, beauty and attractiveness

My friend Jim is a media lighting expert. He also retouches headshots and other still photos. He takes your photo and turns you into a work of art. I told his I wish he could follow me around all day magically retouching my image. But alas, he cannot. I put his retouch of my last head shot on blog entry, but I don’t use that version in my promotional material. I fear that a client or producer who saw the unlined face in the photo might see me show up for a speech or media interview and say, “Where’s Patti?”
The desire for perfect beauty, the ideal shape, smooth unwrinkled skin, make Photo retouching is derigor in print media. Just look at what they did to Madonna, Katie Corack and Demi More in these photos. http://gone-hollywood.com/tag/madonna/
The link takes you to some starteling photo retouching before and afters.
It’s unbelievable. This constant barrage of retouched photos create a standard of beauty that can't be reached by a anyone over the age or 14. In fact, I can even see teenage girls bringing these stars retouched photos into their plastic surgeons and saying, “Make me look like this.” Hummm, if I took Jim’s retouched photo of me to a plastic surgeon...? Excuse me why I warm up my printer. Below is another link.
http://ethicalstyle.com/tag/photo-retouching/


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Does a Wagging Tail Mean My Dog is Happy?

Does a wagging tail mean your dog is happy?

Dogs often wag their tales when they are anxious and stressed and they use a tale wag with other dogs t show they are submissive. Though most cartoon dogs wag there tail in happiness. Thinking a wagging tale on your dog always means it happy is the most common misconception you can have when reading your dog.

Just as there are many meaning for a human’ smile depending on its speed and how it’s given, there a many meanings for a dogs tail wag depending on its speed and the way it carried. There are over fifty different types of smiles in humans. We smile not only when we are happy but when we are feeling a multitude of other emotions as well. Dog’s tails also communicate many different things.
. Happy dog tail wags differ between breeds. Moreover, just as humans have different personalities and different smiles each dog has his own personality and different wags. So how do you know your dog is giving a happy tail wag?

A good first step is noticing when you dog have a reason to be happy and noticing his wag. How high it is held, the breath of its swing. Catching your dog in a happy moment will help you get what we call a "norm" for your dog. Also note breed and personalities difference first. Consider the general guidelines for reading a tail wag to see if your dog is truly happy, (I have step-by-step instructions for reading a real human smile on my website. www.Pattiwood.net

A Sincere happy smile makes you approachable. In human body language it says “I am friendly I am submissive." and "I respect you, and won’t hurt you.
A dog’s happy tail wag says, “I respect you I am submissive and know that you won’t hurt me.”
A happy sincere smile goes all the way up the face to cheeks the eyes and the brows moving like a wave
A dogs happy tail wag, involves not just the tail it typically also involves the rump that lowers and swings the hips with the tails swing.
A broad smile on a human face says I am friendly.
A broad tail wag says the same thing.
A narrow tight smile says, “Don’t bother me.”
Just as dog’s tail held high over the back with very narrow tight short side to side at high-speed tail movements say, “I'm stressed." or "Back off."

I think it is about time I go give Bo the wonder dog a little treat so I can see his truly happy wagging tail.

As the national spokesperson for Pup-Peroni, I am studying the similarities and differences between human body language and dog behavior.



Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel