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Body Language Read of Joe and Sofia
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.
Christmas Rituals for the Family
Christmas Tree Treasure
Hunt
On
Christmas day in the evening when I was growing up our family had a special
holiday ritual. Santa and his smallest elves do something just for us little kids
so we would stay excited all day even after the big presents under the tree were
unwrapped. I was the youngest so a
little after the Christmas turkey and mashed potatoes had been eaten at dinner I
would swing my little legs at the table with impatience waiting for the grownups
to finish talking so my sisters and I could rush to the Christmas tree. Hidden
deep in the branches I would find the special little presents Santa and his
elves hid for my sisters and me. We always knew which presents were for who. One Christmas I found little miniature cooking
utensils for my dolls and another Christmas I found five little golden rings. Funny I don’t remember all my big presents but
I remember the joy of the little ones. The hidden presents were always something
unique, a true surprise never something we asked for. Goodness the tree treasure hunt was fun.
No More Monkeys Jumping
on the Bed
My
favorite Christmas ritual has nothing to do with presents. On Christmas morning
my sisters and I would always pile into bed with my parents and wake them up.
We would snuggle in bed as a family and giggle and talk about what we thought
Santa had brought us. One Christmas morning my sisters and I were a little too
grown up for the bed, when the three of us jumped on it to join our parents it broke!
We all ended up on the bed flat on the floor laughing like crazy.
Whatever
your faith, whatever your holiday or special meaningful events, your life is
full of warm, fun loving stories to add to your speeches. My body language
website has 7 Plus
Great Tips for Holiday Parties. Find
out about Santa’s true message by searching on the site for Santa's Body Language.
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.
Why Men Brag
The other night a girlfriend and I met for dinner and
because the restaurant was crowded we sat at the bar. We struck up a conversation
with an older gentleman at the bar and we asked him about his life. He was
obviously smitten with my friend. Looking over me to lock eyes with her and talk to her. He shared his many fascinating
jobs, a list of accomplishments in the community, powerful people he worked
with and places he has lived and traveled to throughout the world. We were
impressed. He has had an extremely interesting life, and I know why he was
“bragging”, but his long list struck me as particularly interesting as I am
currently writing an article on bragging. Why do you think that men brag? Here are some of the reasons for men bragging found in the newest research.
It's official - men are BIG-HEADED: Males are more likely
to brag about their talents - and lie about their shortcomings.
New study revealed 70 per
cent of British men have boasted about a talent and half have claimed to
be skilled in areas that they are not. This is compared to only 54 percent
of women who brag.
- Boasting may be used by
men to impress women. (This is not a big surprise.)
- Experts think men do this
to boost their own confidence, plus impress women and colleagues at work.
- Research shows that men
are also more likely to cover up their short comings. With just 22 percent
of men admitting to things they are bad at.
- A psychologist from
Lancaster University said men are conditioned to be more competitive than
women and exaggerate their skill set
- All people are more likely
to be boastful when they are younger with 56 percent of 18 to 24 year olds
exaggerating their skills, compared to just 26 percent of voer 55 year
olds.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2692775/Its-official-men-BIG-HEADED-Males-likely-brag-talents-lie-shortcomings.html#ixzz3KD7BFuCW
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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.
Why 'I'm So Happy I Could Cry Makes Sense
Why We Cry When We are
Happy and May smile When We Are Very Sad.
As a family we often watch an emotional TV recording of my brother-in-law
coming home from the Gulf War. As he gets off the plane, my sister and the
children are running towards him crying, not looking happy at all. Have you
ever seen someone cry when they are happy or have a smile on their face when
they are sad? New research shows people use “negative”
emotion to stabilize their feeling. The research study is below. I am
fascinated by this nonverbal behavior. I love to see happy crying. It is such a
sincere, amazing behavior to witness. On the other hand, I find it deeply
disturbing when I analyze interrogation videos or courtroom footage of
suspected murders for the media and I see them give what I call a “cover smile”
when they relay some of the most hideous aspects of the crime. In this case the
suspect is trying to regulate the emotions of guilt by smiling to look innocent
and it feels disturbing to us to watch. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141111124047.htm
November 11, 2014
Yale University
The phrase 'tears of
joy' never made much sense to one American psychologist. But after conducting a
series of studies of such seemingly incongruous expressions, she now
understands better why people cry when they are happy.
he phrase "tears
of joy" never made much sense to Yale psychologist Oriana Aragon. But
after conducting a series of studies of such seemingly incongruous expressions,
she now understands better why people cry when they are happy.
Related Articles
"People may be
restoring emotional equilibrium with these expressions," said Aragon, lead
author of work to be published in the journal Psychological Science.
"They seem to take place when people are overwhelmed with strong positive
emotions, and people who do this seem to recover better from those strong
emotions."
There are many
examples of responding to a positive experience with a negative emotion. A
crying spouse is reunited with a soldier returning from war. Teen girls scream
at a Justin Bieber concert and so do soccer players as they score a winning
goal. The baseball player who hits a winning home run is pounded at home plate
by teammates. And when introduced to babies "too cute for words,"
some can't resist pinching their cheeks.
"I was surprised
no one ever asked why that is," she said.
Aragon and her
colleagues at Yale ran subjects through some of these scenarios and measured
their responses to cute babies or happy reunions. They found that individuals
who express negative reactions to positive news were able to moderate intense
emotions more quickly. They also found people who are most likely to cry at
their child's graduation are most likely to want to pinch a cute baby's cheeks.
There is also some
evidence that strong negative feelings may provoke positive expressions; for
example nervous laughter appears when people are confronted with a difficult or
frightening situations, and smiles have been found by other psychologists to
occur during extreme sadness.
These new discoveries
begin to explain common things that many people do but don't even understand
themselves, Aragon said.
"These insights
advance our understanding of how people express and control their emotions,
which is importantly related to mental and physical health, the quality of
relationships with others, and even how well people work together," she
said.
Story Source:
The above story is
based on materials provided by Yale University. The original article was written by Bill Hathaway. Note:
Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
1. E. J. Boothby, M. S. Clark, J. A. Bargh. Shared
Experiences Are Amplified. Psychological Science, 2014; DOI: 10.1177/0956797614551162
Cite This Page:
Yale University.
"Why 'I'm so happy I could cry' makes sense." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 11 November 2014.
Research on How Cell Phone Use Effects Happiness, Anxiety and GPA
Though we know that people who use their cell phones
are able to make quick “shallow decisions” such as I want this text or I don’t
want to take this call, what is worrisome to me is cell phone use is preventing
people from having healthy social interactions, and in fact is making social
interactions more stressful. I keep up with the social psychology and
neurobiology research on cell phone and computer use and I think this article
is particularly interesting. Read it below and email me with your thoughts.
Link to article http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563213003993
Link to article http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563213003993
Computers
in Human Behavior
Volume
31, February 2014 Pages 343-350.
The
relationship between cell phone use, academic performance, anxiety, and
Satisfaction with Life in college students
Highlights
Measured cell phone use (CPUse) to include the device’s complete range of functions.
CPUse was negatively related to students’ actual Grade Point Average (GPA).
CPUse was positively related to anxiety (as measured by Beck’s Anxiety Inventory).
GPA was positively and anxiety was negatively related to Satisfaction with Life (SWL).
Path analysis showed CPUse is related to SWL as mediated by GPA and anxiety.
Abstract
While functional differences between today’s cell phones and
traditional computers are becoming less clear, one difference remains plain –
cell phones are almost always on-hand and allow users to connect with an array
of services and networks at almost any time and any place. The Pew Center’s
Internet and American Life Project suggests that college students are the most
rapid adopters of cell phone technology and research is emerging which suggests
high frequency cell phone use may be influencing their health and behavior.
Thus, we investigated the relationships between total cell phone use (N
= 496) and texting (N = 490) on Satisfaction with Life (SWL) in a large
sample of college students. It was hypothesized that the relationship would be
mediated by Academic Performance (GPA) and anxiety. Two separate path models
indicated that the cell phone use and texting models had good overall fit. Cell
phone use/texting was negatively related to GPA and positively related to
anxiety; in turn, GPA was positively related to SWL while anxiety was
negatively related to SWL. These findings add to the debate about student cell
phone use, and how increased use may negatively impact academic performance,
mental health, and subjective well-being or happiness.
Keywords:
Mobile phones; GPA; Anxiety; Satisfaction
with Life; Technology; Post-secondary education
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 (330) 672 0218;
fax: +1 (330) 672 4106.
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved.
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.
Research Study Shows Women Don’t Like to Brag about Themselves, It Makes Them Feel Anxious
This study
indicates that a woman doesn't mind bragging about others and they feel better
about bragging when the environment is different. Here is the study.
Bragging rights: Study shows that
interventions help women's reluctance to discuss accomplishments
Date - January 13,
2014
Source - Montana State
University
Summary:
Research found that
women dislike promoting their own accomplishments, but it is possible for
negative effects to be offset and to improve self-promotion.
A study published by
Jessi L. Smith, professor of psychology at Montana State University, and Meghan
Huntoon, who was Smith's student at MSU when research was conducted, has found
that gender norms about modesty help explain why women don't feel comfortable
bragging about their own accomplishments. However, intervention techniques can
help women to communicate more effectively about their successes.
Related Articles
"Women's Bragging
Rights: Overcoming Modesty Norms to Facilitate Women's Self-Promotion" was
published in the Dec. 20 issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly.
The research, which
sampled nearly 80 MSU undergraduate women, confirmed that women downplay their
own accomplishments but have no trouble promoting a friend, Smith said. Past
research had already shown than men are not affected by modesty norms like
women are. However, this was among the first studies to test ways to intervene
to help women write about themselves effectively.
"We also showed
that we can intervene positively, and women can absolutely write about their
accomplishments effectively," Smith said.
Smith said she and
Huntoon, now a doctoral student in psychology at Northern Illinois University,
launched the study when Smith observed an interesting response to a request for
submissions to an MSU Women's Faculty Caucus newsletter.
"Nobody responded
about themselves. Not one," Smith recalled. However, many women told Smith
about really great things happening with their friends and colleagues.
"We wondered what
was going on, so we began looking at the research," Smith said.
Smith said they found
that American women are reluctant to talk about their own accomplishments
because cultural norms promote modesty. And, society disapproves of women who
are perceived to be bragging about themselves. However, Smith said, American
men who brag about their accomplishments are perceived as confident and
capable.
"We live in a
society where cultural gender norms are powerful and imbedded in our
history," she said. "This is no way, shape or form to be blamed on
women. It's just part of our culture, and it is our job to find ways to change
these cultural norms."
Smith and Huntoon
wondered if this could be reversed, so they devised a study in which four
groups of about 20 mostly freshmen female students at MSU each were asked to
write essays for a scholarship based on merit that ranged in value up to
$5,000. The subjects were told that the essays would be used as samples to help
other students improve their essay skills.
One group was asked to
write essays about their own accomplishments; another group was asked to write
about the accomplishments of someone else. A group of impartial judges
evaluated the essays, awarding an average of $1,500 less to those essays in
which people wrote about their own accomplishments rather than about someone
else's.
In order to study
whether the female modesty effect could be overcome, Smith and Huntoon had
another two groups write essays about themselves and introduced a distraction.
A black box of about 3x3 feet square was placed in the room where the students
wrote the essays. The researchers told one of the groups of subjects that the
box was a "subliminal noise generator" that produced ultra-high
frequency noise that couldn't be heard, but could cause them discomfort.
"There is no such
thing as a subliminal noise generator," Smith said. "It was total
fiction. But, we had given them an explanation for any anxiety they felt while
writing their essay."
The other control
group wasn't told what the box in the room was. The group that had the black
box as justification to explain their discomfort wrote essays that were awarded
up to $1,000 more than the group that had no explanation. And they enjoyed the
experience of writing more, too.
"The key here is
that when women had an alternative explanation for why they might be feeling
uncomfortable -- the supposed noise generator- the awkwardness they felt from
violating the modesty norm by writing about themselves was diverted, and they
did just fine," Smith said.
The research has broad
practical implications, Smith said.
"Basically,
people in authority positions need to put in place practices that make it feel
normal for women to promote their accomplishments," she said.
"Cultural shifts take time, so while we wait, our results also suggest
that people should be proactive and promote the accomplishments of their female
friends and colleagues to their bosses. Women were very good at promoting the
accomplishments of friends."
Smith said she has
already used the results of the study while she talks to search groups and pay
equity task forces and others in a position to review applications from women.
"This sheds light
on an important issue and brings into question how we look at self-nomination
for awards, cover letters for job applications and even pay raises," Smith
said.
"I tell them that
the woman that you are reading about on paper is likely really more outstanding
than she appears."
Story Source:
The above story is
based on materials provided by Montana State University. Note: Materials may be edited for content
and length.
Journal Reference:
1. J. L. Smith, M. Huntoon. Women's Bragging
Rights: Overcoming Modesty Norms to Facilitate Women's Self-Promotion. Psychology
of Women Quarterly, 2013; DOI: 10.1177/0361684313515840
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.
Why You Should Bragg. The Benifits and How Too's of Bragging.
Why You Should Bragg
By Patti Wood MA, CSP
Patti is a
Body Language Expert and Professional SpeakerBy Patti Wood MA, CSP
My friend Sue and I have known each other since grad school and have always supported each other’s success. She is a wonderful and talented author and beloved English professor and I am a body language expert and professional speaker. Sue arranged for me to speak to the student body of her university.
On the day of my speech, we went over my intro and I showed Sue
how to turn on my 40 sec video that had snippets of newscasters and TV show hosts introducing
me on their show. Then as students and professors came into the auditorium I
introduced myself, “Hello my name is Patti and I am your speaker today." "How are you?" Then I gave my speech. After the speech, Pat and I went out and we had a long talk.
My friend said, “Patti, watching you how you set and introduced your self and talked about your work in your speech changed everything I thought
about my career.” She said, “At first I
thought, Goodness, Patti is going over the top with all this bragging about
herself the intros and introducing herself as the speaker then I noticed how
people responded to you even before you started speaking. I have watched 100’s
of speakers in that same Venue but they were treating you with a feeling of honor
and respect that I have never seen given before."
Sue continued, "l learned something about good self-promotion during your speech too." She said, "As you spoke, you gave brief specific examples of how you used your body language
expertise to solve a client’s problems and I saw how it gave you increased
level of credibility with the audience. " Each was just a few line story about a challenge and change that was made, but they were memorable. " Sue finished by saying, "But
here is the funny thing Patti, I have had the opportunity my entire career to
promote myself the way you did and I have never done it because I thought I would
be bragging!
I told her she was a
remarkable author and speaker and should own it and start self-promoting
because men do so all the time! I shared
that for years I wanted to be a successful speaker but I never bragged telling myself I was shy.
I worked hard, but I was not in the big leagues. Then I looked around and realized that the
male speakers would self promote. I know that you may be reading this and thinking, "Patti that's bragging!", but here is why I think it can work for you.
Think about the epistemology of bragging. (That
is whether something you say about yourself can be verified or not. ) Can you self How do I
know you’re telling the truth when you claim to have achieved some great
outcome?
I recommend I said, I try to self- promote only with specific hard evidence. In epistemology, if I do that that it makes it believable. If there is a second of doubt in the listener's mind, if they think you are lying or inflating what you say is perceived negatively and it works against you. My friend Sue quickly started using specific detailed self-promotion techniques. Doing this, and her hard work, led her to earn a tenured position and the raise she had long wanted and deserved.
I recommend I said, I try to self- promote only with specific hard evidence. In epistemology, if I do that that it makes it believable. If there is a second of doubt in the listener's mind, if they think you are lying or inflating what you say is perceived negatively and it works against you. My friend Sue quickly started using specific detailed self-promotion techniques. Doing this, and her hard work, led her to earn a tenured position and the raise she had long wanted and deserved.
Research supports the notion that you should brag. Recent experiments conducted by Haifa University researcher Nurit Tal-Or
examining the impact of bragging about those close to you (i.e. a family member or
a colleague) vs. bragging about yourself suggest that people view people who brag about themselves as more competent than
those who brag about others. "Bragging" (with specific and
quantifiable examples of how you have achieved success) can actually be good
for your career brand.
In fact, a 2011 Catalyst study found
that the most powerful tactic for women in advancing their career was to make
their achievements known. Calling attention to accomplishments led to more
career satisfaction and was actually the only reliable factor associated with
bigger raises. As much as we believe, or want to believe, that our achievements
speak for themselves, that alone isn’t enough. We have to speak about them too.
— Janet Choi, CCO of
iDoneThis
A great short article on the proper way to brag actually shows that
bragging to strangers is more acceptable that bragging to friends. (Http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight/201009/the-proper-way-brag)
So help your career and brag a little.
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.
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