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The commonest mistake is trying to read body language in isolation, and making too hasty an assessment. Thus, don't try to learn individual signals. Instead, look at body language in terms of scenarios.

• Scratching your nose: could mean lying and disbelief, but often means itchy nose.
  

• Leaning back in a chair: could mean superiority and arrogance, but often means the person feels relaxed and tired.
  

• Hands in pockets: could mean secretive, withdrawn, perhaps depressed, but often means hands feel cold or feeling for a coin.
  

• Folded arms: could mean the person is defensive, uncertain, in need of reassurance, but often means it's cold, it feels comfortable.

• Crossed legs: could mean defensive, repressed, possibly hostile person but often means it's comfortable (men) and it's feminine (women).

• Yawning: could mean difficult situation and bored, but often means tired and poor air supply.

Body language has three uses: as a conscious replacement for speech; to reinforce speech; and as a mirror of mood. We have to bear in mind that the meanings attributed to certain actions can vary from culture to culture.

POSITIVE BODY LANGUAGE

When people feel positive about someone or something they often express it by an intentional gesture of agreement, reassurance, appreciation or interest. The body has its own secret ways of revealing such feelings.

AGREEMENT:

Instead of saying "yes", people might make a conscious gesture that means the same thing. A "yes" gesture can involve the head or hand.

• Nodding: Most of us nod our heads up and down to signal agreement. In conversation, though, tests show that what nodding means depends on how it's done.

• Smiling: Like nodding often, giving brief, frequent smiles at someone who is talking encourages that person to continue. Smiling is normally a positive gesture conveying welcome, happiness, agreement or appreciation, although it can also express sympathy, regret and even displeasure. The message conveyed depend upon how the smile is delivered.

• Mimicking: Two people talking to one another might unconsciously mimic each other's posture and gestures to show they agree on what is being discussed. Here are some movements that might be mimicked wherever friends meet.

Shifting weight from one foot to the other; leaning one elbow on a drinks bar; clasping a glass in both hands; shifting most body weight onto one foot; uncrossing the arms; crossing the legs; uncrossing the legs; gesturing with open hands; putting a hand on your hip.

Deliberately mimicking another person's posture and gestures can help them to feel friendlier towards the one mimicking. According to some researchers, skillful salespeople know and exploit this, but take care not to make their copying obvious. They do not move every time the potential customer moves, and when that person makes an "openness" gesture they might signal the same message in a different way. For instance, if a seated person uncrosses the legs, instead of doing the same an experienced mimicker might gesture with both hands, palms up.

REASSURANCE:

People consciously use several gestures that signal "all's well" or "all will be well".

• Thumbs up: Throughout North America and Europe, raising a clenched fist with the thumb sticking up signals "everything's fine". But alternative meanings of this gesture can also mean: a sexual insult in parts of Africa, Australia, Southern Europe and the Middle East; the number 1 in Germany, for example, a German might stick up a thumb to order one beer; and the number 5 in Japan.

• Signing OK: Originally North American, the OK ring signal is also found in Europe. To make it, the forearm is raised, the tips of the thumb and first finger touching to form a ring. The remaining fingers are extended and held slightly apart, the hand positioned so that the fourth finger is nearest the person being signaled to. Usually, as the hand is raised, it is jabbed forward, as if the signaler were throwing a dart. Alternative meanings of this gesture can also mean that the user thinks something is worthless (worth zero) in Belgium and France; an insult in Tunisia, Sicily and Southern Italy where the "worthless" ring is combined with a karate chopping gesture to mean "You are so despicable, I shall kill you" or "I want my change in coins" in Japan.

• V for Victory: The palm faces outwards, a V is made with the first and second fingers, with the thumb and remaining fingers tucked into the palm. In Britain, anyone wanting to signal "we'll win" or "peace" should make sure they do it this way, not palm inwards (which is an insult).

SHOWING INTEREST SUBCONSCIOUSLY

The following actions may subconsciously signal "I am interested".

• Tell-Tale eyes:

Dilation of the eyes' pupils: In normal lighting and conditions that are found only moderately interesting, the eyes' pupils are moderate in size. In dim light or if a person sees something fascinating the eyes' pupils expand.

Blink rate: When people see something fascinating their blink rate is likely to speed up.

• Head Attitude: The attitude of a person's head can also indicate if they are interested in what someone is saying.
  • Showing mild interest: When an individual is neither bored nor stimulated, he or she might hold the head up.
  • Showing interest: When a person is interested in what another is saying, his or her head tends to tilt a little to one side. He or she might also nod in agreement.

• Head and Hand Attitudes combined: Head and hand attitudes combined can signal evaluation.
  • Interested evaluation: When one person is interested in what another says and is weighing up what he or she has heard, the person might raise one hand to the cheek, first finger and thumb pointing up, and three fingers curled in on the palm.
  • Signs of making a decision: If someone asks another to come to a decision, the second individual's hand might automatically slide down and begin to stroke the chin.

• Protruding tongue: A person may poke the tip of the tongue out or into one side of the mouth without even noticing what they are doing. The individual's protruding tongue may signal a mild rejection to others because he or she does not want to be interrupted or distracted from the task in hand.

• Body and Legs: People standing or sitting in a group tend to point the torso and/or feet (and if seated, knees or one knee) at the person who most strongly arouses their interest.

NEGATIVE BODY LANGUAGE

Body language has dozens of ways of expressing negative commands, feelings and inclinations. Negation includes denial, ignorance, indifference, mistrust, refusal, rejection, boredom, sarcasm, impatience and disbelief. There are many subconscious cues, warning, for instance, that an audience is losing interest in a speaker, a party-goer is fed up with the party bore, or a person is rejecting another's advances.

SIGNALLING "NO"

There are more ways of signaling "no" than might be imagined.

• Head shaking: The head is turned from side to side. This gesture occurs worldwide, though in an Ethiopian variant the head turns abruptly to one side only, then faces forward again.
• Head wobbling: This, confusingly, looks like head shaking but is used by Bulgarians, Indians and Pakistanis to mean "yes".
• Head jerking: The head is jerked sharply backwards. People signal "no" like this in southern Italy, Greece, Turkey and Arabic-speaking countries. In Ethiopia, though, the same signal means "yes".
• Flicking the chin: The head is tilted back and the chin is repeatedly flicked with the backs of the fingertips of one hand. This way of saying "no" is common in southern Italy and neighbouring islands.
• Rocking a hand: The hand is held up, palm outwards, and rocked quickly from side to side. The face is generally unsmiling and the head might be shaken, too. People sometimes do this to signal "No more, thank you," across a crowded room. An amplified version involves crossing both hands, palms outwards, in front of the chest.
• Waving: The Japanese sign "no" by holding the right hand, turned sideways, in front of the face while waving the forearm and hand from side to side.

DON'T DO IT!

• First finger wag: The thumb and three fingers of one hand are curled inwards, while the hand is held palm outwards and the first finger is held erect and wagged from side to side. Wagging a first finger is a worldwide negative gesture which means "Stop doing that".

BAD NEWS

There are at least three popular gestures that convey some form of this negative message.

• Thumbs down: An arm is held out with thumb projecting but fingers tucked into the palm. The thumb is pointed downwards, either held still or jabbed down repeatedly. The thumb-down sign means "bad news" or "no good".
• Holding the nose: this is a widespread action in which the nostrils are pinched between the thumb and first finger of one hand, as if trying to shut out a horrible smell. People do this to show that some object or idea is so bad it metaphorically stinks.
• Wrinkling the nose: The nose is wrinkled as if trying to shut out a nasty smell. This is another widespread way of displaying a low or negative opinion of something or someone.

SHRUGGING:

Shrugging is how we sign "I don't know", "I don't understand", "I can't help" or "It's none of my business". The full shrug mimics the hunched attitude assumed by someone who feels under threat, thought he or she offers no opposition. But shrugging takes several forms.

• Hunching the shoulders: This widespread jerky action is made while raising the eyebrows, pulling down both corners of the mouth, and holding the hands out palm upwards. The head might be tilted to one side.
• Turning down the corners of the mouth: This abbreviated shrug is common in France.
• Holding out both the hands: Here the palms face upwards, with fingers slightly curled. This is widespread.
• Raising an open hand: The hand is raised, palm outwards, to shoulder height, while both shoulders shrug slightly.

LACK OF INTEREST:

• Contradiction of the eyes' pupils: this is a subconscious signal. A person whose pupils shrink probably is not interested in the situation or person he or she is currently involved with.
• Indifference: Indifference can be betrayed by a seemingly relaxed attitude. For example, a man (it is usually a man) who is indifferent to a person or situation might sit very casually, with one leg flung over the arm of his chair).
• Inattention: The following examples occur when two people are talking to each other but one is not paying attention to what the other is saying.
  • Scanning away: The individual who is not paying attention probably spends less time looking at the other person than in other directions.
  • Head turning: The individual who is not paying attention might keep turning the head away from the other person.
  • Asymmetrical smiling: The individual not paying attention might respond to the other's remarks with lopsided smiles.

REJECTION:

If someone is buttonholed at a meeting or party by another person they would rather avoid, the first person is likely to give stronger hints of rejection than by merely showing lack of attention. The second person will probably realize they are being rejected by the first, if he or she: half turns the body and head away; assumes a blank expression; stares pointedly into the middle distance so that the other person cannot catch his or her eye to try to keep the talk flowing; puts a hand up to the mouth to stifle a pretended (or genuine) yawn; openly yawns, pouts or sneers; fidgets, picks fingernails or teeth, or makes finger joints crack; openly disagrees with the bore by shaking the head; and, ultimately, turns away and walks off.

BOREDOM:

When seated people are bored by a dry talk or a dull television programme, they assume tell-tale postures that give away what they are feeling. The head turns to one side now and then. The head begins to need some support from a hand. The trunk becomes straighter. The legs become straighter.