Listening report: Body Language - Coursework Example

Listening Report: Body Language Outline: The lecture by Amy Cuddy d “Your body language shapes who you are” digs with acute intelligence into the idea of the influence made by our non-verbal expressions on others. This particular idea continues to fascinate many around the globe, but not many are aware that our body language does play a role in governing us to some extent. In particular, Cuddy explores the non-verbal expressions of power and dominance to establish the reality of a variety of influences exerted by body language of a person.

She identifies the power expressions of victory and loss and then proceeds to compare and contrast them against each other. For example, people typically tend to stretch out when they feel victorious and they automatically close up in case of a loss. These body expressions send out staggeringly obvious signals to others around us and they also shape who we are because they represent how we feel in that moment. One of the interesting ideas mentioned by Cuddy is that differences in power expressions can be traced back to the factor of gender also.

For example, women are more likely to be timid about animatedly participating in class activities than men because of a patriarchal social thinking. Summary: Cuddy emphasizes in her lecture that human beings can actually use their different body expressions to become what they want to become as people. This means that a person can attempt to continuously fake a body expression until this helps him/her in achieving the desired end. For example, when someone is being too bossy or authoritative, the person on the receiving end naturally shrinks or hunches which make him/her appear smaller than he/she actually is.

However, it is suggested by Cuddy that if the receiving person deliberately attempts to stand taller even if not so sure about the forced action in his/her heart, it will ultimately go on to define that person as confident and courageous. This is described by Cuddy as faking it till you become it. This means that first we have to engineer a strategy in our minds and then implement it by using our bodies. This suggests that we can use our minds to change our bodies. Commentary: Marvin Brown expresses in her newspaper article that even introverts can become good talkers by observing a few simple rules.

Unlike Cuddy who concentrates on body expressions, Brown explores the important of verbal language in her article first. Then, she progresses to declare that body language is as important as verbal language in shaping who we are and what influence we make on others. Here, she claims in agreement with what is professed by Cuddy in her lecture that a person should never make the mistake of forgetting his/her body language. This is because our body language does not come second to verbal language in conveying our messages or making others like us.

Both body and verbal expressions go hand in hand on every level. This is because even if a person avoids lazy talk, using clichés, or dead-end questions, still he/she will fail to create a good impression on others if he/she fails to make an eye contact with them.