The Definitive Book of Body Language - Barbara Pease [47]
Our work with law-enforcement officers showed that officers who don't wear firearms use this position regularly and often rock back and forth on the balls of the feet when standing, to gain additional height. Police officers who wear firearms seldom use this gesture, preferring to let their arms hang by their side or to have their thumbs tucked into the belt. The firearm gives the officer sufficient power that Palm-in-Palm behind the back is not a necessary display of authority.
The Hand-Gripping-Wrist gesture communicates a different emotion to Palm-in-Palm behind the back. It's a signal of frustration and an attempt at self-control. One hand grips the other wrist or arm tightly behind the back, as if in an attempt by one arm to prevent the other from striking out.
The Hand-Gripping-Wrist gesture
The higher up one hand grips the opposite arm, the more frustrated or angry the person is likely to be. In the illustration below, the person is showing a greater attempt at self-control than in the previous picture, because the hand is gripping the upper arm, not just the wrist. This gesture shows the origin of the expression, “Get a good grip on yourself.”
The Upper-Arm Grip
Wrist-and-arm-gripping behind the back can often be observed outside a courtroom when warring parties are face-to-face, in salespeople standing in a customer's reception area, and in patients waiting for a doctor. It's an attempt to disguise nervousness or self-restraint and, if you catch yourself doing it, change to the Palm-in-Palm behind the back and you will begin to feel more confident and in control.
Thumb Displays
As mentioned earlier, thumbs denote superiority. In palmistry, the thumbs represent strength of character and the ego, and body-language signals involving the thumbs also show self-important attitudes. Thumbs are used to display dominance, assertiveness, or sometimes aggressive attitudes; thumb gestures are secondary gestures and are usually part of a cluster. Thumb displays are positive signals, often used in the typical pose of the “cool” individual who uses them to show superiority. A man will use Protruding Thumbs around women to whom he is attracted, and people who wear high-status or prestige clothing also display their thumbs. You will rarely see a low-status individual, such as a vagrant, doing it.
The Waistcoat Thruster
Thumb displayers also often rock on the balls of their feet to give the impression of extra height.
Thumbs-Protruding-from-Coat-Pocket
This gesture is common to men and women who feel they are in a superior position to others. It's one of Prince Charles's regular gestures and reveals the in-control attitude he feels at the time. In a work environment, the boss will walk around the office in this position and, when the boss is away, the person who is next in charge will walk around using it. But none of the subordinates would dare to use it in front of the boss.
Prince Charles using his Thumb-Protruding-from-Coat-Pocket gesture
Thumb displays can become obvious when a person gives a contradictory verbal message. Take, for example, the lawyer who turns to the jury and in a soft, low voice says, “In my humble opinion, ladies and gentlemen…” while displaying his thumbs and tilting back his head to “look down his nose” at them.
A lawyer pretending to be humble
This can make the jury feel that the lawyer is being insincere or pompous. If a lawyer wanted to appear humble, he should approach the jury with his coat open, with open palms, and stoop forward to appear smaller.
“You seem like an intelligent, honest man,” the
lawyer said smugly. “I'd return the compliment, sir,”
said the witness, “but I'm under oath.”
Thumbs sometimes protrude from the back pockets (see below) as if the person is trying to hide their dominant attitude. Women were rarely seen using Thumb Displays until the 1960's when they began to wear trousers