Understanding Body Language

A lot of material has been written on this subject. There are countless studies, but this is not an exact science.

Police study body language as part of their job. Body language tells the REAL story. People can say whatever they want, but hiding their real intentions is much more difficult:

• Eyes – Are they looking in your direction? Head – Up or Down?
• Facial expressions
• Hands – The rule is that if you can’t see their palms, they are a threat! Hands are key!
• Personal Space – Most people consider about three feet their space. Expand that to six feet.
• Collision course – Will they cross into your personal space? Or will you cross into their space?
• Instincts are key! Listen to them. If it quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck.

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See and understand what you’re looking at. Collecting information is useless if you do not know how to process it. The ability to process this information is what stacks the deck in your favor.

No one drives a car with their eyes closed.

This does not mean that you have to engage; maybe your plan is to escape a bad situation, finding safety. Maybe pulling the fire alarm, breaking a window that is alarmed, or walking into a crowded store is the diversion that you need. There are countless ways to escape, trap or engage a potential attacker.

You’re controlling the battlefield in a predictable manner. The chaos will be just what you need.

Avoidance should be your goal. However, that is not always an option.