(Bk Business) Carol Kinsey Goman Ph.D.-The Nonverbal Advantage_ Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work -Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2008)

Chapter 5: Talking with Your Hands
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hesitating at the last moment, and then barely grazing a lip
or rubbing the nose instead.
People who are lying may also touch their nose because
the rush of adrenaline opens the capillaries and it itches.
Watch closely and you’ll notice that when someone is about
to lie or make an outrageous statement, he’ll often unconsciously
rub his nose.
People touch their mouth or nose not only when they
are lying but also when listening to someone they think is
lying. So when Kim, a police officer, interviews two suspects
at the same time, she pays particular attention to the handto-mouth
gestures of both people.
TRY THIS
The next time you’re leading a meeting or giving a business
presentation, notice if any audience members cover or
block their mouth. If you see this gesture, use it as a
signal to stop and address their disbelief: “I know some of
you have doubts about what I’ve just said,” or “You look
skeptical. Can you tell me what your concerns are?”
Pacifying Gestures
In the course of human development, we as a species developed
a repertoire of pacifying behaviors to help our bodies
deal with stress. Infants and young children display these
behaviors when they suck their thumbs, stroke the silky trim
of a blanket, or reach for an aptly named pacifier.
As we grow older, other adaptive behaviors take over.
To soothe themselves, people rub their legs. They pull
at their collars. They cross their arms and rub their hands
against their upper arms in a kind of self-hug. They place
the fingers of one hand in the palm of the other and lightly