文字难度：★★★
You’re getting a hidden peek, a peek into the world of what’s really going on. When you can read body language, every moment spent with others can be valuable and, if you are in business, profitable. Body language is crucial, and the messages and secrets hidden behind can be unveiled through reading body gestures.
你正偷偷瞥看,瞥到人生世相的真实一面。当你能读懂肢体语言时,与人共处的每一刻都会变得宝贵,在商界打拼,你还能因此而获利。肢体语言至关重要,通过解读肢体语言,那些隐藏在背后的信息和秘密可被揭开面纱。
There are many simple gestures that, although usually taken for granted, can show us a more complicated meaning. A pat on the back is one way to demonstrate power. Another way to demonstrate dominance is shaking hands. Janine Driver, who is an expert on reading body gestures and teaches body-language evening classes, believes the visual impact of important handshakes was first appreciated in 1970 when 1)Elvis Presley famously paid a visit to President Nixon at the White House. “We can see a picture of Nixon and he’s shaking hands with Elvis Presley. Nixon’s got the upper hand with his 2)palm facing down,” Driver analyzes, “That’s where the expression comes from—‘I’ve 3)got the upper hand here.’ So now that people know about this in politics, you can understand why politicians 4)jog for positions when it comes time to take pictures.”
许多人觉得稀松平常的肢体动作其实可以向我们展现一番复杂的意义。拍某人的背是一种“表现权力”的方式。另一种“表现权力”的方式是握手。詹妮·德瑞弗是解读肢体动作这方面的专家,还在夜校开班讲授肢体语言的学问。她相信人们最先觉察到重要场合的握手能给人带来视觉影响是发生在1970年——当时埃尔维斯·普雷斯利到白宫拜访尼克松总统,那是一次有名的会面。“我们可以看到一张尼克松和埃尔维斯·普雷斯利握手的照片。尼克松的手在上,手掌朝下。”德瑞弗分析道,“这就是那个习语的来由——‘我在这占上风了’。知道了政坛的这一要点,你就能明白为何拍照时,政客们都会慢慢地走着来挑位置了。”
Even celebrities know they are living 5)in the spotlight and being examined all the time. Under this kind of intense 6)scrutiny, a celebrity’s body language needs a helping hand.
名流也知道生活在聚光灯下,自己一刻也离不开人们的审视。在这番紧盯细看之下,名人需要有人指点他的肢体语言。
Take 7)Paris Hilton for example. As an infamous party queen, she hardly 8)goes out of her way to clear up her bad-girl image. But how about the night when Paris Hilton was released from jail in 2007? As she emerged, she knew the world was watching.
拿帕里斯·希尔顿举个例子。作为一个臭名昭著的派对女王,她从不怎么尽心努力去洗脱自己的“坏女孩”形象。但看看2007年帕里 斯·希尔顿从监狱释放出来那晚她的表现又如何?当她走出来时,她知道全世界都在盯着她看。
“She knew, or at least had been told, that she had to demonstrate that she had learned her lesson,” comments Mark Jeffries, a communications consultant; “After all, she had actually been to jail. So she could not come out and be her normal 9)playful self and jump on the table and start 10)lap dancing, because that moment did not 11)warrant such behavior. And, as she walked along, she 12)straightened herself a little bit, because she knew she was on. It was kind of a 13)prim pose when she got her hands—she crossed her fingers and she held in front of herself like a very good girl.”
“她知道,或者至少有人告诉她,她得表现出一副已吸取教训的样子,”人际交往顾问马克·杰弗里斯分析道,“毕竟,她的确是尝过牢狱之苦了。所以她不能一出狱就露出其以往爱玩的个性,跳上桌子大跳脱衣舞,因为当下的形势不允许她那样做。她走出来的时候,稍稍挺直了背,因为她知道要上场了。那是个有几分斯文的姿 态——她手指交叉,手垂放在身前,俨然是一个好女孩。”
Dr. Harry Witchel adds his opinion: “Her body language must have been carefully planned in advance. She displayed a very unusual gesture—and I’ve never seen her do that gesture in any other situation.”
哈利·威特切尔博士补充了自己的看法:“她要摆什么姿势肯定是事先就小心计划好的。她摆出了一个很不寻常的姿势。我从未在其他的场合里看到她摆那样的姿势。”
Politicians and celebrities now know they must pay attention to the 93 percent of communication that’s non-verbal. But what role does body language have in everyday life? Does good body language really help to 14)close a deal? To find out, an experiment was carried out: two women, Jackie and Casey, were hired to pose as new car customers to test 15)salesmanship. Their first stop was a 16)BMW showroom where Cory, one of the salesmen, greeted them. It was discovered that Cory was fixing his tie before greeting, which can be seen as 17)preening. Then came a quick handshake which included a, seemingly, very genuine smile. Furthermore, when approaching the two women, he also had his head bent slightly forward, which is important for displaying 18)submissiveness and very useful for a salesman. Cory’s body language was near perfect throughout. The following morning, they went to a 19)Toyota 20)dealership and were greeted by Jerry, who was 21)rubbing his thumbs with his hands.
政客和名人们现在知道他们得注意那93%的非口头传达的信息。但肢体语言在日常生活中扮演着怎样的角色?好的肢体语言是否真的有助于谈成生意?为了找出答案,有人做了一个实验——两位女士,杰姬和凯西,被雇佣扮成想要购买新车的顾客,以此测试销售员的销售能力。她们的第一站是宝马公司的展示厅。在那里,负责接待的是其中一位销售员科利。大家留意到科利在接待她们之前,弄了一下领带——整理装扮了一下。接着,他快速地和她们握了握手,脸上流露出似乎是很真诚的笑容。不仅如此,当接近两位女士时,他还稍微低头,这对于显示自己对顾客的谦恭很重要,对销售员来说也很有用。科利全程的肢体语言几近完美。第二天早上,她们去了丰田汽车的一家代理商那里,杰瑞接待了她们。她们发现杰瑞在用手揉自己的大拇指。
“That’s called a ‘self-touch gesture’. This is a comfort gesture and it means that someone is feeling uncomfortable. Body language can’t be considered in isolation. It’s usually an 22)amplifier to what you are already saying,” says Dr. Witchel.
“那被称作‘自我触摸手势’。这是一种聊以自慰的手势,而在那种场合下则显露出某人正感觉不自在。你不能孤立地看待肢体语言。它常常是一个扩音器——把你说出的话进一步扩散传播。”威特切尔博士说。
Not only that, but Jerry also looked down and avoided eye contact with the women. In the eyes of experts, this 23)disconnectedness says, “I’m more important than you.” This attitude, combined with a lack of confidence, doesn’t do much for building 24)rapport with customers. Ultimately, people don’t buy based on the product or even the product data, but instead as a result of their feelings about the salesman.
不止这样,杰瑞还往下看,避开和两位女士眼神接触。在专家们的眼里,这种“沟通断链”意味着“我比你更重要。”这种态度,加上“缺乏自信”,对于与客户建立友好关系没有多大帮助。说到底,人们买东西并不基于产品本身,甚至也不会考虑产品的相关参数,而是基于对销售员的感觉。
Reading body gestures can convey way more messages and secrets than people realize. 25)Paul Ekman, a psychologist in the study of emotions, has devoted a lot to this area. His team asked volunteers to make faces corresponding to a particular emotion and filmed the result. Ekman found that there were actually seven universal expressions of emotions on the face: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, 26)contempt, and disgust. He developed an entire system of looking at the muscles of the face. The influence of Ekman’s facial expression research can be seen today. Facial recognition systems help consumer research get access to the inner world of customers: how they react to different foods and advertisements. Today these systems are even being installed in airports to refine security checks.
解读肢体语言能传达比人们想象的多得多的信息和秘密。保罗·埃克曼是情感研究方面的心理学家,他在肢体语言这一领域贡献良多。他的团队让志愿者们根据某一特定情绪做出相应的面部表情,并拍摄下这些面部表情。而埃克曼发现,事实上,人的面部有7种共通表情:快乐、悲伤、生气、恐惧、惊讶、轻蔑和厌恶。他通过观察面部肌肉的变化构建了一整个系统。今天,我们可以看到埃克曼的面部表情研究带来的影响。面部识别系统能使消费者调查深入到顾客的心理活动:他们对不同的食物和广告的反应。今天,这些系统甚至被安置在机场里,去进一步完善安检程序。
People pay a lot of attention to the words people speak, but it’s undeniable that 93 percent of human communication is delivered through body language; a celebrity secret is exposed by an 27)unguarded gesture, a liar is unmasked by her own face. Even power struggles can be 28)played out beneath false 29)geniality. So, when a politician tries to convince the audience with winning words, press that record button, rewind and take another look. All the secrets underneath will be told.
人们极度关注他人口中说出的话,但不可否认的是,人类信息交流中的93%却是通过肢体语言来传递。名人名流的秘密会被其不经意的姿势泄露。说谎者戴的假面具也会因其不谨慎的面部表情而被撕破。在虚情假意的外表下,也有一番权势角力。所以,当看到一位政客慷慨激昂地游说观众给予支持之时,你不妨按下录像按钮,把整个画面重看一遍。所有隐藏在背后的秘密都会暴露出来。
