If you walk down the corridor and find someone suddenly twisting his head away from you, what would you infer? If the woman who meets you at the bus stop daily smiles at you, how do you feel? Can words express what these seemingly simple emotions convey?

What makes the difference between Amitabh Bachan hosting the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati and Siddharth Basu doing the same thing? What makes some people more impressive than others? How do you define charisma?

Body language is far more important than what we think it is. When someone interviews you, he is more interested in your body language than in most other situations. Not only is it imperative to be well dressed and fresh, the demeanor of the body should be refined with no unnecessary movements and jerks.

Sometimes, you will be required to walk through a long room before you take the chair in front of the panel. Your gait reflects your confidence, discipline, attitude, health and habits. It's very important to have a steady and rhythmic gait. While answering questions, you can give pauses instead of using 'non-words' or strange sounds like 'aaah'.

Looking into the eyes of the person you are talking to is very important. Eye contact should be maintained in a steady but intermittent manner. If you are talking about something general, your eyes should address the whole panel. Leaning back on the chair, tapping the feet, looking up and things like that should best be avoided.

If you mess up with everything else, don't worry. You still have a chance if your handshake is firm. It is a sure way for the interviewer to find out the confidence of the interviewee.

The non-verbal aspects are not less important. Your voice should be audible and clear and give appropriate pauses. Without pauses, it's difficult to digest what one is saying. It gives you time to think and also time to assimilate what you are saying for the listener. There is much more, but these are the essentials.

When two strangers are talking, more than the words it is the body that speaks volumes. When strangers start talking it'll be mostly yes or no answers. Unless the conversation is gripping in interest the interest is unconsciously in the body language and gestures. The amount of eye contact, the frequency of smiles and the position of the body are the most significant. Between friends and relatives, it may not matter much, but it does matter nevertheless.

If I tell you that only 7% of the impact that you make actually depends on the words that you speak, would you believe me? To think that 93% of the impression is actually concealed as body language is something hard to digest. This is a research finding. So let's see why it could be true. The impression made through gestures constitues 55% and 33% is due to the non-verbal characteristics of speech. These could be the voice, tone, pitch, speed, modulation, loudness and other things.

There was an experiment that showed that the same words produced drastically varying effects on the listener when drooled out in one case and when delivered emphatically in another.

If you start observing, you will notice that bodies speak far more than we think. It's just that though we have been perceiving the signals correctly all our lives but we haven't committed their existence it to our conscious mind. Isn't body language so different between people that no generalizations can be made about them? True.

There are some things that different people do to denote different things. But a large body of research has been done and several real life experiments were done to demonstrate that body language has a few universal connotations.

Between cultures, there are variations. But within the same culture, we can exactly identify when someone likes you or avoids you. But there is one caveat. Everything should be seen and interpreted in context like most other things in life.

Almost all of the signals given by us are to be interpreted in conjunction with the other ones. For example, a frown with a stare is to be interpreted differently with a frown and enquiring eyes. In the former, it is hate and in the latter, it mirrors confusion.

They say that words may lie, but the body cannot. If you say that you don't like a certain 'beautiful' girl and when she passes by, you take a moment's glance at her, your friend knows the truth.

Similarly when you give a talk, the feedback that you collect at the end of it in written form is less important if you can observe the expressions of your audience when you were making the presentation.

We all need to judge men, to be successful in our lives. And body language is the surest indication of a person's refinement, culture, heritage, confidence and character. I feel that I can know for sure whether someone is fresh from college or not just by a cursory glance at the person. Initially we feel that it's subtle and difficult to master, but with practice it becomes involuntary and instinctive.

Well has it been said that 'the face is the index of the mind'. It is not just the face but the expressions on it. A smiling face is the best cosmetic. And to think that there are tens of different smiles, some hurting and some mocking, makes things complicated. But we never fail to interpret it correctly. Our subconscious and intuition is too smart in such things. Don't you agree?

One interesting observation is that people serving at ticket counters usually do what is known as 'anticipatory scanning' to guess the profile of the persons who are behind in the queue. That will make a difference to their jobs because by giving a nervous person a broad smile and cracking jokes at a merry teenager, they can be more effective at their jobs.

Political leaders, film personalities and CEOs are not adored for their words or their accomplishments. It's more for their ability at public speaking and delivery of words. Correlating this with what I mentioned above about the distribution of importance between words, verbal and non-verbal communication leads us to the conclusion that it's their body language that accounts for their charisma.

People from different parts of the world have different codes of conduct like bowing down profusely when you meet someone in Japanese culture, shaking hands and folding your hands and saying namaskar in Indian culture, embracing each other in Arabian culture etc. When we travel to different countries, it may be a good idea to observe the differences in body language and quickly adapt.

When we learn a new language, it's usually not the proficiency, but the accent that gives us away. The tune and the intonations corresponding to the tongue are what play the most important part in speaking a language well. The pauses, the high and low pitches, the modulation in speed and tone are the concepts one should learn in a new language.

Consultants and doctors who meet and counsel so many people, put forward their points with convincing style and force. They should appear neither too assertive nor too diffident. The key is to involve the listener and speak in such a way that the listener gives a reassuring nod or sufficient eye contact to show interest. The conversation should flow freely and change according to the reaction of the listener.

Women have a different way of expressing themselves and their movements are distinctly different from that of men. In fact the differences are so much that the similarities seem few. Only their hands and way of speaking seem to be similar to that of men. Right from voice to gait, there is a marked difference in behavior. And interestingly the way they interpret body language is different too. Men tend to use more open gestures and use louder voice than women.

New man-woman acquaintances are made or broken purely on the basis of the signals given by their bodies. Words do only a little of the talking when it comes to expressing one's liking or dislike. You would not have to wonder whether someone likes you or not if you learn to look for the right signals. It will be useful if you use your gestures and postures appropriately to behave in a dignified manner when making an impression.

Smiles are what can save you in any culture any time. They are never misinterpreted. Laughter can do damage at inopportune times. A good broad smile is something that one can't help but like. It will greatly improve your image if you learn to smile a little more often. I feel more comfortable talking to strangers if I find them smiling more often. Is it true with you too?

Instead of deliriously following what research on body language says and analyzing every signal that you come across, what is more important is that you be aware of it and slowly over a long period of time cultivate the skill of looking out for signals and understanding them. When done correctly, this can make your life far simpler.