Three Body Signals for Non-Authenticity
In this informative article, Ten Unmistakable Habits of Utterly Authentic People, Dr. Bradberry lists traits of authentic people. Bradberry says, “To live authentically, you must own your actions and ensure that they align with your beliefs and needs.” The list of traits make sense. We can all strive to be more authentic in our lives and in our actions.
To flip this around for use in your relationships, I’m going to share with you how to recognize when someone you are with isn’t being authentic! The key is in the alignment of beliefs and needs. If someone doesn’t feel in alignment with what they are saying, their body will tell you. You need to develop the ability to listen with your eyes!
Watching others closely will give your limbic brain (i.e. your emotional brain rather than your analytical brain) a chance to read and react to someone’s subconscious behavior. If you have a gut feeling from your limbic brain telling you something isn’t quite right (i.e. authentic) with a person, your gut is probably reacting to incongruous movement. Look for these three subconscious behaviors which signal low authenticity:
- Puppet-Like Gestures.
Moving the arms and head with no core or torso involvement looks in-authentic. When people aren’t being authentic to how they truly feel or are even being untruthful, you will see gestures that look disconnected, possibly stiff, or mannequin-like.
- Ants-in-their-pants
Lots of shifting or moving around can set off your limbic brain because all the extra movement probably doesn’t go with what they are saying. This can be from them trying to play a role they aren’t comfortable with. The individual may not like the part of public speaker, salesman or tough manager and these feelings are making them less than authentic.
- Looking away
Too much or too little eye contact is often linked to lying. It can also be a sign of less authenticity. Watch for the whole body turning away or closing down as well. Sometimes we make ourselves keep eye contact, but the rest of the body gives us away that we aren’t 100% truthful.