Expressing Emotions On-Stage and Off

I had a pleasant conversation with an experienced stage actor and director, Robert Stanton, who also has taught English for a very long time.

Manipulating body language is very useful in social situations, but it also comes in handy when an actor on stage needs to express an emotion clearly enough so the audience can understand the general feeling of the play even if they have trouble hearing the lines.

"When I directed plays, I told my cast that it should be almost possible for the audience to follow the story even if they couldn't hear the words."

Of course hearing the words are paramount to understanding the substance of a play, but being able to effectively portray a given feeling can at least help the audience understand the emotional drama of the scene. A woman brushing off tears can easily portray sadness on the silver screen, but on stage the actors should get on their knees and cover their face as they loudly bawl to convey sadness across a larger distance.

Speed-reading body language can greatly help you as an educator, as well. If you're in a position to teach someone else, it's important to note the second-by-second reaction of your students to what you are saying.

"In teaching, when I was introducing a new or controversial point, I watched the students' body language closely. If they smiled or nodded slightly, I felt that things were going well; but if they sat stone-faced, I switched to a different approach. Even in personal conversation, sitting stone-faced is intimidating."

Being able to read nonverbal responses is especially important in situations where you want to impress whoever you're talking to, such as a professor or boss. A stone-faced boss is either unimpressed or totally uninterested in what you're saying, unintentionally telling you that you need to change your approach! Use these cues to your advantage because body language is there to help you in every situation, including romantic relationships.

"Body language also plays a huge role in ordinary life. In a couple, actions with each other such as turning away, being monosyllabic (using words with only one syllable, such as "no"), or ignoring the other person communicates as loud as words, if not louder."

I think Bob would agree with me when I say body language is easily applicable in every situation that involves more than one person. I will say again: body language are honest reactions governed by the reactive portion of the brain. The ability to read and decode these reactions will only help you.