 easy to read someone's body language, especially if you're unsure or not expressive. Experts agree that communication is 80% of our body language and not what we say. Body language is a way in which we can get an understanding of how someone truly feels. So how can you read someone's body language more efficiently? Let's explore that. Here are six ways to read someone's body language. 1. Recognize their normal behavior and personality first You can't read someone effectively if you don't know how they normally act first. Each of us have our own unique mannerisms and behaviors that reflect our personality. It's important to get a baseline for how someone acts before jumping to conclusions. If you notice someone is nervously tapping their foot at your party, does that mean they have something to hide or do they just not like parties? Or simply have a habit of tapping their foot? Focus on where their eyes go. When in a discussion with someone, pay a little attention to the direction their eyes are lingering. Are they focused on you? Are they observing the room? Are they looking at their feet? If someone is giving you their full attention, they're likely interested in what you have to say. If they're staring you down though, with a bit of a furrowed brow, then they may be a bit upset or trying to intimidate you. Of course, when someone often drifts their gaze from your eyes, they may be distracted or hoping for the conversation to end. And some people simply don't like maintaining eye contact for too long. So this is why it's important to know someone's normal before you jump to too many strong conclusions. How often does this person you're talking to blink? If someone is rapidly blinking, they may feel uncomfortable with the conversation. Pupil size can be a key sign into whether someone is interested in what you have to say. Our emotions can cause our pupils to change in size. When someone has very dilated eyes, that may show that they're highly interested in what you have to say or even attracted to you. Just pay attention to the lighting of the room before you jump to conclusions. Their pupils could be dilated simply due to a dimly lit room. Notice their posture. How someone holds themselves can reveal a lot about them. Maybe they hold their head high because they've had a good day. Or maybe they're slumping in their seat because they didn't quite get a full night's sleep. Notice if someone holds their head high in a manner of confidence. Or maybe they have a strong ego and puff out their chest. Judith Orloff, MD, notes that walking in an indecisive manner with your head low and cowered could be a sign of low self-esteem in some cases. Posture can reveal much on how someone is feeling for the day too. So keep an eye out if they're falling asleep in their chair during class. Safe to say they're sleepy. What are their lips doing? Another way to get a read on someone is to be aware of their lips and what they're doing when they aren't the ones talking. If they're biting their lip or chewing their bottom lip, they could be nervous or worried. If someone's mouth is hearted faintly, then they're likely comfortable and relaxed. A sign of fear can be one's lips quiver. This could also be a sign that they're feeling sad. Compressed lips could mean they're a bit uneasy with the situation. Pressed lips could also mean they've disapprove of what's going on around them, or that they don't trust you. Biting their own lips could also mean that they're flirting with you. Pay attention to what they're wearing. According to personality psychologists at the University of Texas, Sam Gosling, we should notice what people choose to tell us about their appearance. Gosling calls these signs identity claims, and they can include little things like what we wear, tattoos, bumper stickers, to even our screensaver. Gosling explains that identity claims are deliberate statements we make about our attitudes, goals, values, etc. These are deliberate choices, so pay attention to what people want to convey about themselves. Look out for particular facial expressions. There are a few common facial expressions that can give way to what someone is really thinking or feeling. When someone's jaw is clenched and they grind their teeth, that can be a sign of tension. Someone may feel bitter, angry, or contempt if their lips are pursed. Deep round lines forming? You can bet they're worried or overthinking. Want to know if someone is genuinely smiling in delight? Look for what is called the Duchenne Smile. According to Healthline, this occurs when the zygomaticus major muscle lifts the corners of your mouth at the same time the orbicularis oculi muscles lift your cheeks and crinkle your eyes at the corners. Basically, it's the type of smile that reaches up to your eyes, causing those wrinkles by your eyes known as crow's feet to appear. This type of smile appears when someone is genuinely happy, as opposed to a polite and kind smile, or even a forced smile. And there could be an easier way to interpret different smiles. Cardiff Universities Magdalena Richelowska and her colleagues of researchers developed a classification of smiles and their effect on others with the help of a complex modeling program used in 2017. When you're giving positive feedback, you can often show what Richelowska calls the reward smile. This is when your lips are naturally pulled directly upwards, your eyebrows lift, and you form small dimples at the sides of your mouth. The dominant smile is used when one communicates friendship and liking. This includes pressing your lips together along with an appearance of small dimples. If you happen to notice someone you've been recently talking to using the dominant smile, they may just be trying to tell you that they want to be your friend. If you watched all the way, hopefully this was a good one-on-one body language crash course for you. We also have a video here on sign someone is highly attracted to you. Feel free to check it out!