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Body Language: Are women better at it? | Stefan Verra | TEDxDornbirn


[Applause]
tens of thousands of people and lecturer
and all over the world and then you see
him and you think what he and there is
body language because you just Scout an
information about an expert and be sure
you know how an expert looks like not
like me by the way for those of you in
the back I’m already standing but that’s
party language you know your brain got
this information it immediately
constructed a subconscious picture of an
expert and what your brain has to do
right now it has to match that picture
with reality and sometimes that’s really
hard and that’s why you are all doing
the same you are checking me out you
check me out from top to toe well that’s
not such a long way with me but anyway
you are checking me out you are looking
into my face and you are observing my
facial expressions you’re watching my
gestures and you are watching my whole
body and that’s what we are talking
about because the body language is the
first and most powerful and trends into
the heart of another person especially
when we look into the face our facial
expressions are so strong if there is
one facial expression that is better to
connect with other people than all the
other facial expressions and that is a
smile when we smile we get immediately
the entrance to another person why is
that because entrance doesn’t mean fun
entrance doesn’t mean likability
entrance yes I am NOT dangerous and that
is what a smile shows who is smiling
more by the way men or women women men
women men who
who is smiling more worldwide in every
culture on earth who is smiling more men
or women children that must be Austria
you know I asked who men or women
children it’s always the same you know
so if there are two possibilities
Austria takes the third one ya know
worldwide it’s always women why do women
smile more does anyone know women why do
you smile more
because you’re weaker because you wake
up maybe other reasons why are you
smiling more they have to attract the
man or ladies he’s in the second row
with a blue shirt there are other
reasons why women do that worldwide and
that’s another thing who shows more
facial expressions men or women when men
it’s also women I mean if two women are
sitting and having a coffee it’s always
with their facial expression if do men
having a beer
and in the end both men think that was a
nice evening it’s always it’s always the
same and there is one more thing when we
are talking about facial expressions
it’s women who do it more and they are
also smiling and you know what women are
also touching each other way more often
up to 50 percent I mean if I would be a
woman and I would have a female friend
and she would have bought a new top I
would say wow that’s nice and I would
touch her or if she would get
photographed and a strain of hair falls
into her face every female friend would
do this if I would do this with my male
friend got me so why is the difference
why do you as women smile more why do
you show more facial expressions and why
do you touch each other way more ladies
because you’ve got a problem what is the
that was the quickest reports response I
got yeah it is man the biggest threat
throughout evolution was always men we
are the biggest threat and we have more
muscular strength our testosterone level
is way higher that lowers our hindrance
and our amygdala which is an important
area for activity in our brain is up two
to five times the amygdala of a woman
those three factors in the male body
have one outcome we tend to solve
problems more with activity and the most
intense form of activity is aggression
that is how we see the world with a lot
of activity and a lot of aggression not
every man but the tendency is towards
the activity and you know you as a woman
don’t have so much musky muscular power
your testosterone level is lower so your
hindrance is also on a different level
so when a man gets aggressive you can’t
fight with him because of the lack of
physical power and there’s a valid
scientific question how could enough
women have survived as they are exposed
to the sheer potential aggression of men
and to make it clear in Germany I have a
project I worked together with one of
the most in-demand criminal attorneys
through him I get the chance to take
part in some of the most important
trials in Germany and it’s interesting
because I can observe the body language
of all the people involved the judges
the prosecute the state defendants of
course but you know what is way more
interesting beforehand there are always
meetings in small meeting rooms and
there are only three people in this
meeting room the criminal attorney me
and the defendant and as a sideline you
know you would never ever detect a
criminal via their body language because
they are about the same
like we they are average but one
saying they have all in common from a
certain severity of the crime it’s only
men we tend to more aggression and can
you believe in Russia domestic violence
is a non punishable crime and on the
last woman world Women’s Day a research
was published in Bangladesh 80% of all
women are victims of domestic violence
you know what
87% almost every woman now the question
is we here in the rich part of the world
always think oh my god we are way more
advanced I’m not so sure how was it
fifty or hundred years ago behind locked
doors or farmhouses because the
asymmetry between the aggression and the
power of men and the lesser aggression
of women is so big and that is really a
problem and the question is valid how
could have survived enough women women
solve this problem but not with power
but with cleverness and there is the
point where the body language comes in
women who are you smiling at you are not
smiling at man so much you are smiling
at other women when you go out during a
break and you knock accidentally as a
woman in another woman you do and you
want to show her sorry and she does no
problem imagine a man who’d knock into
another man it’s a head jerk can’t you
pay attention would you would any woman
do that no way and facial expressions
it’s the same women show it more let me
ask you when you’re a female best friend
comes up to you and she is really sad
can you see it in her face and do you
also get a little bit more set and if
your female best friend is really really
happy can you see it in her face and do
you also get a little bit more happy and
that is the reason why women show more
facial expressions it is the best way to
connect to connect
with another person and every woman
knows that when you come home in the
evening and you tell your husband what
happened today and he just goes what
happened every wife knows that this
really had to connect with a person that
shows no facial expression and the same
is with touching touching has nothing to
do with likability it’s just a
possibility to increase bonding so women
had only one chance to resist the
aggression of men if they form groups
they are stronger than a one and a
singular man and women are very quick in
it I will set up a trap and you will see
how quick women are in bonding with each
other and that is very very interesting
how quick that I mean imagine you are in
a foreign city you don’t have any
orientation and you walk down the street
and you don’t know where erection and
then in the corner of the street you see
a man standing like this and you see a
woman standing like that who would you
ask for direction of course the woman
well she is a woman doesn’t have any
orientation at all about anyway did you
hear those mmm
the women in those rooms where no
signals for me those were signals for
all the other women in here I also
didn’t think this joke was funny and
from that moment on all the women in
here know we are not alone this little
garden gnome on stage we will kick him
off
got me that was just a trap I wanted
just to show you how quick you are in
bonding and that is important by a
facial expression with smiles and with
touches always main show less facial
expressions responsible for that number
one a hormone called vasopressin the
second one is the anti-mullerian hormone
and there’s an area in our brain called
rostral singular area those three
factors in the male brain have one
outcome from pubic
the facial expression of Maine is
reduced have you ever seen a teenage
and the parents always get nervous the
sink Oh something must be wrong with our
son we have to fire him up what can we
do we have football take care some
location in the weekend and the Santos
just goes oh great and now I hear you
saying ladies you won’t say oh we need
the modern man we want an emotional man
man show your inner feelings man you are
also allowed to cry believe me one thing
you would never ever take such a man
imagine if following today evening you
go into your bedroom and on your pillow
there’s such a big spider you would
expect your husband to go into the
bedroom because when you see that spider
you go you would expect your husband to
go into the bathroom take that spider
accompanied it spider out of the bedroom
without raising an eyebrow because if
your husband would go into the bedroom
seemed that spider and you would think I
have to exchange that model and that was
really really a big thing because in
emergency situation we expect that
someone who was stable and he had a
reproduction advantage imagine in the
Neanderthal 200 thousand years ago you
as a woman we’re at the end of puberty
and you thought ho now it’s time for
reproduction and you were in the village
and five young Neanderthal man boys were
standing there having a chat and the
little spiders coming up in four of the
five boys go back just one says oh no
problem who would you take as the father
of your children you would take the one
who demonstrates stability even in an
emergency situation and from that moment
on his genetic mutation had an advantage
and nowadays worldwide each and every
male loses a bit half of his facial
expression during puberty and now I’m a
strong supporter that man should show
more facial expressions if you read my
social media if you read my books I
always say we should show more facial
expressions but you know what we mustn’t
forget that this for
of stability gave us so much security
throughout evolution because evolution
in evolution emergency was more than war
than the exception hey boys but you know
what what we do still today is we roam
the streets we look very strong and we
try to be superior but you know what you
can do that your whole life long and you
will never ever meet a saber-toothed
tiger because we live in a world that is
secure then ever has been before today
completely different emotions and
abilities are important and we can learn
so much from women and that would be
connected quicker today it’s important
to start networks to connect and to bond
with other people and the smile would be
the easiest way to connect with other
people
and when you are sitting here when you
are going out a smile is so easy but
normally we start our day completely
different we wake up in the morning the
first thing we do is we read the news
and we invest energy anger groan and
moan into people who live thousands of
miles away in Washington Berlin or
Brussels who will never ever will meet
and we forget about the people who are
just around us because when you are
about to leave your apartment you take
another look to the spy hole see your
neighbor also leaving the apartment you
think oh there’s no rush but our
neighbors would be the people who help
us in life who should be close by
because when we are in need we knock at
their doors when we bought on a Saturday
night who do we call our neighbors it
would be so easy so when you go out
smile a little more smile to your
neighbors smile to the people who sit
next to you and that is so easy as not
always not in every situation of course
there’s situations where you shouldn’t
smile when you as a woman hide on and
your female neighbor knocks at your door
Jesus my husband just left me you can’t
make peace now with me you know no
you can’t do that no there are moments
where your shouldn’t smile but you know
I’ve worked in children’s hospices I’m
working with the organization for
children with cancer and in the end
there are only two things that remain
that is a touch and the warm smile so go
out there and smile and some people
might think yeah sometimes life is so
serious and I can’t smile Hey
the Great Lord gave you one subject that
you always can love and you know who
that is that is yourself and some people
say no I can’t laugh about myself no
problem the people around you will love to do that for you
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