Nonverbal communication conveys meaning both directly and indirectly. Sometimes you directly communicate, such as flashing a thumbs-up sign to a friend who performed well during a play. At other times, your nonverbal communication is comparatively indirect—for example, wearing black to signal sadness or grief rather than openly crying.

Although you regularly use nonverbal communication to convey meaning, be careful about presuming particular meanings from the nonverbal displays of others. Consider deception, for example. Around the world, people believe that liars fidget nervously, play with their hair or clothes, and smile too much (Global Deception Research Team, 2006). The most commonly believed deception cue is eye contact: “Liars can’t look you in the eye,” or so we’re told by movies, TV shows, Web sites, books, and magazines. But these beliefs are false. Across hundreds of scientific studies involving tens of thousands of participants, not a single nonverbal behavior has been found that consistently indicates deception (DePaulo et al. 2003; Sporer & Schwandt, 2006). So, if someone doesn’t look you in the eye while speaking, don’t presume that it means deception.