It’s a way of bonding, being accepted and creating rapport. Yawning is a very contagious mirroring device - even the sight of a wide open mouth can cause mirroring of it. We even without noticing it, mirror things like eyebrow raising, blinking and pupil dilation. In an angry mob, people will mirror an aggressive attitude. In queues lots of mirroring takes place. Societies that use lots of mirroring dominate e.g. the Romans and the Germans.
Looking AlikePeople who live together, often begin to look alike because they have been constantly mirroring each others facial expressions. In addition we often choose pets that unconsciously reflect our attitudes.
Mirroring and VoicesIntonation, voice inflection, speed and accents synchronise during mirroring. This is known as pacing. Don’t speak at a faster rate than the other person (people will feel pressurised). A person's speed of speech shows the rate at which the brain can consciously analyse information. Pacing is very important on the telephone when the voice is the only communications medium. People will mirror the leader. Sales people often watch who is the leader in the couple they are selling to so that they can mirror the leader. Never mirror a person’s negative signals.
End of Body Language section.
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