Body Language = Transparency

     Have you ever thought about how your body language describes how other people see you?  To me, body language is just the same as a first impresssion.  If you get a bad first impression of someone the chances are you aren't going to change the way you feel about the person. Or, it will take a lot of effort on the part of the person to change your mind.  The same can be said for body language.  A first impression can easily be gathered by someone's body language.  For instance, if you are at a gathering or a party and you see someone that you have never met, standing alone on a wall and not speaking to anyone, your fist impression of that person is that he/she is shy.  That is given away by the person's body language.  However, if you see another person easily chatting away with people at the food table or at the drink stand then your first impression of that person goes to outgoing.  Understanding people by their body language is just the way we are.  It is human nature to "judge" someone on first impressions.  Yes, some people do take getting to know before they lighten up and talk, but that doesn't change the fact that he/she is a shy person. 
     You can easily pick out the people that are confident in what they are doing just from their body language.  For instance, if you ever pay attention to an artist at a concert.  Most of them are "in charge" of their arena.  They know exactly what their fans want to see or here.  Their confidence in their talent is shown through their body language which is then picked up by the audience.  It doesn't just have to be a singer; it can be anyone confiedent in what they are doing.  Michael Phelps always tended to spread his arms out and throw his head back when he won a race at the Olympics.  That body language showed his excitement in what he had just accomplished.  Today, Phil Mickelson won the British Open for the first time in his career. After he made the winning putt his eyes brimmed with tears, which showed the emotion he felt over his win.  Body language appeals to the person or personality displaying it.  An example of an artist that does this is Stevie Nicks.  Throughout her concerts she constantly twirls or floats around the stage.  She has always done this, which play on the fact that she is free spirit or a "hippie" if you will.  It is just her personality.  Or, when Reba finishes a show she always raises her arms into a T, as if she is soaking in all of the applause.  She is a strong woman who knows her talent and knows how hard she had to work in a mans world. 
      Everytime you look at someone you can gather a great deal of information just through their body language.  In today's world body language has also made its way into the digital world.  Through emoticons, that is.  You can tell a lot about how a person is feeling through one little emoticon that send through text message, tweet or facebook status.  I'm not gonna lie; when I talk to my mom over Facebook and she sends me a heart ( <3 ) it makes me a smile.  Even though I am not physically in the room with my mom or whoever I am talking to when they send an emoticon it automatically lets me know how they are feeling.  Always remember that people are watching you.  Someone will always "judge" you by the way your body reacts when you hear a question or when your in situation you aren't comfortable.  We are all very transparent and we become even more transparent through body language.