SourcingSpider

​Closed Gestures are negative form of body language where a person appears to be protecting their body and not willing to communicate honestly and completely.

Gestures are a form of non-verbal communication in which the message is communicated through visible movement of body parts either in place of or along with speech. The verbal and the non-verbal components of the message can be either congruent or incongruent. 

Unlike open gestures which highlight the point being verbally communicated, closed gestures are distracting and the messages conveyed through closed gestures are often received subconsciously by the other person and is perceived that something is being hidden and contrary to what is being said.

However gesture cluster has to be always considered instead of a single cluster to understand person’s feeling or attitude (gesture cluster is group of movements and actions of the body (gestures) that signify a common point revealing what exactly the other person is conveying). Also different cultures might interpret gestures in different manners.

Examples of closed gestures: hand covering mouth, leaning back, looking at floor, fidgeting, legs crossed and arms folded etc.