Chatting to someone who is hard to read can be a bit of a nightmare. You’ll be sitting there chewing their ear off and yet you have no idea what they’re actually thinking.
Or perhaps you’re presenting something in a tense job interview and can’t tell if the employer is even interested in what you’re saying – they might have already decided it’s a no.
But while they might not be saying anything back to you verbally, they could be saying it with their body language.
And an expert has explained a ‘fingertip’ clue that can help you tell what someone is thinking just by looking at them.
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We're probably all guilty of this. (Getty Stock)
Adrianne Carter is a qualified Facial Action Coding System coder, AKA, a body language specialist.
She says various tips onto TikTok including this various subtle signalling of a person’s fingertip placement.
“Notice where my hand and my finger is on my face,” the expert says.
Carter is sat facing the camera with her chin resting on the her bent fingers while the index finger is stretched out, going up her face from her jaw line. It’s kind of like her hand has formed a bit of an ‘L’ shape.
“You might see this in a meeting or you’re interacting with someone and they’re thinking about what you’re saying,” she explains.
It could mean they're not approving. (Getty Stock)
“As the finger gets higher up the face, it tells us that they’re thinking but they’re also not really approving or liking what’s being said.
“So, watch for that finger – how far high does it go up the face?”
We’ve all seen this, right? Or perhaps been guilty of doing it ourselves when someone is presenting something absolutely ridiculous to us that we just can’t be arsed to listen to anymore.
But according to Carter, having our fingertip right up by our eyes as the talk goes on could be a clear signal that we’re just totally not interested in what’s being said.
And users clocked: “Omg this was me in a meeting a few weeks back.”
As another realised: “Brur my dad does this all the time.”
“Mine goes higher because of boredom but ends up in my nose,” one joked.
Others wrote in the comments: “I do that! Never even noticed til you’ve said it.”
Plus, another even admitted: “I have a pic of me doing this at my wedding when best man was doing a speech… this is true.”
English (US) ·