Nuances & gestures

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I'm not sure if i'm the only one who does this but i've come to realise that whenever i interact with someone for an extended period of time I tend to aquire their facial gestures/nuances. It's always the small things like the way they laugh or the expressions they make . i don't do it on purpose it just happens- then I begin to wonder if they notice it as well and think that I am trying to be like them. Does anyone else have this problem?

Hi. I do to. Didnt realise I did until someone pointed it out to me. It is a bit embarrassing, I think.

Depending on how idiosyncratic the gestures, the probably won't distinguish it from any other kind of mirroring.

Yes, all the time.

Never had that problem.

Tim

yes, i mirror people unconsciously, which sometimes makes them think i'm just exactly like them and want to be my best friend. that backfires. if i can catch myself i'd stop doing it.

All the time. I think it is a coping startegy. I find peoples little nuances so interesting and then before I know it I am copying them And I am not aware of it. It can be so embarresing sometimes.

yes. ive also noticed that if your talking to someone and they move say like there arm or something you also move something on your body, its fairly wierd and i dont know why it happens. the urge to move when someone else moves is almost impossible to stop.

Yes, that's so true! When worked in sales, it netted me lots of business. But after a time, I feel so frazzled and scrambled, its like don't know who I am anymore. I'm going to work on this with my therapist, to see if there is some other way of relating to people.

I do the body language/speech expressions/nuances thing too and catch myself. The last time I went to New York I picked up a lot of language/speech changes. Took a week to wear off!

We NTs do it too, just don't realise it Take an Aussie and take 'em to NZ for a few weeks, they'll come back saying 'fush and chups'. Take a Kiwi over to Aus, they'll come back saying 'Feesh and cheeps'.

The physical nuances aren't a bad thing unless people get insulted (which is rare, it's their freggin' body language you're mirroring!)...in fact it can be an advantage. Body language is communication...if you're at least mimicing it, it makes for more coherent non-verbal 'speech'...or at least more convincing.

Yes I do this all the time. I pick up accents, mannerisms, etc. Sometimes it's from a real person. Sometimes it can even be a character in a movie or on television. It seems to be mostly involuntary. I can control it somewhat by making sure I use more formal language as much as possible when I'm at work.

I'm trying to figure out why I do it... I think maybe it's like a game that my brain likes to play, whether I want to play it or not. My brain thinks it is fun to experiment with new or cool ways of expressing ideas.

I'm just really good at learning in general. Like in school, for tests and such, trivia questions, etc. It's like my brain just sometimes goes into a learning mode, whether I want it to or not. It learns these new mannerisms, speech patterns or just random facts, but then instead of putting the new stuff in a special brain filing cabinet for this type of information, it just throws it on the one big pile and it becomes part of my personality.

I would like to make my brain stop doing this, but my brain has a mind of its own.

Last edited by the-over-analyzed on 25 Mar 2007, 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yes.

Yup. But other people pick up mine often, as well.

yep especially after i notice some one sitting oddly .... i didn't mind use to mind but then i realised that some of my friends are quite effeminate and ive come rather close to crossing my legs on a few occasions

ive got nothing wrong with it i just don't wanna send out the wrong message

Message? I cross my legs all the time.