another prospect glances obliquely at persons or objects, or that he habitually turns his eyes to one side or the other while keeping his head still, judge him to lack the characteristic of frankness.  He is likely to be evasive and shifty in his dealings.  Perhaps the sign you have perceived indicates no more than that your prospect is “stalling.”  It is evidence, nevertheless, that his mind is not meeting your ideas squarely.  You will need to compel his attention to come back to your point, time and again perhaps.

[Sidenote:  Strength Of Mind]

The full-arm movement denotes strength, and bigness of conceptions.  A mere wrist gesture suggests littleness, flippancy, weak traits.  Similarly if a man walks from his hips, he suggests the characteristic of strong personal opinion.  If he walks principally from the knees, or over-uses his ankles and minces along, he indicates that his mind is not certain and that he holds his opinions weakly.

A straight gesture denotes pure mentality.  A single-curved movement indicates some emotion, rather than only a thought.  Action in a double curve suggests power behind the expression.

[Sidenote:  Honor and Straightforwardness]

A gesture outward from the chest and on the same level denotes the qualities of honor and straightforwardness.  If your prospect makes such a motion in response to some idea you present, he is thinking on the same man-level as yourself—­he is treating you as his equal.

A characteristic movement of the arm above the shoulders signifies vivid imagination, or impracticability.  It may be read as an indication of lightness of character or of a tendency to go off on a tangent.  Conversely, gestures outward from the lower part of the body denote power, or an inclination to depreciate values.

[Sidenote:  Selfishness]

If a man gestures toward himself, he indicates limited conceptions, or selfishness, with a tendency to materialize everything.  Movements in any direction away from the trunk of the body and on its level denote assertiveness, sincerity, creative ability, or willingness to cooperate in thought.

[Sidenote:  Affirmation And Denial]

Vertical movements suggest the life of ideas, and symbolize affirmation. Horizontal gestures accompany the denial of ideas and the death of interest.  The diagonal upward curve indicates idealism.  A similar curve downward is a sign that an idea presented to the imagination is concretely realized.

[Sidenote:  Frankness and Dodging]

The person who gestures directly in front of himself proves he is willing to meet you face to face regarding the idea presented.  But when a man gestures slightly to one side or the other, he is not dodging.  His movement denotes only that he is thinking seriously.  However, if you present ideas to a man who gestures far to the right or left, you may feel certain that he is not giving his thoughts in harmony with yours, but probably is trying to get your ideas out of his mind.