# How to read the room before the room reads you > Body language experts decode what your boss's feet, your colleague's smile and a bundle of small signals are really telling you at work. - Title: How to read the room before the room reads you · Dailymail - Summary: Body language experts decode what your boss's feet, your colleague's smile and a bundle of small signals are really telling you at work. No single gesture… - Keywords: body language, office politics, careers, redundancy, workplace, news, entertainment, read, room, reads, Dailymail - Source: Dailymail — https://dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-16127793/subtle-sign-redundant-people-think-work-office.html?ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss - Published: 2026-09-13T16:32:41+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: body language, office politics, careers, redundancy, workplace, news, entertainment ## Back at the desk, back to the politics Summer is over and you are face to face with colleagues again. If you sense Janet from Marketing cannot stand you, that hunch may be readable rather than paranoid. ## Start with your boss's feet Mike Carter, a UK body language consultant, says feet are the honest part of the body. Where they point tells you where the interest actually is. > The best way to work out if you are headed in the right career direction is to look at your boss's feet. ## Pointed at you means interest If your manager's feet aim at you during a conversation, they are engaged with what you are saying rather than performing politeness. > If their feet are pointing towards you when they're talking to you, it means they're genuinely interested. ## Pointed away means exit Feet angled at the door or the kitchen say the coffee is winning. The words may stay warm while the body has already left. > They're probably more interested in getting themselves a coffee than you. ## Seated legs tell on them too The signal survives sitting down. Crossed legs with the feet turned away from you carry the same message as a body angled at the door. > If your boss folds their legs, with the feet pointing away from you, they're saying they want to get away. ## The death smile Some colleagues smile pleasantly while wishing you gone. Carter calls it the death smile, and the mouth is the wrong place to check. ## Check between the eyebrows A real smile crinkles the skin above the nose. If that patch stays smooth, they are going through the motions, or they have had Botox. > Above the nose and between the eyebrows is the most expressive part of the face. ## Hidden hands cost you trust People read concealed hands as concealed intent. Arms folded with hands tucked under armpits, stuffed in pockets or held behind the back all read the same way. > If someone hides their hands when talking it often means they can't be trusted. ## Keep your hands visible The fix is simple and it works in both directions. If you want colleagues to back you, let them see your hands while you talk. > If you want to be trusted, keep your hands in sight. ## Learn to mask the boredom If every feeling lands on your face, Andrew in Accounts will know exactly what you think of him. Specialist Carole Railton says aim for professional warmth, not forced enthusiasm. ## The tells that leak contempt Railton names the giveaways: eye rolling, sighing, glancing at your watch, turning your torso towards the door mid sentence. Face the speaker and hold comfortable eye contact instead. > Avoid eye-rolling, sighing, checking your watch or turning your torso towards the door while they're talking. ## There is no lying tell Former FBI agent Joe Navarro says forget nose touching and ear tugging. No single behaviour reveals deception, so watch reactions to specific words instead. > There is not one single behaviour indicative of deception. Instead, look for reactions to words. ## The ice pick moment Navarro once named an ice pick to a murder suspect. The man flushed, closed his eyes and dropped his head, reacting to knowledge only the killer had. > His face flushed, his eyes closed and his head inclined downward as a reaction to that guilty knowledge. ## Confidence sits upright Railton says posture carries the verdict. Rushing, fidgeting, tugging at your clothes or sinking into your chair all broadcast uncertainty before you open your mouth. > Rushing, fidgeting, constantly adjusting clothing or shrinking into your chair, can signal uncertainty. ## Steeple like Merkel Press your fingertips together the way Angela Merkel did, not the way Mr Burns does. Navarro says leaders steeple, and it reads as confidence. > Leaders often steeple their fingers, which is a sign of confidence. ## Lower your voice, not raise it Volume is the amateur move. Dropping your voice lands harder than pushing it louder. ## Stillness gives you away on Zoom Sitting frozen on camera does not read as attentive. Railton says a face with no natural reaction looks like something in a museum. > Staring fixedly at the screen without natural facial reactions can make someone look more like a waxwork. ## Your eyes show the emails You are not secretly checking your inbox. The eye movement is visible, and the fix is timing: nod occasionally and tilt slightly towards the screen. > It's all about natural timing, nod occasionally and tilt slightly towards the screen. ## One cold shoulder proves nothing The marketing director avoiding your eyes is not enough to send you back to your CV. Carter says single signals mislead, and experts read bundles instead. > We talk about "bundles" in body language. ## The redundancy bundle Weak eye contact plus hidden hands plus shallow breathing plus arms folded into a self hug. Four together is the pattern worth worrying about, not any one alone. > That's the bundle of signs that would suggest something is wrong and that maybe you're on the redundancy list. ## Key takeaway No single gesture means anything. Look for a cluster of signals together, and read the reaction to words rather than the tic.