Use all of your sensory acuity skills to listen. Pick up on a flush in the face or the neck, or a dilation of the pupils. The texture of the skin might change, as in getting goose bumps. The ear, nose throat, hands, or legs may twitch as a response to an emotion filling the body. An obvious visual clue is tears, which might signal sadness, anger, relief, frustration, or joy. The eyes may have an increased blink rate or twitch when the student conveys highly emotional messages or is reliving an experience, or even lying about it. The eyes may also squint when the intensity of the message increases. The mouth gives excellent messages because it is also delivering the content. Watch for tightened lips, clenched jaws, frowns, smiles, stifled laughter, or lifted lips. An astute observer will also notice the student's breathing rate; as the breathing rate quickens, the student might be experiencing anxiety, excitement, or another stimulating emotion. The key to reading body language is calibration. Observe, and then check it out. Avoid assumptions; ask questions. Don't blindly follow rules about what certain gestures mean. Calibrate, calibrate, calibrate.
How to Create a Great Listening Environment
The prerequisite for any effective communication is the fostering of a safe listening environment. The first condition is trust. Only after you have consistently demonstrated that your students can trust your responses and openness will they feel safe and willing to take the necessary risks that precede learning. To increase class trust among students, model a style of communication that involves "responding with respect." Thus, never put a student down, even as a joke, and never be sarcastic to a student or use a belittling remark. You must set the tone of love, safety, and respect in the classroom.