Ashvina saraghena ma madhunankta subhaspati Yatha varchasvatim vacham avadani janan anu. - Atharvaveda 9/1/19 O the gods of light, Ashvini Devas! Endow me with the honey made by honeybees, so that I may speak to the people in a sweet and illuminating tongue. Speech is the chief medium of expression. It reveals the inherent qualities of the personality. Behavioural skill, talent, and inner strengths - all find expression through it. But on the obverse side, the blemishes and weaknesses are also mirrored. For the wise, even a short conversation is sufficient to assess the general qualitative level of a person. It does not take long for the pettiness of the petty and the goodness of the good to come out through this medium. But although the chief medium, speech is not the only one; there are other agencies too, namely, facial expressions, eye expressions, modes of sitting and standing, gestures, and so on. They are all voices of the personality which many times are able to communicate it fully even if the tongue is silent. The buoyancy of self-esteem, the gleam of self-confidence, the listlessness of self-contempt and the hesitations of latent complexes - all these feelings and emotions reveal themselves this way. This expression of self is not an entirely unconscious or involuntary action. It can be improved and refined by the use of will power and by proper training. But for this, we will have to understand and evaluate ourselves afresh, watch our conduct, and resolve to root out the bad habits, which have crept into our characters. Are we ready for this? Ask this question of yourself repeatedly. If the answer is in the affirmative, you can definitely express yourself so effectively as to impress and even overwhelm those whom you meet. For this, you will have first to keep close watch on the bodily gestures and postures, which constitute what is called the body language. How you walk and sit, what is your demeanor when meeting any person etc. are some such aspects, which need a fresh look. Walking with a drag or thump, shaking legs while sitting and many such common habits make the personality unattractive or even repulsive. Some people walk with the head bent down, some bite nails while sitting or twist fingers, some keep picking nose. These and other such bad mannerisms show that the unconscious has our personality and its expressions under its thralldom. The sooner this condition is changed, the better.

- courtesy Akhand Jyoti