Body language is one of the few true universal languages out there.

Used deliberately and quite practically, it is how a stranger in a foreign land communicates with the natives therein. Quite often, it is the only way to breach the language barrier in such situations. a good number of gesticulations are understood world-wide. However, due to cultural differences certain gestures can still be misunderstood as they can mean one thing to a particular people and another thing entirely to a different people.

The key facet to body language, actually, is its ability to communicate without the "speaker's" knowledge or intent of doing so. Most people do not exhibit a constant state of self-awareness or, more aptly, body-awareness as to render them completely conscious of their actions and how they may be perceived by others. What their body speaks is most often the truth, often at ends with what is actually being verbalized. This is most taken advantage of in employment interview situations where the interviewer is trying to dig past the presentation paraded before him by the applicant.

It takes a conscious effort to mask one's body language - a skill that few possess to any advantageous extent. It takes a person effective enough at observing other's behaviors and mannerisms to properly hide or "lie" with his.