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You Are Contagious: Body Language and Positive Communication

A complete B2 communication lesson created for EnglishDrills and redesigned in the EnglishDrills nine-colour lesson sequence.

B255–60 minutesCommunication skillsPrintable

Teacher lesson: Think of a time when another person's mood affected yours. Was the effect positive or negative? What did the person do? Work through the nine panels in order, or choose the sections that suit your class. Teacher answers and the listening script are stored separately.

Teacher Answers Back to Teacher Lessons

1 Lesson Goals

People using expressive hand gestures while talking together

By the end of this lesson, I will be able to:

understand the main ideas and key details in You Are Contagious: Body Language and Positive Communication.
learn and use important vocabulary from the lesson.
use the lesson language in speaking or writing.

Start here: What do you already know about this topic? Tell a partner one idea.

2 Reading

Before you read:

Think of a time when another person's mood affected yours. Was the effect positive or negative? What did the person do?

The phrase you are contagious can be used to describe the way emotions and behaviour spread between people. In conversations, we do not communicate only through words. Facial expressions, posture, tone of voice and hand gestures can all influence how other people respond to us.

Research into public speaking has suggested that visible hand gestures can make a speaker seem more confident and engaging. People also form quick first impressions from non-verbal signals. A relaxed posture, friendly expression and open gestures can help a conversation feel comfortable, while closed or distracted body language may make communication harder.

The questions we ask also matter. Routine questions sometimes produce routine answers. More interesting questions can invite people to talk about ideas they care about. For example, asking “What are you excited about at the moment?” may create a more memorable conversation than a question that can be answered with one word.

The useful lesson is not that people should pretend to be cheerful all the time. Instead, it is that our communication choices affect the atmosphere around us. By paying attention to our words, gestures, tone and questions, we can communicate more deliberately and help other people feel included and engaged.

3 Vocabulary

Key words: contagious · gesture · confidence · perception · enthusiasm · impression

Match each word to the best meaning.

1. contagious A. a movement of the hands or body

2. gesture B. strong interest or excitement

3. confidence C. something that spreads from one person to another

4. perception D. belief in your own ability

5. enthusiasm E. the way something is understood or seen

6. impression F. an opinion formed about someone or something

4 Check Your Understanding

1. What does “you are contagious” mean in this lesson?

2. Name three forms of non-verbal communication mentioned in the reading.

3. How can visible hand gestures affect the way a speaker is perceived?

4. Why might an interesting question improve a conversation?

5. What is the main practical message of the reading?

5 Language Focus

Complete the sentences with can, could, should or might.

1. Open body language make a conversation feel friendlier.

2. You try asking a more interesting follow-up question.

3. Looking at your phone all the time make the other person feel ignored.

4. Speakers think about how their gestures affect an audience.

6 Listen & Speak

Listen

Listen to your teacher. You will hear the text twice. Answer the questions.

1. What does Maya notice about Leo's posture?

2. What question does she ask him?

3. How does Leo's behaviour change?

4. What does Maya learn?

Speak

Discuss with a partner.

• Which body-language habits make a person seem interested?
• What makes a conversation memorable?
• Can enthusiasm spread between people? Give an example.
• Which questions help you get to know someone better?

You Are Contagious: Body Language and Positive Communication — Continued

7 Use Your English

Something New

In pairs, turn each routine question into a more interesting conversation starter.

• How was your day?
• What do you study?
• What are your hobbies?
• What did you do at the weekend?

Choose your best new question and test it on another pair.

Write

Write 120–150 words: How can positive communication influence other people? Include at least two examples and three words from today's vocabulary.

8 Puzzle or Game

Two Truths and a Trick

Write three short statements about the Reading panel. Make two true and one false. Read them to a partner. Can your partner find the trick?

9 Success Criteria ✓

Tick each statement when you can do it.

I can explain the main idea of the lesson.
I can use at least three new words correctly.
I can complete the language task.
I can share an idea in spoken or written English.

One thing I am proud of today:

10 Show What You Can Do

Final challenge: You Are Contagious: Body Language and Positive Communication

Plan: Note your strongest idea, 3 useful words or phrases, and one supporting detail from the lesson.

Respond: Write a short paragraph of 6–8 sentences, or prepare a 45-second spoken response, showing what you learned.

Reflect: Underline the part of your response that best shows your progress.