Want people to stop interrupting you? Just stick out your tongue!
I’m not kidding!
Think about the last time you saw a child engrossed in play or figuring out a puzzle. Or you – perhaps when sorting through instructions for your techno toy. Was your tongue peeking through the corner of your mouth a little, grasped tightly by your teeth?
Behavioral scientists call this “tongue showing” and it is a form of non-verbal communication that says “leave me alone”.
Through several studies, it has been found that even though it’s unconscious to the doer and the observer, this tongue showing behavior sends a message that says “I’m busy and concentrating right now.”
You may be giggling at the minute, but a huge percentage of our face-to-face communication is non-verbal. Tongue showing is done by people of all ages and in a variety of situations who clearly want to send a do not disturb message.
Action – Without making full eye contact with someone who looks like their about to bug you, just put your tongue out to the corner of your mouth. They’ll either leave you alone, pause and consider what they are about to do or ask if they can help solve what it is you’re working on!
Never overdo a technique like this, but this light-hearted non-verbal cue does in fact work. Try it out for yourself.