demeanor & mannerism guide.
eyes. avoids eye contact when nervous, maintains eye contact when nervous. | avoids eye contact due to being neurodivergent, enjoys eye contact as a means to read and convey emotion. | looks down when emotional, looks up when emotional. | cries openly, wipes tears quickly, suppresses tears. | wandering gaze when lost in thought, holds gaze while thinking. | seeks out eye contact for reassurance, seeks out eye contact to gauge enthusiasm during conversations, eyes move constantly during conversation. | expressive eyes, emotions only evident through eyes, uses eye contact to intimidate. | looks up while thinking, looks down while thinking.
hands. clasps behind back, rests in lap, fidgets with clothes. | twiddles thumbs, chews at nails/skin, pushes back cuticles, draws patterns on table/counter surfaces. | animated gestures while speaking, only gestures to emphasize, utilizes sign language, speaks only through sign. | callouses, scars, smooth, wrinkled, worn, soft, delicate, boney, slender, thick, veiny. | touches others while speaking, reaches out while laughing, reaches out to comfort others, reaches out to seek comfort. | places face in hands when exasperated, places face in hands when exhausted, places palms over eyes to hide when overwhelmed, rests chin in hands. | taps fingers when impatient, taps fingers when nervous, taps fingers while thinking. | scratches scalp, strokes chin, rubs back of head, toys with objects around them, runs fingers over surfaces while walking by.
mouth. chews lip, chews at inside of cheek, licks lips, bites tongue, chews on straws. | resting frown, resting smile, neutral resting expression, resting pout. | grinds teeth, flexes jaw. | covers mouth when laughing, covers mouth when shocked, covers mouth when concerned, hands to lips while thinking, covers mouth when chewing, chews with mouth closed, chews with mouth open. | smirks, grins, subtle smile, wide smiles, sad smiles, intimidating smiles, menacing grins. | openly smiles, tries to suppress smiles, bares teeth when angry, lips quiver when emotional. | stutters, speaks quickly, speaks slowly, good pronunciation, poor pronunciation, moderate pronunciation. | purses lips, sucks in lips, holds mouth open when shocked or confused.
legs. bounces leg when nervous. | draws knees to chest when sitting, draws knees to chest as a means of comfort, sits on knees, sits with legs crisscrossed, sits with legs spread open in chairs, crosses legs when sitting in chairs, sits with one leg folded under the other. | places feet on furniture, never places feet on furniture, sits on counters, sits on desks, sits on tables, sits on edge of seat, sits hunched over with forearms on knees, arches one knee up, sits on the arm of chairs/couches, feet on dashboard, swings legs back & forth when sitting somewhere elevated. | wiggles toes when nervous, wiggles toes as a general tick. | shuffles feet, kicks foot into ground, stomps feet. | loud footsteps, quiet footsteps, silent footsteps.
hair. runs fingers through hair, tugs at hair, picks at scalp, chews on hair, twists locks of hair while thinking or nervous, smooths out locks of hair while thinking or nervous. | prefers hair out of face, prefers long hair, prefers short hair. | wears hair back, keeps hair down, smooths back hair. | plays with other’s hair while talking, plays with own hair while talking, strokes hair to comfort others, likes having hair stroked for their own comfort, braids others’ hair while talking, braids own hair while talking. | flips hair out of face, pushes hair out of face, leaves hair alone even when falling into face.
