Characters Who Move
According to Mehrabian, 55% of communication depends on body language, 38% on tone-of-voice, and 7% on the words used. That’s bad news for novelists because we don’t have direct access to the body language as we work with our characters–they are words on a page.
When you write a novel, you can describe body language and with the right descriptions, the communication embedded is apparent and you don’t have to interpret it for the reader.
Examples:
- Fingertip kiss–praise
- Nose tap–keep it secret
- Head toss–negatives
- Chin Flick–disinterest
- Eyelid pull–I am alert
Think also about giving your character(s) their own typical body language to mean certain things. For example, a girlfirend holds up her hand palm out and makes a shoving motion toward her boyfriend in a gesture that means STOP.
The Definitive Book of Body Language 
is focused on business communication, but it has interesting information.
What other common or uncommon body language do you see in novels?
This is part of a series of 30 Days to a Stronger Character, tips to help you as you write a novel or revise a novel. Also, see the companion series, Novel Diagnosis and 30 Days to a Stronger Novel.
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The trick for me is varying body language–at the end of the first few drafts, I tend to over rely on few things–say, having everyone shrug and do nothing else, or the like. :-)