Body language judge seminar

1. Body Language and You
How to present yourself in a conscious
manner, as well as use subtle clues from
players to gauge a situation
SE Regional Summer Judge Conference 2014

2. Overview
This seminar aims to present some basic psychological
approaches to how one can utilize and read body language
cues.
Along these lines there will be some example scenarios of
various types of judge calls, and a discussion of the body
and how it pertains to you as a judge.

3. Overview
For all of these the focus will be on how to present yourself
and how to interpret cues from the players.
Following that is a brief description of specific areas of the
body and what cues may be exhibited and what we may
glean from them. Torso Arms Legs
The goal is to educate judges on mannerisms and
techniques to display confidence as well as to be able to
more thoroughly investigate calls.

4. Example HJ announcement from
Hanukkah
play video/or enact a HJ announcement
-discuss what could be improved
-intentionally pace, take long pauses,
read from notes, Holding breath, VERY
Formal and speaking from chest.
Alternatively I can enact this stuff with the
introduction.

5. Approaching a Judge Call on the
Floor
We start here with an example of a judge
taking a call.
have two players set up a mock game,
and
when one of them calls for a judge, a
volunteer who has been told some pointers
for a “bad” call takes it

6. The Bad Call
● Approach from the player who did not call
judge
● Stand close to and overtop of the table
● Address the players very shortly and curtly
(yeah?)
● Any other notes?
● Have the audience point out everything that
could be improved here

7. The Good Call
● Approach the table from the player who
called judge
● Lower to table level
● Make a nice courteous introduction
o How can I help?

8. The Argument
Set up the same example call, but this time the
players are talking over each other, and don’t
want to let either speak to the judge.
● This is a great opportunity for discussion
o hopefully some will have more ideas here to learn
from
● Have a volunteer come in and take this call
● have the audience discuss what was done well and
what wasn’t

9. The Argument
● how do you handle this, and how does body language help?
● turn to the player you wish to speak
o I will often “calm” the other player with a hand motion
o if a call escalates while you are at “ground level” stand up
this immediately tips the balance of perceived power back to
you this is due to the psychological effect of having to look up
at someone who is in a position of authority.

10. The Call Away from the Table
-If a player asks to step away from the table, how do you
do this?
● make sure you face the table
● be sure you move far enough or are quiet enough that
no information is given away
● also be aware of your own responses so you don’t give
away strategic info

11. Let’s move to some body language
tricks and points we can use as
Judges on the Floor

12. Body Language on the Floor
● When walking around observing matches, how do you stand? Have an
example from the audience here.
o shoulders back, confident stride, etc etc
● When watching players drafting, where do you look? Again, example as if
there was a draft here.
o call for answers from audience
o eyes should be the main focus
● how does your position affect the players?
● they will know you are right behind them
● so you should be observing everyone without being obvious, just watch
eyes.

13. Torso
Walking and sitting with a straight back and
your shoulders back is a sign of confidence.
● This can be a useful way to walk a floor, as it
will be just another thing that subconsciously
instills confidence in you rulings
● Example of both good and bad with why it
helps when approaching a call

14. Some minor pointers
● thumbs pointing forward in pockets
● Hands on hips
● avoid the “regal” pose
● when talking with a player square your feet
and torso to them - this is a sign you are
paying attention and are committed
● just cover a few stances and how that looks

15. Arms
When standing, don’t cross your arms unless
you are trying to be intimidating.
Explain the difference in how your musculature
appears.
Example here
Using crossed arms is a tool, but don’t do it if
you are just walking the floor.

16. Feet and Legs - Judges
When walking, walk with a purposeful stride and don’t sulk.
This is another subtle confidence expression.
Don’t run!

17. End of Round - combining this
● It’s end of round, and your HJ/Team Lead says “go get me that slip!” how
do you do
this? (Example)
● Let’s have the audience sort out the good and bad here...
● this is a good time to be slightly intimidating. Just showing up and
saying “hi” then sitting down… not so useful.
● Make note of direction to SK and point one foot that direction
● Arms folded, slightly looming
o you want to make your presence definitely felt, but not
overwhelmingly so

18. End of Round - combining this
● Now don’t take this too far, as you can inadvertently make players nervous
which can slow them down… it’s a balance you need to be aware of for
every table.
● Also of note, this is a personal choice scenario, you don’t have to be
intimidating, but it is a tool you may use.

19. Moving into a very little bit of
psychology of body language -
Looking at the Players
We will now discuss a little bit about “tells” and
subtly cues we can both be aware of for
ourselves as well as use during player
interactions.

20. Head and Face
This is obviously the part of a player you will be
observing directly the most when dealing with a
judge call, so PAY ATTENTION to what their
expressions may be telling you.

21. Head and Face
Psychologists use a term called “microexpressions” to describe tiny
movements of face muscles that will often betray a true feeling that is otherwise
being masked.
For instance, when you experince fear, your face often forms a small grimace
that may not even be broadly noticeable, but if you look, you can see small tugs
of the muscles around the mouth and eyes, and particularly a slight raise to the
eyebrows.
This same expression often occurs when we lie. I’m not saying you should use
this alone to assess guilt, as it may be simply fear during a call, but don’t
overlook information a player is giving you, even if it is subconciously.

22. Eyes
Try to avoid staring into a players eyes for too long, as this
can make people nervous. Luckily, you have plenty of other
things you should be looking at, so just make sure to break
eye contact to look at the board state so you don’t
intimidate a player accidentally.
Also, and this should be obvious, but avoid rolling your
eyes even subtly as this is clearly antagonistic. Even if you
know a player if lying to you.

23. Arms/Hands from the player
When observing a player, nervousness is often expressed
by fidgeting hands.
Now many of these tells also may occur simply because a
judge is there, so don’t read too much into it, just be aware
of how you can gauge mindset of players before they even
speak.

24. Arms/Hands from the player
Nervous twitches:
This is VERY common. For instance, I often flip my
phone, or flip a pen while nervous and/or bored.
The nice thing about this one is that these
shaking/twitch tells are amplified by items in someone’s
hands. Since players will often have pens and/or cards
in hand… just look.

25. Feet and Legs - Players
This isn’t that much of a thing since players will be sitting
down, but toe-tapping and or leg shaking is a sign of
impatience and/or anxiety.
Another thing that may be useful in investigations, but that
is less relevant for normal interaction - the “secured” seat:
holding the arms of the chair, and wrapping legs around the
chair legs.

26. Conclusions and take-away
thoughts
Be aware of what your body is telling players at
your events.
Be aware, conversely, of what they may be
telling you before they even explain anything
about the game.

27. Judge calls: Scripts
The non ideal call
Players - simply play a turn or two: draw cards, play land, etc, then have player A call JUDGE!
Judge - Approach from the player who did not call judge
Stand close to and overtop of the table
Address the players very shortly and curtly (yeah?)
The Better Call
Players - simply play a turn or two: draw cards, play land, etc, then have player A call JUDGE!
Judge - Basically just take the call as at an event - opposite of above

28. The Argument
Players - simply play a turn or two: draw cards, play land, etc, then have player A call JUDGE!
At this point, when the judge walks over,
Player A: hey, so he just tried to cast Doom Blade on my Black Knight
Player B: No I didn’t, I cast it on his Serra Angel!
Player A: No, you clearly pointed at the Knight!
At this point please begin talking over one another and pointing back and forth at the cards, getting heated as
you go. Make this a quick escalation as we don’t really need to spend a ton of time here.
Judge - I will often “calm” the other player with a hand motion
As the call escalates while you are at “ground level” stand up
Anything else you might normally do in this case
The Call away from the table
Players - simply play a turn or two: draw cards, play land, etc, then have player A call JUDGE!
At this point, when the judge walks over, explain you’d like to ask a question away
from the table,
then follow me
Judge calls: Scripts