DR. MICHELLE COHEN: There are also other bodily
movements that you can use to thwart someone's
controlling or power plays as well. So, in
this particular demonstration, I'm going to
show you how to subtly take over and not allow
someone to overpower you. As Dave will show
you in this particular clip, he is thwarting
Mark's power plays. Now, what he's going to
do when Mark extends his hand is quickly remove
his hand. This is the first step in showing
he's in control. Mark again puts his hand
on Dave. Dave will remove his hands, saying,
"Its okay. It's great but I'm not comfortable
with you putting your hand on my shoulder."
Now, Dave is again taking dominance by saying,
"Please sit down and let's get to the discussion."
As you can see, Dave is looking directly in
Mark's eyes. Mark's looking comfortable as
well, but this will sometimes as you can see
push the other person's body movements back.
Mark is a little uncomfortable because Dave
is indicating to him that he is control now.
David's legs are crossed towards him, all
attention is on Mark. Sometimes, when you're
trying to thwart someone's power plays in
speech, you'll find that the person who tries
to take control will continuously talk and
interrupt what you're saying, and I always
suggest to people who want to be subtle and
thwart these power plays to say, "Could you
let me finish? I wasn't through speaking,"
kindly, not aggressive or too assertive. Also,
I have something called "Name the Game" and
what that means is you explain to someone
how you're seeing them appear. So, if someone
is trying to take over the situation with
their body language, they're being very controlling
as we've showed you in the earlier clip with
Mark, especially couples, many times to communicate
with each other and say, "Well, I can see
that you're really kind of intimidated or
am I misinterpreting you? You seem to be like
you really need to be in control because you're
crossing your legs, you're crossing your arms,
you're glaring at me." Naming the game is
pointing out to the other person kindly, not
aggressively, what you're seeing and say,
"Are you projecting control or anger or that
kind of appearance towards me?" And sometimes
pointing that out makes the other person back
off, maybe they won't be aware that they're
doing it, but naming the game is a real good
tool as well.