Transcript [pdf]

SHOW NOTES

Key Takeaways

• • Students read your body before they process your words — they decide “Am I safe?” through your posture, pacing, face, and breath.
    
  • Your nonverbal cues can de-escalate a moment faster than any script.
    
  • Kids with trauma often interpret neutral expressions as negative, so educators must soften more than they think is necessary.
    
  • Eye gaze should be flexible and culturally responsive — connection doesn’t require forced eye contact.
    
  • Grounding yourself — through breath, stance, and posture — helps kids regulate through co-regulation.

Episode Download/Handout

Nonverbal Body Scan: Support from Eyebrows to Toes

This simple, visual checklist walks educators through a top-to-bottom body scan so your presence communicates calm, safety, and connection — especially during challenging behavior.

It includes clear guidance for:

• • Softening your eyebrows and expression
    
  • Adjusting eye gaze without demanding eye contact
    
  • Relaxing shoulders, arms, and hands
    
  • Using breath and pacing to lower tension
    
  • Grounding your stance so students feel secure

👉 Download at inclusiveschooling.com/download60 

Practical Tips

• • Start with your face. Gently relax your forehead, soften your eyes, and check whether your expression matches your intention.
    
  • Adjust your height. Move to or below the student’s eye level to reduce threat signals.
    
  • Uncross and open. Drop your shoulders, uncross your arms, and keep your hands visible and unclenched.
    
  • Slow your pace. Move and breathe like you have time — your calm becomes contagious.
    
  • Ground yourself. Stand with weight evenly distributed and avoid looming or hovering.
    
  • Use your breath as regulation — not a performance. Take a slow breath for yourself, not to “teach a skill.”

Learn More About Behavior 360 our newest on-demand PD!

inclusiveschooling.com/behavior-360