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I'm 6' 0.5", so very close to you in terms of height. I also have a desk job and terrible sitting posture, but I regularly go back exercises that target my weak areas. The end result is a very good standing posture.

When I need to lower my height in order to accommodate some person or situation, what I do instead is spread my legs out a little wider than I normally would, lowering my hip some 1-3 inches. behind a fast food counter or barrier, this won't seem odd. It might be a little odd in a face-to-face though.

A person's natural body language is a reflection of their internal state. From your description, it sounds like you maybe feel a generalized dissatisfaction, ennui, or perhaps a lack of purpose, confidence, esteem, and that your body language is actually reflecting this?

I can't speak for your situation, but if this below sounds like it rings of any truth, please consider. I've gone through several phases in my life and I've seen major improvements to the self that I broadcast to the world after making a few specific changes.

1. Physical exercise, specifically strength training. Lifting weights and seeing improvements in your strength and how much you are capable of lifting greatly improves confidence and a feeling of capability. You begin to feel like you are more ready for challenges and situations than you were previously, more capable to handle situations. This, coupled with the endorphins, the release of built-up stress hormones like cortisol, and the improvements to your core and postural muscles will make you begin to stand, walk, move with greater confidence and less clumsiness. The changes to your chemistry and boosted dopamine levels will have you feeling a more steady natural sense of happiness, and smiling will be much less of an effort.
   In particular, my favorite 2 workouts for strength, posture, and serious effort is the Clean&Press and the Dumbbell Snatch which no one else at my gym does - I feel like an absolute badass when I can do 100lbs right up over my head. You should start where it's comfortable to do 5 in a set. These workouts are very challenging. Exercise is the last thing you want to do when depressed, but it's the best thing for it.
   
   
2. Judging by this and your comment history, you're a very serious person, and it seems at least a part of the way you come off is because of this demeanor. Your history of depression is likely the other part - and the two of them together sounds like it makes for a particularly dry, humorless, and withdrawn personage you put out to the world. Your other requests for advice seem to also hover around this, even as you have gigs doing public speaking, you admit that you yourself lack conversational skill and relatability. I don't want to give you the same ineffective advice to "lighten up" that you've probably been hearing for too long. Instead, I offer this. One of the things that really helped me to become a more joyous, fun, and light-hearted person was learning how to better joke about life. I was always mystified by comedy - "how do you even write jokes?" was a puzzle to me. But there's this book which really helped me to become a funnier and more light-hearted person. It may have an audio equivalent. Even if you aren't into writing, it's full of jokes, examples, and great fundamentals about just why things are funny which helps you turn average boring sentences into a setup with a small punchline... it adds up to just helping to transform me into a more enjoyable person to be, and to be with - both of which have compounded to help me in many ways. Do you know your MBTI type?
   
   I assume this is your "self-improvement advice-seeking" Reddit account based on your history. You've been dealing with a lot of things and now you're ready to really emerge from a coccoon and into a new better self, which I think is wonderful and I would celebrate you for doing so. It's a long road, friend. I'm 36 and still growing up, but I've got the majority of my personal issues and character issues handled. At least do me this favor: Self-improvement is one of the best goals anyone can have. Whatever you may feel about reddit, or about your situation in general, do not allow yourself to feel any negative feeling about your own choices to address your issues and improve and grow as a human being. If you're hiding your other self from critique by using a throwaway account, you're doing yourself a dishonesty, and you'd be better off growing up and not trying to pretend you're not broken. Be proud of your efforts to reach out, admit your problems, and ask for help. So many would rather remain broken and never grow. We're all broken in some way. Join us and lets' laugh at our broken selves together.
   
   I preferred not to answer your question about acting class, as I feel it's not actually what's going to help you. I don't want you to follow a lie. This isn't a "fake it until you make it" situation. It's a "work at it but allow myself to feel good about each positive step I take" situation. If you were going to go into any acting, I would lead you towards an Improv class, as it will help you in being dynamic and responsiveness, a "go with the flow" attitude, and comedic structure.
   
   Tony Robbins (whose audiobooks you should probably check into - he's the best motivator I've ever heard, and he gives solid plans) insists that whatever you are focusing on is what you are going to end up gravitating towards. If you are constantly surrounded by and listening to negative reminders of how we should feel inadequate or inferior or wanting, you're going to find yourself living out those exact messages. Root out and remove things in your environment which reinforce negative beliefs, and replace them with things that remind you of the good feelings you get when you take steps, no matter how small, towards your own goals of self-improvement, gaining control of your mood and outlook, and reclaiming your life bit by bit with each new day. Smile at one more person each day. Physically move for one minute longer than you did the day before. Replace one negative reminder with a positive one. Spend one minute more in sunshine than you did the previous day. Call or text one person you haven't spoken to for a long time. These things will compound, until several months from now you'll look back on this moment as when it all started.
   
   I'm not going to say "good luck". Instead, I wish you good attitude, starting now.

By the way, in addition, I decided to read the "lying" section of this website you have linked and I guarantee you none of that stuff they list is accurate. Those things listed can possibly help you discover a liar under some circumstances but they are also wildly unreliable. I can definitely tell you the info in the "eyes direction" section is largely seen as incorrect by the top experts in the field. This is the same tired old list of things you find everywhere else. If you are getting information from things like this, you really need to do more deeper research. May I suggest this book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UQCXK4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage) if you are at all interested in lie detection, as it collects data from studies done worldwide.

Not saying any of this website is false, because a lot of it has some merit. So just by looking at that section I am already wary about it. There's good information everywhere, as I am sure there is plenty of good info here, but you still have to be careful.

I really loved the documentary The Factory of Gestures which is about how body language changed in the Soviet Union to reflect both changing social roles and the influence of the mass media.

It's pretty long, and it's more academic than your basic "learn to read body language" tutorial, but I certainly found it helped me start looking for it, and also to think about it in a different way.

It's also spendy. I got it through my university library - if that's an option for you, that's what I'd recommend. And you might COUGH look around online and see what you can find.

These 2 books are recommended, I know of no movies so my apologies:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Every-BODY-Saying-Speed-Reading/dp/0061438294/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341904950&sr=8-1&keywords=Body+language
http://www.amazon.com/The-Definitive-Book-Body-Language/dp/0553804723/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1341904950&sr=8-3&keywords=Body+language

If you cannot afford them, feel free to PM me and I'll message you the PDF dl links. : )

http://www.amazon.com/What-Every-BODY-Saying-Speed-Reading/dp/0061438294

This one is very good. Also very detailed.

I would recommend reading some books, but there are barely any body language books that have any form of actual scientific validity and aren't just people mostly making it up as they go along.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handbook-Nonverbal-Behavior-Research-Affective/dp/0198529627

This is a good book on the topic of body language. It doesn't say how to read body language, but how scientists would go about using body language in experiments, what works and what doesn't. It is very well sourced and you will quickly realise that the majority of body language claims made by people are completely false.

This particular book includes facial expressions, vocal expression, proxemics, kinesics and eye gaze as its focus. It also discusses how these fields can be applied in interpersonal communication, education, mental illness, deception detection and relationship analysis.

It is a must read for people who want to learn more about the science that drives body language research.

What Everybody is saying and The Definitive Book of Body Language are the two big ones as far as I know.

https://www.amazon.ca/Definitive-Book-Body-Language/dp/0553804723

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0553804723/ref=mp_s_a_1_sc_1?qid=1414003863&sr=8-1-spell&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

shyness

https://www.amazon.com/What-Every-BODY-Saying-Speed-Reading/dp/0061438294

Touching the face can indicate that the person is uneasy, lying, or has an itch. You need to read this action together with other 'micro expressions' if you want to get closer to their real intentions.

Try reading The Definitive Book of Body Language, It's essentially the de-facto book on body language.