Consider these situations: A CEO is across the table from negotiating with a peer for the best terms in a merger. A mother is questioning her teenage son about where he was the night before. An HR rep is interviewing a new prospect.
Every one of these people wants to know what the other person is thinking.
They’d have no problems if they read Joe Navarro’s “What Every Body Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People.” This book not only shows you how to read the clues when someone is being dishonest, but it also teaches how to maintain situational awareness, and maybe even win a poker game or two.
The limbic brain in action
Navarro and his co-author begin with an explanation of the brain, and how our most primitive brain – the limbic brain – is responsible for most of our body language. We’re responding to situations with the most basic of impulses without thinking: freeze, flight, or fight.
This book is filled with examples of body cues Navarro learned from his 25-year career in the FBI. These memorable vignettes are liberally placed through the book, and along with numerous photos demonstrating each body position, help break up the text chock full of citations. Some of the scenarios are ones you can practice immediately.
And – the one area of the body which is the most “honest” part? The part of the body that cannot but help but give you away if you are lying? It’s not your face. A trained poker player can master their face. No, the answer will surprise you. And I’m not giving it away here – go get the book
Notes from Aunt Gem 