The Premise
Our body reveals thousands of unconscious actions that are windows into what’s actually going on in our mind. For instance, why do people instinctively freeze and or cup their hands over their mouth when they see something that startles them? Why do people feel threatened by someone else’s prolonged staring and stillness? Why do people who are being scolded often appear to shrink, lower their head, and minimize their presence?
Back when we were hunter-gatherers looking for food and trying to stay safe from predators, we developed instincts to protect ourselves from being heard or watched. These behaviors, and many others, are still encoded in our DNA to this day and are the basis of retired FBI Agent Joe Navarro’s book, What Every BODY is Saying.
The 411
Navarro distills decades of LEO experience and nonverbal research into a framework the average person could use to determine the underlying emotions behind various physical movements. While the person in front of you may be telling you one thing verbally, different parts of their body will move in ways that may confess something their words are not.
Want to know what the most honest part of the body is? If you guessed the face, you’re wrong. According to Navarro, it’s actually someone’s legs and feet. Think of someone who taps their feet in a giddy way after receiving good news, points their feet away from someone who makes them uncomfortable, or blades their feet out in a display of territoriality.
Navarro starts with an overview on the general rules of nonverbals and how our limbic system generates behaviors that break down into freeze, fight, and flight. This area of our brain is always on and sends signals to our body that are difficult to consciously control. He then devotes a chapter to each of the following areas of the body, what their intended survival function is, and what their movements (or absence thereof) may indicate emotionally: feet/legs, torso/hips/chest/shoulders, arms, hands/fingers, and face.
The book concludes with a chapter on detecting deception and final thoughts. From confidence to fear to anger to insecurity to self-soothing and a host of other feelings, Navarro provides a detailed baseline to help us see and comprehend what’s unspoken and involuntary.
The Verdict
Navarro’s teachings would benefit anyone looking to sharpen their understanding of human nature and the biological basis it’s rooted in. Although these tools are especially helpful in the face of deception, don’t expect to become a human polygraph in reading this. Something that may display discomfort may not necessarily be an indication of deception, which Navarro discusses in further detail toward the end.
Lie detection is a science in and of itself; however, Navarro’s work is a good start in becoming more attuned to interpret someone’s true emotional state by way of body language.
Whether you’re a parent, police officer, or business owner interested in observing the subtleties of a negotiation or job interview, the advice given in these pages is well written, simple to understand, and insightful. Photos depicting the actions described in the text are an additional benefit in interpreting the meanings of these movements.
Navarro has written numerous other works on interpreting body language as well as evaluations of conditions such as narcissism, histrionic personality disorder, and psychopathy. He’s even published guides focused on recognizing the physical tells exhibited by poker players.
Many in society can be easily swayed by clever articulations and manufactured emotions, but when you become more familiar with the details of nonverbal cues, it opens up a whole new assessment of what is said versus what is felt.
Think about how many people you know who’ve lamented about suddenly being confronted with a divorce and claiming they never knew their spouse was unhappy. Not only can Navarro’s teachings help you understand others, but also enable you to be more conscientious about your own behavior.
About The Book
- Book & Author: What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People By Joe Navarro with Marvin Karlins, Ph.D.
- Publisher: HarperCollins
- MSRP: $13
- Pages: 250
- URL: jnforensics
- Rating: Thrive |
Survive|Die
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- Infographic: Body Language & Bluffing
- Video: The Myths and Realities of Reading Body Language
- Editor’s Letter Issue 65
- The Deception Detector: David Matsumoto Interview
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Editor’s Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.
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