Body Language: How to Read Others' Thoughts by Their Gestures

As creatures of many senses, coming from different ethnic, cultural, and social backgrounds, it is a wonder that we can communicate with others as well as we do. For most of our lives, particularly in our educational system, the focus is on the words that we use. Yet studies have shown that the actual spoken words comprise only 7% of the message received by the listener. Tone of voice accounts for 38% of the message with the remainder (55%) of the message resulting from body language. Non-verbal communication drastically alters, modifies or filters the message, often resulting in a discontinuity between what is "said" and what is "heard." THE DEFINITIVE BOOK OF BODY LANGUAGE, by Allan and Barbara Pease, provides an engaging, informative, and easy-to-read exploration of how we communicate we communicate with each other. Drawing on decades of experience, the authors show how body language originates from both biological and environmental sources. With clear and simple illustrations and photographs, individual elements are isolated and analyzed, and then are placed in a more holistic context. Topics include the basics of body language, and then move to specific elements including hand and arm movements and gestures, facial expressions, eye signals, leg and body positioning. These areas are examined separately as well is together in general or within a specific cultural context. There are chapters dealing with the body language of power, deceit, emotions, flirtation and sexual overtones - both innate and learned. One of the most helpful chapters on improving communication is in their discussion of mirroring techniques as a means to build rapport. This is an enlightening book from cover to cover. Its table of contents provide and effective index should the reader wish to explore individual topics or refer back to specific areas of study. The book is invaluable for all who seek to improve their interactions with others. I recommend it highly to those in counseling, ministry, business, and politics - in short, to anyone who must communicate with others (just about everyone).

Intro -- Your facial expressions, gestures, head movements, eye contact, and posture all communicate, either congruently or incongruently, with what you are speaking. BODY LANGUAGE is an excellent, highly recommended book that explores the meaning of our non-verbal communication. The book is fun, interesting, and highly informative in addition to being useful and practical. It is not necessarily scholarly but nevertheless an important primer on a very fascinating subject, body language (kinesics). Develop Perception of One's Behavior(s) -- The book, I believe, will help one to become "perceptive." That is, from reading the book, carefully, one will be able to discern the contradictions in one's words and actions. E.g., if some one tells you that she is very interested in what you have to say, then takes a seat, folds her legs, crosses one arm over her lap, looks down, and then covers the mouth, you can be confident in believing the person is in fact not at all interested. Obviously, this is an extreme example. However, taken piece by piece, the legs crossed indicates a defensive posture. The one arm crossed is also a defensive posture, a barrier between the the person and speaker. Looking down indicates disapproval, and the hand over the mouth suggests a critical evaluation. The hand to the mouth gesture could also indicate uncertainty. Business Applications -- The book has many useful and varied applications for business professionals, particularly people in sales. You will learn effective techniques in communication to build rapport with clients and convey your message confidently. Further, you will learn effective techniques on not only how to conduct an interview but on how to read the non-verbal cues interviewees signal during an interview. Nevertheless, I would be very careful in presuming anything about non-verbal messages. Permanent Frown -- I hope you are smiling while reading this review, because it is true that your mouth can develop a permanent frown over time. You should definitely smile more, and "humor sells" as the book explains. =D Dating -- Yes, the book also discusses behavior patterns that indicate whether some one is interested in another person. E.g., our feet, the direction in which they are pointing, can indicate our dis/interest in a person. Additional "courting signals" could be exposed wrists (such as holding our hand up with a cigarette in our hand) or the "macho" position, in which a man stands with his legs open and thumbs in his belt. Conclusion -- The book will help you become more aware of your own behavior, perhaps if you are "submissive" or "negative" and need to change your behavior to project a more "confident" or "positive" image. As I stated, the book is not very scholarly but still useful and important for one to better understand the meaning of non-verbal communication. Nevertheless, I still feel compelled to caution anyone who reads this book in attempting to immedia

I read through this book pretty quickly. It kept my interest on almost every page. This is a great book if you are interested in learning about body language. I learned a lot from this book. I am now very aware of my body language when talking to others. I have noticed that I tend to get into a defensive body mode when i talk about serious items, probably not the best way to approach the subject. I also enjoy the fact that I now watch everyone I interact with in a new light. I am more able to steer the conversation to my benefit when i talk to people because I can now gauge their reactions to the topics. If they are open and positive, I continue on. If they are closed and defensive I change my approach. I thought I had a pretty good understanding of basic body language before reading this book. But in reality I only knew a few of the basics of the language. The authors go into detail on how a single move is not always accurate, what you want to observe is clusters of movements or positions. Lots of really helpful information. There was also a lot of coverage of engaging the opposite sex. Lots of really good information that I will try out if my wife ever lets me date.

This is a fascinating book! What I liked most were the many illustrations demonstrating the authors' points throughout the book. Read the text though--there is so much more to this book. The author's sense of humor, though a little dry, added entertainment to an already enlightening read. I especially liked the courtship section. It is amazing that women send signals an average of 5 times before the men they are interested in respond. It just shows you how dense we men are. I found it unsettling that if you are interested in another woman at a party, the woman you are with will pick up your signal is a New York minute. And, if another woman starts flirting with you from across a room, the woman you are with will send recognizable body language to the other female: "hands off, he's mine--you're looking at trouble." After reading this book, I guess I will never go into another meeting without subconsciously, or consciously, trying to recall the lessons in this book. I hope someone in the Harvard business school considers teaching this text in a course. If this review was helpful, please vote. Thanks,

This book introduces body language from the point of view of business executives. The authors specialize in the use of body language for business and politics. I found the illustrations and photos that accompany the text to be very funny and appropriate. This is not a very scholarly book, so if you're looking for a very serious and academic book about the study of body language, then this isn't the volume you're looking for, but if you'd just like an introduction to body language from a practical point of view, then this is a perfect book to read. In addition, it is very easy and entertaining to read, so I can recommend this to anyone.