The Definitive Book of Body Language: The Hidden Meaning Behind People's Gestures and Expressions

Not as good as Tonya Reiman's book, "The Power of Body Language". Even the illustrations aren't as good. The book would be more appropriately entitled, "Primate Behavior" since the main purpose of the book seems to be to pitch the theory of evolution. There are something like 70,000 different body postures, and these books can only cover a few. If you have Asperger's, books like these don't do much good for you, and this is something that Reiman talks about a little.

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).

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.