I Get Questioned By The Police
It’s not what you’re thinking. After last night’s show a man approached me with a question I actually get pretty often. He wanted to know if I trained law enforcement professionals how to read and interpret body language. The event I was entertaining for was an annual meeting of an association of telecommunications cooperatives, so the
Read MoreYou Mean I Can’t Let My Hair Down At The Office Party?
I get to a lot of office Christmas parties. Of course I’m there as an entertainer, so I always have to be using my best body language. But since I don’t know anybody or have any particular allegiances, I also get to ply my favorite hobby: watching people. It always amazes me how many employees
Read MoreA Good Handshake Brings In The Money
Dan Ariely is a behavioral economist. As I understand it, he studies the psychological and behavioral elements of how we make our economic choices. Recently, he described a fascinating experiment the illustrates the incredible power of body language. In brief, he took a scruffy college student, dressed him like a bum, and set him to panhandling on
Read MoreWhat the Eyes Reveal: Myth vs. Fact
What the Eyes Reveal: Myth Vs. Fact. It happened again yesterday. I was discussing how body language help you tell when somebody is lying, when the person I was talking to said, “I’ve heard that when a person is lying his eyes look up and to the left.” “Where did you learn this,” I asked.
Read MoreIt’s Not Just Humans Who Express Through Body Language
Actually body language is even more important for animals, since they can’t express through language. But the photos in this story are particularly striking. The baby gorilla was rescued from poachers, and you can see from its body language how it starts off being terrified, but eventually becomes comfortable with its rescuers, and then eventually forms
Read MoreDealing With Resistance
You’re sitting across from a person you’re trying to persuade in some way. Maybe it’s a job interview, and you’re trying to convince him to hire you. Maybe you’re in sales and you’re trying to convince him to buy your product. Maybe you’re negotiating to buy something and you’re trying to convince him to bend
Read MoreA Great Example of Listening Beyond The Words
I’ll never forget when I first laid eyes on Marco. It was October of 2010. I was speaking on behalf of a large chewing gum manufacturer to independent salespeople in the candy industry. As I looked out on the audience, they were pretty much what you’d expect from people who sold candy. Mostly young, fresh faced,
Read MoreThe Body Language of Leadership
Leaders use many different strategies to motivate their ranks. Some try to be everybody’s friend, while others try to be as intimidating as possible. Which strategy is best depends on circumstances and the personality of the leader, but most studies identify two key dimensions to leadership that can be reinforced by body language: likeability and authority. Put simply, people are
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