Joe Navarro, What Every Body is Saying. An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People, (2008)
This week is a shorter review due to being a specific non-fiction offering. Nevertheless this was a loaded book with brilliant insight into nonverbal communication. The use of figures, examples and case studies only serve to strengthen the comprehensive scientific insight. I would have to read through this book multiple times to truly comprehend and grasp all the aspects of Navarro’s teachings.
The book is structured through the points of focus for nonverbal communication. Starting with the feet and legs before moving up the body and finishing with the most in-depth sections on the face, hands and arms. The attention to details is unsurprising given the multitude of micro-communications such as a small squint or slight tightening of the jaw. As the image shows above, each of the marked sections ultimately has its own language. Navarro describes what each of these could be suggesting before such images are then used to show an example. This is often then followed by fascinating cases that he was involved in during his time as an FBI agent.
I personally enjoyed the stories of these cases as much as the scientific discussion and there were also many important ramifications to such cases that had to be considered. Legal precedent is consistently raised in the cases that Navarro discusses as forms of nonverbal communication do not necessarily have significant legal recognition. It is through these cases though that his storytelling becomes so compelling as serious cases are blown open by his ability to recognize how someone is truly feeling. He does also make clear that reading body-language does not give definitive answers but only informs how certain situations can be better managed.
This book effectively exposes the variety of ways in which humans can betray their true feelings or reactions. It is fascinating partly because of the science but also because of the cases that Navarro uses to demonstrate its importance. This work is commonly seen as a leading example of psychology/behavioral science book and it is not heard to see why as you read through it. It is comprehensive in covering various forms of non-verbal communication along with the literature and studies that back it up. It is also easy to follow and compelling in its use of figures and case studies.
Nonverbal communication can also reveal a person’s true thoughts, feelings, and intentions. For this reason, nonverbal behaviors are sometimes referred to as tells (they tell us about the person’s true state of mind). Because people are not always aware they are communicating nonverbally, body language is often more honest than an individual’s verbal pronouncements, which are consciously crafted to accomplish the speaker’s objectives.
They is little to review without an extensive background in nonverbal communication but as suggested this is still a very interesting book for everyone. Personally, it highlighted how important nonverbal communication can be and as a result how the same message can be received differently depending on the person. At the moment, and in the future, with ongoing Zoom meetings and less face-to-face interaction it will be interesting to see how the importance of nonverbal communications changes if others cannot see the full extent of possible tells.
This book teaches skills and encourages greater attention to detail and does so in a way that could make the reader much more self-conscious about the way they communicate. It is a leading book of its kind and any reader should be able to tell as such.
The Weekly Book Report 