Furrowed forehead: Frowning is a signal of discomfort or anxiety, but it can also be concentration and full focus on a task. Commandment 7: It’s important to look for changes in a person’s behavior that can signal changes in thoughts, emotions, interest, or intent. Not only do we lean away from people who make us uncomfortable, we may also blade away (turn slightly) by degrees from that which does not appeal to us or we grow to dislike.

A tremendous book, great complement to books like Start With Why or Talk Like Ted and probably a completely neglected starting point for building better relationships for most people. Who would I recommend the What Every Body Is Saying summary to?The limbic brain also remembers hurtful or pleasurable comments and experiences. For example, it helps us feel euphoria when seeing an old friend. Pacifying behaviors

Sometimes we see individuals under stress yawning excessively. Yawning not only is a form of “taking a deep breath,” but during stress, as the mouth gets dry, a yawn can put pressure on the salivary glands. Nonverbal cues are more reliable than the spoken word. People aren’t always aware of the nonverbal signals they send, so the truth might be hidden in them.

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flight, or fight) and possess a pacifying system to deal with stress. We are fortunate to have these mechanisms, not only for our own survival and success, but also to use in assessing the sentiments and thoughts of others. In this chapter, we also learned that (with the exception of certain reflexes) all behavior is governed by the brain. We have examined two of the three major “brains” within our cranial vault—the thinking neocortex brain and the more automatic limbic brain—and how they differ in terms of their roles. Both brains perform important functions. However, for our purposes, the limbic system is more important because it is the most honest brain—responsible for producing the most significant nonverbal signals for determining true thoughts and feelings (Ratey, 2001, 147–242). Now that you are familiar with the basics of how the brain reacts to the world, you might be wondering if detecting and decoding nonverbal behaviors is all that easy to do. This is a frequently asked question. The answer is yes and no. Once you’ve read this book, some nonverbal body cues will stand out. They literally scream for attention. On the other hand, there are many aspects of body language that are more subtle and, therefore, more difficult to spot. We will focus on both the more obvious and the more subtle behaviors that the limbic brain elicits from the body. In time and with practice, decoding them will become natural, like looking both ways before you cross a busy street. This brings us to our legs and feet, which propel us across the intersection and provide the focal point of our attention in the next chapter.

Most of us spend our days not paying more attention to our environment than we must. This leads us to miss much of what is going on in our environment, especially nonverbal communication from others. The book lays out a complete guide for learning how to read this nonverbal communication and how it applies in various situations. Fingertips planted spread apart on a surface are a significant territorial display of confidence and authority. The Face Walking style: How we walk affects our moods and attitudes and, of course, how people perceive us. It’s especially important to notice changes when we already know how people usually walk. Commandment 9: Knowing how to distinguish between comfort and discomfort will help you to focus on the most important behaviors for decoding nonverbal communications.To my grandmother, Adelina, whose withered hands lovingly molded a child into a man. —J O E N AVA R R O Weak shoulder displays: Shoulders coming up towards the head -the turtle pose- is a strong sign of major discomfort in the situation. The players of a losing team will do it, or the employees about to report on their accomplishments who haven’t had many accomplishments. 5. Nonverbals of the Arms