What Every Body is Saying

I vividly remember the day when I discovered the impact of body language. We were observing with my fellow workmate a client interview. We already prescreened our candidate for the client, so we didn’t expect any glitches. Still, we were not sure that everything would go well.

The interview was only halfway through when my colleague wrote something on a small piece of paper and slid it over to me. When I looked down at it, it said, “He is hired!”.

Our candidate was accepted, of course. But during the interview, I couldn’t spot any visual clue on the client side interviewer. When I asked my colleague afterwards how he already knew halfway, he said he looked under the table and saw the interviewer’s feet. Her feet were wiggling and bouncing ups and downs, meaning “life is sweet”. Seeing my interest in the situation, my colleague recommended the book What Every Body is Saying by Joe Navarro. Needless to say, I didn’t need further recommendations.

The book hooked me right in the beginning with a short but great story. The first chapter goes into the basics of nonverbals and how to use them daily. Then it gives some insights into our limbic legacy, which was a fantastic connection for me with other great books, such as Presence by Amy Cuddy.

In the remaining chapters, the book goes through various parts of the body and explains what to look for in those body areas and what meaning they have. It is like a small lexicon, where you can quickly flip to the desired body area to refresh your knowledge of the related nonverbals.

Throughout my professional career, I primarily worked as a vendor. Some clients were challenging to work with, and the stakes were often high. In such situations, having the ability to understand and manage nonverbal communication proved invaluable. Ever since I read the book, I find myself occasionally checking under the table.

What I liked the most:

• The book is suitable for beginners as well.
• It gives usable tips and tricks for everyday life.
• It’s like a lexicon. The main chapters are about different body areas. Easy to recap specific parts.
• I liked the stories. They were interesting.

What I didn’t like much:

• I don’t have anything negative to say about this book. It covers the subject well, even though I’m not an expert.