What Every Body Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People

What Every Body Is Saying was a really interesting read and gave me a whole new perspective on how much people communicate without saying a word. The way the author breaks down body language—from posture to facial expressions to small subconscious movements—makes it easy to understand what different signals might mean in everyday situations. I liked how the book is written in a very clear, straightforward style. The examples from his FBI experience make the lessons feel real and practical, not just theoretical. It also made me more aware of my own body language and how I might be coming across without realizing it. If you’re expecting a perfect formula that tells you exactly what someone is thinking, this isn’t that—but it does give you solid tools to read people more accurately and notice things you normally overlook. Some parts feel a little repetitive, but the repetition helps the main ideas stick. Overall, this is a great book if you want to get better at reading people, understanding unspoken cues, and becoming more aware of human behavior. It’s useful, easy to follow, and honestly kind of eye-opening.

I thought some of the negative reviews were a bit critical of this book. This book lays a solid foundation to reading non verbal actions or "tells". I've read several other books on this subject and thought this was a solid read and I was very happy with my purchase. There is no single book offered that will turn you into an expert over night. It is important to realize that reading people is a skill. You don't become great at it over night or an expert right after reading the book. Just like any other skill, you have to practice and work at it. You develop the skill of paying attention and picking up on the little things. Once you are able to do that, you then have to determine what all of those things mean. I'm a single male, small business owner and avid poker player. Being able to read people can be very useful in dating, business and at the poker table. One thing that is very interesting is that some actions or "tells" are very common and seem to always mean the same thing. Other actions or "tells" are unique to each person. What may mean one thing for one person, may actually mean the opposite when done by another person. The "magic" of being able to read people is being able to determine what those actions mean for individual people. Sometimes it's not an action at all but it is what people DON'T say or do that can paint you the entire picture. In my business, I use my ability to read people to determine whether or not they are being truthful or are uncomfortable with something. If I see them acting in a certain way that makes me believe they are uncomfortable, I go out of my way to explain things to them so that they might be more comfortable with the situation or outcome. In my personal life, I can determine whether or not my friends or family are having a good or bad day and/or might want or need something. This book should be a dating book as well. I can't stand dating. Not many people are very up front and honest about how they feel about another person, especially on a first date. I am not kidding you when I say that there are more non-verbal "tells" on a first date than in any other situation! If you want to know if a woman likes you or not, pay attention to her actions throughout the date. I'm not an expert, but I think I can figure it out in 10 minutes or less! (Good or bad!....ok, mostly bad, lol) I enjoy playing poker. I play in home games and I play $1/$2 No Limit Hold Em in the casino poker rooms. This book really is a big help with poker tells. It's helped me make some extraordinary calls and folds. Several times I've stunned the entire table and the dealers with my reads. Just a few things off of the top of my head are, people who've made very strong hands will often tilt their heads while betting or thinking of betting, hold their hands together-touching only at the finger tips, bounce one leg like crazy (happy feet), slide their chips into the pot very slowly or gently or give off a genuine smile. People who have hit the flop also tend to look away right away if they notice they've hit their card(s). Normally people who hit the flop do not stare at the flop. People who are on drawing hands tend to call bets very quickly, seeming to give it no thought what-so-ever. People who have a poor hand or are on a bluff often force a smile (there is a difference if you pay attention!), or purse their lips together, have an increased blink rate, forcefully bet chips into the pot or speak very loudly as they announce "RAISE" or "ALL IN". They are trying to scare you or force you out of the pot. After reading this book, my poker reads went through the roof. I think it is because I was paying attention and putting more effort into it. I noticed another player at my home game would sometimes slide his chips into the pot without saying a word when he was all in. He keeps his chips in a big messy pile throughout the game. But sometimes he would actually take the time to count his chips and stack them neatly into the pot when he moved all in. He takes his time counting his chips and then announces the value amount to the table. When he counts them, he is bluffing. He wants his stack to be known in hopes of scaring off the other opponents. I call him with very weak holdings when he does this and I fold when he slides his chips into the pot without counting them or saying a word. He has no idea he is doing this and I'm not about to say a word! This tell is 100%. I actually saw another player do this in the casino and I made an extraordinary call to win the pot. This book is full of good information to use in many situations. It teaches you the basics (and then some), but it is up to you to figure out how to put theory into practice and actually stay focused.

There are definitely some valuable insights in the book. That said, the organization and layout make it harder to follow than it should be. I wouldn’t consider it a go-to recommendation for body language.

What problem does this book attempt to address? 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. Content • Concept explanation: Excellent • Related stories: Many • Data references and studies: Many • Charts and graphics: Many • Practical application: Very Strong The concepts in this book are laid out in a direct and easy-to-understand way. Each chapter contains are numerous anecdotes that explored how the concept has been used in real-world situations. The graphics correlate with each nonverbal communication written explanation. He also backs up his claims with research and references. In the introduction, he says he worked with a research psychologist to verify all the data he uses. Overall, the combination of all these factors makes the book extremely effective at achieving the goal teaching how to asses non-verbal communication. Writing style & presentation • Tone: Conversational • Organization: Excellent • Flow: Adequate While the conversational tone of the book makes it interesting to read and the stories intertwined in each section is engaging, there is a lot of material covered in this book. For someone who is truly attempting to learn and improve these skills reading this book straight through is probably not a good idea. The organization of each section is necessarily repetitive in order to lay out all the information effectively. The content is not repetitive but the format is, which can make it more challenging to not start skimming through the later sections. Bringing It All Together One thing done very well in this book is the exceptional explanation of each nonverbal behavior. New terms are both defined and shown through relatable examples that someone who is new to reading body language would recognize (such as a child slumping their shoulders when they feel guilty). Then Navarro demonstrates how it applies in high-stakes situations including criminals, board rooms, and relationships. The graphics are quite useful and listening in audio format without the graphics would take away from the learning process. One main thing I took away from this book was that the body is more honest than words. Learning to recognize and understand the full scope of nonverbal cues benefits in all aspects of life. Favorite Quote “When it comes to seeing the silent language of nonverbal behavior, many viewers might as well be wearing blindfolds, as oblivious as they are to the body signals around them.” Overall Recommendation - Overall recommendation: 5/5 - Who I would recommend this book for: Someone interested in practicing and developing the techniques of reading nonverbal communication. - Who I wouldn’t recommend this book for: Someone looking for a light, quick, feel-good read.

I picked up What Every Body Is Saying and found it really interesting from the start. It explains body language in a clear and practical way that makes it easy to understand what people might be communicating without saying a word. The examples feel relatable and help you notice things you would normally miss in everyday interactions. It is the kind of book that makes you more aware of how people behave and communicate in real situations.

I have been in law enforcement for close to 30 years on a large agency- I am always on the lookout for useful tools of the trade that I can use and pass along to my investigators. This book is great! It is packed with useful information. No, I am not a shill for this book and do not know the author- although I have met many professional law enforcement investigators who have written good books and manuals. I am impressed with the insights and natural techniques contained in this book. I am ordering a copy for all the investigators in my unit, I am that impressed with this book. Sure, there is always something about any book that does not satisfy a reader- but I honestly must say there is little about this book that I didn't like. UPDATE 6/2016: It's been over 7 years since I wrote this review. Time flies... I still regard this is a "great book" and highly recommend. I since have retired from my command position with the department I worked for (retired 3/14), where I was in charge (Captain) of the investigative units that handled homicides, sexual assaults, child abuse, domestic violence, internet crimes against children, juvenile division, elder abuse, financial crimes. Feel free to look at the size of the agency- [...] My rank was Captain, and the entire investigative division was the Central Investigations Division. Over my nearly 4 decades in law enforcement (since retirement I have joined another agency as an investigator), I have raked in hundreds of training hours attending countless classes, seminars, conferences dealing with advanced investigative techniques- including interviewing and interrogation, reading body language, etc. Additionally, I still teach in-service and college level criminal justice courses to investigators and those majoring in criminal justice. I am presently an adjunct college instructor in criminal justice. I believe I can rate this book with some "authority" as to its subject matter, and my rating of it as a 5 star book still stands, and still being great, is based on my experience(s). I have in fact purchased copies of this book for those who have worked for me. I still highly recommend this book. A few "commentators" over the years have attacked my initial review and tried to discredit it by questioning the veracity of my claim to being in law enforcement in a command position over an investigative unit. They based their opinion seemingly on the basis of their "CSI TV influenced deductions" that because of the venacular I used in my review, I "obviously", by one commentator's deduction, was not from any known (at least to that persons vast experience) law enforcement genre. Nor would any law enforcement command-type person, again in their opinion or vast LE "experience", ever purchase anything for their subordinates. All I can say to them is wow..."get a life" and please move on (and I hope you never get jury duty for anything truly important). To those 600+ people who found my intital review helpful, thank you for apparently believing I am who I professed to be in my initial review, which was the basis for that review. The author of this book, and this book, is deserving!

I am fascinated by body language, and have read many books, websites, and blogs on the topic as well as studied videos. Although Joe Navarro is well known in the field, with several books to his credit, I think his analyses are overly simplistic and I disagree with many of them. For example, he has said that a man standing straight and tall and puffing up is taking on an aggressive posture. However, there is no mention that if he is doing that in front of a woman (or same gender if gay) that it is an ATTRACTION posture attempting to present the body so it looks his best (tall, fit, and strong). The author also lists many gestures as pacifying gestures without further analysis or explanation of why. Biting the lip? Pacifying. Touching your neck? Pacifying. However, other books go into more detail. For example, when a woman bites her lip when she is talking to a man it's likely because she is ATTRACTED to him and trying to call attention to her lips/mouth. It is NOT only a pacifying behavior--and even if it is, it's due to nerves brought on by feelings of attraction. The examples I have given are well known and the only reason I can think that the author left these things out of the book is that he views body language only from the perspective of an FBI agent and not in the context of random human interactions. But I would hazard a guess that most people who study body language are not interviewing potential criminals but instead want to know if their boss likes them or if they have a shot with that man/woman they met on a night on the town! That being said, learning about body language is an ongoing, lifelong process, and even with these criticisms I think there are still things to be learned from this book. However, for the average person the analyses this book contains will be lacking, in my humble opinion.

This book is good for awareness to know if someone is trying to pull a fast one on you and other reasons to tell if someone like you or dislike you this is a very informative book regardless of what field you work in or day to day life