Body Language For Dummies

Body Language For Dummies is your ideal guide to understanding other people, and helping them understand you. Body language is a critical component of good communication, and often conveys a bigger message than the words you say. This book teaches you how to interpret what people really mean by observing their posture, gestures, eye movements, and more, and holds up a mirror to give you a clear idea of how you're being interpreted yourself. This updated third edition includes new coverage of virtual meetings, multicultural outsourcing environments, devices, and boardroom behaviours for women, as well as insight into Harvard professor Amy Cuddy's research into how body language affects testosterone and cortisol, as published in the Harvard Business Review..

Body language is a fascinating topic that reveals how the human mind works. Image and presentation are crucial to successful communication, both in business and in your personal life. This book is your guide to decoding body language, and adjusting your own habits to improve your interactions with others.

• Become a better communicator without saying a word
• Make a better first (and second, and third...) impression
• Learn what other people's signals really mean
• Transform your personal and professional relationships

Realising what kind of impression you give is a valuable thing, and learning how to make a more positive impact is an incredibly useful skill. Whether you want to improve your prospects in job seeking, dating, or climbing the corporate ladder, Body Language For Dummies helps you translate the unspoken and get your message across.

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Started with Body Language 5

Chapter 1: Defining Body Language 7

Chapter 2: Looking Closer at Non-Verbal Gestures 35

Part II: Starting at the Top 45

Chapter 3: Heading to the Heart of the Matter 47

Chapter 4: Watching Facial Expressions 63

Chapter 5: The Eyes Have It 77

Chapter 6: Mastering Lip Reading 95

Part III: The Trunk: Limbs and Roots 109

Chapter 7: Taking It From the Torso 111

Chapter 8: Arming Yourself 127

Chapter 9: Letting Your Hands Do the Talking 143

Chapter 10: Standing Your Ground 169

Chapter 11: Playing with Props 181

Part IV: Putting the Body into Social and Business Context 191

Chapter 12: Being Aware of Territorial Rights and Regulations 193

Chapter 13: Rating, Dating and Mating: Courting with Your Body 211

Chapter 14: Interviewing, Influencing and Playing Politics 231

Chapter 15: Crossing the Cultural Divide 255

Chapter 16: Reading the Signs 271

Part V: The Part of Tens 279

Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Spot Deception 281

Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Reveal Your Attractiveness 289

Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Find Out About Someone Without Asking 295

Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Improve Your Silent Communication 303

Index 309

Elizabeth Kuhnke founded Kuhnke Communication, a team of experts that specializes in interpersonal communication for both groups and individuals. Elizabeth runs workshops, training courses and coaching programmes, and speaks regularly at business events and international conferences.

Learn to:

• Understand what your body language is communicating to others
• Make sense of body language in multicultural environments
• Interpret body language in virtual meetings
• Improve your non-verbal communication skills

Say what you mean— without speaking a word

Actions really do speak louder than words, but if you don't understand them, their meaning can get lost in the wind...or, worse, misinterpreted. If you find yourself puzzled by other people—or want to improve the impression you give—this friendly guide makes it easy to comprehend what people really mean, even if they say nothing at all.

• Meet the silent communicator — discover the origins of body language, how it evolved and the impact it has on all your communications and relationships
• Gestures ahead — find out how the tilt of your head, the lift of your brow and the tremble of your lip reveal more than the words that tumble from your mouth
• Ponder on posture — explore the impact of your posture on your thinking, attitude and perceptions — and how the body's limbs reflect inner states and create impressions
• The power of positions — learn to read signs of interest and dismissal, engage with a possible romantic partner and demonstrate confidence and positivity in the workplace
• Cross the cultural divide — get a glimpse of behaviours that are different from your own and pick up strategies for avoiding potential pitfalls

Open the book and find:

• How to interpret non-verbal gestures
• The nuts and bolts of body language
• What your posture says about you
• Ways to use body language in courting behavior
• How to read body language to spot deception
• What eye movements, facial expressions and other gestures tell you about someone
• The best ways to connect through body language
• Tips for improving your silent communication