The Flight Response One purpose of the freeze response is to avoid detection by dangerous predators or in dangerous situations. A second purpose is to give the threatened individual the opportunity to assess the situation and determine the best course of action to take. When the freeze response is not adequate to eliminate the danger or is not the best course of action (e.g., the threat is too close), the second limbic response is to get away by use of the flight response. Obviously, the goal of this choice is to escape the threat or, at a minimum, to distance oneself from danger. Running, of course, is useful when it is practical, and as a survival mechanism our brain di- feel safe. However, if you see a person with his arms crossed in front, leaning forward, and giving you a defiant look, this is not a pacifying behavior! 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.

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. In 2009, Navarro partnered with Nightingale-Conant, the world's largest producer of self-improvement audio programs, and produced The Power of Body Language. [17] He also launched an online course in 2009 to share his knowledge with others on how to observe, decode, and utilize nonverbals in their personal and professional life. This was undertaken for the benefit of those who could not travel to attend his seminars. Commandment 7: It’s important to look for changes in a person’s behavior that can signal changes in thoughts, emotions, interest, or intent.The truth is that identifying deceit is so difficult that repeated studies begun in the 1980s show that most of us—including judges, attorneys, clinicians, police officers, FBI agents, politicians, teachers, mothers, fathers, and spouses—are no better than chance (fifty-fifty) when it comes to detecting deception.

Steepling: Steepling, a go-to move of Angela Merkel is, Joe Navarro says, one of the most powerful displays of confidence we have. On the other hand, interlacing fingers is a sign of low confidence, especially if couple of hand wringing. Remember, the greater the stress or discomfort, the greater the likelihood of pacifying behaviors to follow. A few behaviors that indicate stress – whistling, talking to ourselves, excessive yawning, leg clenching, sliding your hands down your knee.

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In 2005, Navarro got involved in the World Series of Poker Academy, training players on poker tells after a chance meeting with Annie Duke on a Discovery Channel program about detecting lies. [11] [12] Head tilt says in a powerful way, “I am comfortable, I am receptive, I am friendly.” It is very difficult to do this around people we don’t like. Having conducted thousands of interviews for the FBI, I learned to concentrate on the suspect’s feet and legs first, moving upward in my observations until I read the face last. When it comes to honesty, truthfulness decreases as we move from the feet to the head.

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Freeze, flight, or fight are highly intensive for our brain, which then directs our bodies to provide comforting actions to calm us down. touching (haptics), physical movements (kinesics), posture, body adornment (clothes, jewelry, hairstyle, tattoos, etc.), and even the tone, timbre, and volume of an individual’s voice (rather than spoken content). Nonverbal behaviors comprise approximately 60 to 65 percent of all interpersonal communication and, during lovemaking, can constitute 100 percent of communication between partners (Burgoon, 1994, 229–285). 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 (see box 2). Nonverbal behaviors comprise approximately 60 to 65 percent of all interpersonal communication and, during lovemaking, can constitute 100 percent of communication between partners. Joe Navarro says that the feet are the most “honest” part of the body because they are the first to be engaged in the freeze, flight or fight limbic response.