Borg - Body Language: How to Read Others, Detect Deceit, and Convey the Right Message

Copyright James Borg 2008, 2011 (print), 2012 (electronic) James Borg 2013 (print and electronic)

This translation of Body Language 03/E is published by arrangement with Pearson Education Limited.

First Skyhorse Publishing edition 2015

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Mary Belibasakis
Cover photo credit thinkstock

Print ISBN: 978-1-63220-335-9
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63220-772-2

Printed in the United States of America

James Borg spends part of his working time as a business consultant and coach and also conducts personal development and business skills workshops covering memory improvement, persuasion, body language awareness and mind control.

With a profound interest in the workings of the human mind, hes spent a lifetime observing the mind-body connection. An early interest in cinema and also the performing arts resulted in an interest in the power of body language and its correlation with successful and effective communication in a persons personal and working life.

Influenced by an academic background in economics and psychology, his knowledge was honed in a career that spans the spectrum of advertising, sales, marketing, work psychology, training and journalism. He appears on BBC radio and contributes to national newspapers and magazines on the subject of consumer affairs and business and communication skills. In 2009 he was chosen as a Harvard Business Review contributor.

After a weekly column on body language in a national newspaper, nowadays his views are sought on the reading of body language of celebrities in the world of politics, business, sports and show business. He still finds time to pursue travel and sports journalism which he became involved with early on in his career.

He is also the author of the Number 1 award-winning international bestseller Persuasion and Mind Power , the other two books that form the trilogy.

With One Look from Sunset Boulevard , music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton with contributions by Amy Powers. Reproduced by permission of The Really Useful Group Ltd, London; extract from Cameron and Clegg: what is their body language really saying?, Daily Telegraph , James Borg, 15 May 2010, Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010; extract from Tiger Woods put in a controlled performance, but he was clearly petrified, Daily Telegraph , James Borg, 19 February 2010, Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010.

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Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and we apologise in advance for any unintentional omissions. We would be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequent edition of this publication.

The play was a great success but the audience was a disaster.

Oscar Wilde

Well here it is: the expanded and updated edition which I hope may enlighten you and raise your awareness of this fascinating topic. As with the other two books that form the trilogy, the aim is to inform, educate and entertain.

Communication is such an important topic that is essential to our well-being; and most of it is not from what we say. How we say it as well as the postures and gestures we use is the magic solution.

Even in the last few years there has been more focus on observing the body language of politicians, celebrities, sports-people and people in the workplace. On the flip side there is the growing realisation that our own body language has to send the right message too; if were to communicate our intentions accurately.

I was humbled to receive an award for this book: Winner of the BAA (British Airports Authority) BEST NON-FICTION TRAVEL READ AWARD.

From a short-list of six books (the odds were slightly lessened by the inclusion of another book of mine, Persuasion , within the six!), more than 23,000 members of the public cast their votes in a month-long process.

If any of you pick up this new edition, I would like to express my thanks.

JB

Its been famously said that when writing a book you dont choose your subject; your subject chooses you. Certainly that was the case with my previous books that form the trilogy: Persuasion and Mind Power . Ive spent a lifetime studying persuasion, how the mind works and body language: both academically and in my working life where observation skills and self-awareness were (and still are) crucial to achieving positive outcomes and an understanding of other people.

Interest in non-verbal behaviour, or body language, has grown rapidly in recent years because in this fast-paced and time-poor world were constantly judged on first impressions . People are making snap decisions as to whether they trust us, like us, want to work with us, have a love affair with usand much more. As research continually points out, words alone dont provide the whole picture. It is in the nature of the human condition that we communicate more through the body than merely through language.

Every day we constantly have to interpret what another persons body language is telling usas well as controlling our own to create the right impression. Two-way traffic!

You may have come across the oft-cited study in the 1970s which concluded that more than 90 per cent of meaning in any interaction is derived from non-verbal cuesthe manner in which your body talks and also the way that you say things (vocal)and just a mere 7 per cent from the words you actually speak.

We can play around with the actual figures of course, but the fundamental point is that the overwhelming meaning of a message, when communicating with others, comes from an unconscious display of the silent language; this either reinforces or detracts from the words being used. Research has shown that the most successful people, in all walks of life , are intuitive in deciphering these signals.