The Definitive Book Of Body Language

by Allan Pease, Barbara Pease

Available for the first time in the United States, this international bestseller reveals the secrets of nonverbal communication to give you confidence and control in any face-to-face encounter–from making a great first impression and acing a job interview to finding the right partner.

It is a scientific fact that people’s gestures give away their true intentions. Yet most of us don’t know how to read body language–and don’t realize how our own physical movements speak to others. Now the world’s foremost experts on the subject share their techniques for reading body language signals to achieve success in every area of life.

Drawing upon more than thirty years in the field, as well as cutting-edge research from evolutionary biology, psychology, and medical technologies that demonstrate what happens in the brain, the authors examine each component of body language and give you the basic vocabulary to read attitudes and emotions through behavior.

Discover:
• How palms and handshakes are used to gain control
• The most common gestures of liars
• How the legs reveal what the mind wants to do
• The most common male and female courtship gestures and signals
• The secret signals of cigarettes, glasses, and makeup
• The magic of smiles–including smiling advice for women
• How to use nonverbal cues and signals to communicate more effectively and get the reactions you want

Filled with fascinating insights, humorous observations, and simple strategies that you can apply to any situation, this intriguing book will enrich your communication with and understanding of others–as well as yourself.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Communication, Business, Personal Development, Science

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Allan Pease is an Australian author and motivational speaker. Despite having no education in psychology, neuroscience, or psychiatry, he has managed to establish himself as an "expert on relationships".

Originally a musician, he became a successful life insurance salesman, he started a career as a speaker and trainer in sales and latterly in body language. This resulted in a popular sideline of audio tapes, many of which feature his irreverent wit.

His best-selling book Body Language brought him international recognition. It has been followed by several others. He is quite well known in Australia and during the 1980s he was an occasional TV analyst for political debates where he would analyze the body language and overall performance of the contestants.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Pease

Reviews

[Jan-Maat]

I am fairly sure this was recommended on a management course. Entertaining read, well illustrated. Not sure how accurate it is, I tried out some of the ideas such as sitting side by side or at an angle to somebody rather than opposite across a desk at them. I certainly felt better for doing so but then the book told me that I would!

The downside for me is that I started to become absurdly self-conscious. Was I standing in an optimum way, sending out the best messages? Were my feet pointing in the right directions? If somebody's body language is negative should I try to counter it by offering them something to hold? Does any of this stuff really work or is it just silliness? Is the conscious embrace of silliness the most sensible approach to interaction with fellow humans?

The serious downside is that there is a lot of assertions made in the book with very little evidence and what evidence there is tends to fall back on one study or one anecdotal example which leaves one wondering quite how generally applicable the guidance is, particularly outside of the UK.

On the other hand having been the retreating party when talking with somebody whose notions of allowable personal space where much smaller than mine from a distance and at the incorrect angle it must have looked as though we were dancing the quickstep , I wish that this book was read more widely - I eventually ended up backed up against a wall trapped by a water cooler feeling distinctly unamused.

[Amir Tesla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since childhood, I've always fantasized having the superpower of mind reading and ever since being exposed to a diverse set of materials on body language I can assert that I've actually cultivated some skills in this vain :D :P.

This book by Allan Peace is the bible of the body language books and reference to many results you see when you google about this topic and covers a wide and thorough spectrum of topics.

Here are some exciting skills and insights you will acquire after consuming the book and applying its knowledge:

1. You will be able to tell if someone is genuinely agreed with you or simply is faking so.
2. It would be easier for you to see if someone is lying or hiding something.

3. When to tell if your message being conveyed and that your subjects are open and receptive to your arguments.
4. How to use body language to power up your position, radiate a dominant outlook and literally be more effective.

5. You can tell if someone is interested in you or others.
6. In the book, there are lots of mistakes pointed out to be avoided in business situations and especially has a lot of advice for women to obtain a more firm stance in their meetings.

And much more interesting topics ...

I highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks communication skills and wants to appear more competent in his/her social or business interactions as well as to those whom with high ambitions of having an upper hand in their day-to-day meetings with others.

If you desire to consume more advanced topics in this subject, I'd also recommend:
• Emotions revealed
• Unmasking the face
• Telling lies
All by the psychology guru and deception expert: Paul Ekman

[Jojo · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب استمتعت حقا بقرائته
يساعد على معرفة من حولنا اكثر لنعرف موقفنا و ما يجب علينا
فعله في أي حال من الأحوال

يتكلم عن لغة الجسد
و كيف نستطيع قرآئتها

كنت عندما انتهي من فصل من الكتاب اذهب و اجلس مع عائلتي
و اقرأ لغة أجسادهم و كنت غالبا ما أفلح فيها .. و قد أعجبني هذا كثيرا

يساعد في المفاوضات و متى تقنع الشخص الآخر و كيف
و يساعد في جذب الناس إليك و جعلهم يأخذون عنك انظباع جيد
و حتى يساعد في مقابلات الواظائف و كيف تترك أثرا جيد و لا ينسى في عقولهم ..

بإختصار انه رائع و احببته =)

[Maureen Forys · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aside from there being misinformation scattered about, (Napoleon wasn't 5'4", George W Bush didn't get his first passport when he became president) the authors completely rely on logical fallacies to prove their points. They make huge sweeping generalizations (they said Britain, Germany, etc. have been world powers is because their populations often mirror body language...... What??? And also that heavy smokers haven't been breast-fed whereas non smokers have been) and completely lost their credibility.

Then the gender differences they pointed out always seemed to paint women in an unforgiving light, to say the least.

You can get all the basic information via Google and spare yourself the sensationalized sweeping generalizations.

[Raluca Daniela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5.

This book was very difficult to rate. On one hand, it's a pretty comprehensive guide of human gestures and postures, aided in their understanding by suggestive illustrations. On the other hand, I kept getting the feeling that the authors were trying really, really hard to sell me a commercial version of body language. Often, things were exaggeratedly emphasized in a clickbaity way and I would not have been surprised to see chapter titles such as: "You will not believe how your boss is dominating you!" or "Seven ultra-secret signals she's into you!".

Searching for information about the authors, I see that neither of them is a psychologist or scientist of any kind. They're just really, really good salespeople who've found their niche. That makes me a bit skeptical about the validity of the interpretations they offer.

There are other clues that make me doubt the content. One is the studies cited at the end. The book often contained phrases such as "studies show" or "research says". However, if I wanted to read about the study mentioned in chapter X, point Y, and flipped the pages to the end of the book, surprise! Instead of showing the research in the order it is cited, it is shown alphabetically. That means that I have to wade through a few hundred cited sources to see which applies and I am pretty sure this was done on purpose. The other objection I have with the studies is that most of them are from the 70s. (The newest ones are from 2003.) That leads me to believe that a) a lot of this research has been debunked/updated/couldn't be replicated and that b) the authors purposefully selected only those sources that had a vague resemblance to the point they were trying to make and stretched the interpretation in a sensationalist manner.

A few other things bothered me. One was the "old gramps who's trying to be hip" cringe humor. The second was the outdated examples and references - it really shows that the book hasn't been edited for a newer audience, but is still stuck somewhere in the 80s-90s (in mentality too). Then there were the problems I had encountered in the previous body language book I had read, although to a lesser extent here.

First, the book had a really strong emphasis on man vs man or man vs woman relationships.
Second, there were very few references to woman vs woman relationships. (In fact, the authors presented a very petty/catty attitude between women as the only plausible one. What about female friends? Is the notion that alien?)
Third, all the interactions between men and women were interpreted in a sexual manner. (What about the young man arguing with the old woman in the bus over the position of the window? I bet the authors would say that the opening and closing of the window is a suggestive sexual allusion or whatever.) More so, women were seen as always submissive in their gestures in a man's presence. (I'm not going to go into that.)
Fourth, men were also presented as some sort of primitive grunting beasts ready to jump at each other's throats... OK, I am exaggerating, but the authors did seem to see them as very simplistic beings incapable of any kind of complex thoughts. (I find this particularly insulting.)

Again, I think that most of the things mentioned in the paragraph above have a very high commercial value and while they might carry some form of truth (yes, there are differences between the two sexes), they have been exaggerated for the public, because this is what sells and this is what the public wants to hear/read.

All in all, this was another book I used as research for the series I am writing. The best thing about it is that a) it's comprehensive (there are even chapters about mirroring another person's body language or height differences or seating positions) and b) it has useful illustrations. I recommend it to other (aspiring) writers, just be careful to take it with a grain of salt.

(As a bonus, checking this book, I realize that my characters' body language has been pretty well-written, just too detailed and hard to follow at points.)

[Swati Tanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

“whether we realize it or not, we automatically copy the facial expressions we see.”

The book is rather simple to read, with excellent everyday examples that immediately resonate with you as you begin reading. Experience, observation, and scientific facts will guide all you learn in this book. Although it was difficult to assign a rating to this book. On the one hand, it's a fairly complete introduction of human gestures and postures, with helpful examples to enhance comprehension. On the other hand, I had the impression that the authors were attempting to sell me a commercialised version of body language.

Each chapter is short and charming, with plenty of casual tones and humour thrown in for good measure. My earliest lessons in body language came from Sherlock Holmes, and I haven't read many books on the subject or any other substance for that matter. Arthur Conan Doyle must have been a keen observer, I'm sure.

You might like to check out more similar books here.

[Ellen Maze · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an author, I am naturally a student of observation, so this book had the potential to be of great service to me not only in my writing, but in character-building and expression.

I enjoyed the read. Unlike some other Body Language books, this one has a lot of photographs, and at the risk of sounding sophomoric, they really added to my understanding of the text.

The chapters/categories made a lot of sense, and the information moved along with little unnecessary repetition. I think everyone who reads this book will have their eyes opened, and begin to read body language everywhere they go.

The only thing that bugged me was that the authors used evolution to explain much of the human's use of body language. I didn't find their theories believable, and evolution explanations really weren't necessary. I would expect some reference to the ape-man, Neanderthal, etc, but these authors referred to them with a fervor akin to proselytizing. This shortcoming is the only thing that held me back from leaving 5-stars. Skimming those sections was easy, and the book is well worth the read and the purchase price.



Ellen C Maze
Author of Curiously Spiritual Vampire Tales

[imane · Rating 5 out of 5]

لا يمكنك تغيير الاخرين لكن يمكنك تغيير نفسك. انت المسؤول الوحيد عن الطريقة التي يتعامل معك بها الاخرون

[Amir Hosein PKZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

چرا دانستن زبان بدن در روابط اجتماعی واجب است؟

این کتاب پاسخی است کاربردی اما غالبا سطحی و متکی بر تجارت به سوال بالا. شاید اگر مثلا زبان بدن 32 حرف داشته باشد، این کتاب کمتر از 10 حرف را شامل بشود که البته انتظاری بیش از این هم نباید داشت چون در اینصورت کتاب بسیار طولانی و احتمالا خسته کننده میشد اما با این حال برای آشناییِ دست و پا شکسته با زبان بدن، کتاب خوبیست.


و اما مختصری از پاسخِ سوال.

اول. قطعا راحت ترین کار برای یک دروغگو، گفتنِ دروغ و سخت ترین کار، برایش باوراندن دروغ به دیگران است. اولین راه برای باز کردن مشتِ یک دروغگو توجه به زبان بدن اوست، چون بدن از ناخودآگاه فرد فرمان می گیرد. ( هرچند امروزه اینقدر مهارت در دروغگویی پیشرفت کرده که به این راحتی ها دمِ دروغ بیرون نمی‌زنه.)
دوم. در گفت و گو با دیگران گاهی شرایط به شکلی پیش می‌رود که نتیجه خوش آیندی حاصل نمی‌شود. دانستن زبان بدن کمک می‌کند که پیش از بسته شدن همه ی راه و خراب شدن تمام پل های پشت سر بتوانیم نتیجه گفت و گو را پیش بینی کنیم و جلوی یک ضرر را بگیریم. این مورد در کتاب بیشتر برای مدیران فروش توضیح داده شده که مثلا قبل از اینکه از مشتری یک « نه متشکرم» بشنود روند گفت و گو را به شکلی عوض کند که نتیجه موفقیت آمیز باشد. ( این مورد قطعا بیشتر از مورد اول کاربرد دارد چون افراد حین گفت و گو اگه ناراضي باشند، راحت تر ابراز می کنند)
سوم. درواقع این پاسخ، جامعِ دو پاسخ اول است و آن اینکه زبان بدن، آنچه را که از دهان افراد نمی شنوید ، به شما می گوید تا متوجه آن باشید و ناگهان از پشت سر ضربه نخورید.


در کل کتاب مفیدی است. از خواندنش قطعا ضرر نمی کنید.

99/4/23

[Gabriela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allan Pease and Barbara Pease apply their experience in medicine, biology and psychology to illustrate the workings of the brain and how this influences our body language. In the Definite Book Of Body Language, the authors show us how we can use our knowledge of the brain's functions to understand people's emotions and behaviors.

I have to say that neuropsychology and behavioral science have always fascinated me. There are many books out there about these topics. But I found this one particularly interesting as it covered real life examples which you could see yourself applying or identify body language behavior and what the other person in communicating. The authors have used real life examples and offer various exercises that you can undertake to practice reading people's emotions and behaviors.

I would recommend this one to everyone really. Whether you are interviewer, a manager, a teacher, businessperson, someone looking for a job, or for a partner, this book can help you understand other people's behavior and perhaps overcome communicational barriers. It does serve as a great premier especially if you are not entirely familiar with the psychology of body language.

[R Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not saying that if the authors claim "water is wet", you need to ask for a second opinion.

Ok I lied, you need to ask for a second opinion.

There are parts that are genuinely riddled with sweeping statements and superfluous information, but to be fair, there are also parts that actually are interesting and are based on psychological studies done on human behaviour and the resulting body language. The problem lies in separating the proverbial wheat from the chaff. Since some claims are questionable, all claims are questionable and it doesn't hurt to educate yourself on claims that seem too neatly packaged to be true. Winnowing and Google go hand in hand.

So, in summary -
- Interesting read if you suspend scientific rigour and logical disbelief at certain points.
- Good book to skim through to get a better grasp on reading your audience or improving your body language but not one to be taken word for word and read through with firm conviction in all the claims made.
- Get a second hand copy for yourself and speed-read the book in a day or two.

[Iz · Rating 1 out of 5]

An incredible pile of absolute garbage. Baseless, unscientific, sexist load of crap.

[Sara Kamjou · Rating 3 out of 5]

زبان بدن بخش مهمی از ارتباطات ما رو تشکیل می‌ده. آگاه بودن ازش کمک می‌کنه بتونیم تو ارتباطات موثرتر عمل کنیم. تو این کتاب به برخی موارد مهم و جالب در مورد زبان بدن اشاره شده که خوندنش خالی از لطف نیست.
کتاب جوری نوشته شده انگار که مخاطبش بیشتر افرادی مثل کارشناسان فروش یا بیزنس‌من‌ها هستن ولی به نظرم می‌تونه برای همه مفید باشه.
امتیازم بهش ۳.۵ ه که به خاطر نوع بیانش به پایین گرد کردم.

[Mishqueen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rarely read every word of non-fiction books, but this is one of the rare exceptions. It's not even particularly fascinating. But it is interesting enough to hold my attention without skipping or skimming over anything. ALMOST four stars. It wasn't awesome enough to go out and purchase, but it would be great to have around all the time for reference when the fancy strikes. I doubt I'll remember this stuff on my own as well as I'd like to.

I'm sure that for a few days at least, I'll be watching everyone around me to try to guess their secret thoughts like a mind-reader, ha ha! Next step, rule the world!

Note: It appears from the descriptions in the book that I display some body language characterized by male dominance (for those who don't know me, I am a smallish female). Has anyone I know noticed this about me? I personally had never noticed. Does it unnerve you as the book says it would? I wonder if they are learned behaviors that I picked up because most of my friends have been male through my adolescence and young adulthood. I did not view myself as a dating option for them, but a social equal. Or am I simply more a more aggressive than average woman? Hmmm...makes me want to observe myself better.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should’ve known when there weren’t footnotes that this wasn’t what I wanted. If you want to be a sleazy, sexist male salesman, this is the book for you. My arms are crossed, I’m giving a tight-lipped smile, my foot is pointing away from this book.

[Bern · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a few things I learned, but quite a bit of things I disagreed with. Examples are: turn your palms up to put someone at ease - I tried using this during my PT retail job and got wierd looks. Another example that truly disagree with is - if someone keeps you waiting - pull out some financial papers adn a calculator adn do calculations. When they call for you say say "I'll be ready in a moment - I'll just finish these calculations" - what???? or the other example for this is to take out your cell, loudly mention large amounts of money, drop iin a well-known name or two - yeah, I'd never do that.
On the other hand, there were many things I agree with, just strongly disagree with some of their definitions and work arounds.

[Lazarus P Badpenny Esq · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unlikeable pair of pop-psychologists distill the complexity of human interaction down to a few sleazy sales-pitches.

Poorly written, and self-contradictory.

"Research also indicates that the 'Head Shake', usually meaning 'No', may also be an inborn action and evolutionary biologists believe that it's the first gesture humans learn."

So, is it 'hard-wired' or acquired?

Stick with the experts:

[Sanjay · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you read one book of allan pease on body language, then you've read'em all.
Its a book that contains all regular body positions and what can you learn from them. Worth a one time read (but can be used as a reference if you want to pry into someone's body language pattern).

[Zahraa · Rating 4 out of 5]

بالنسبة لي، هذا الكتاب مرجع مسل في كثير من الأحيان.
أستعين به في تفسير لغة جسد اشخاص اهتم بمعرفة ما يفكرون فيه. لم يخذلني كثيرا.
استفدت واستفيد منه.
على الرغم مما يبدو من تأثر الكاتبين الشديد بآراء سيغموند فرويد، الامر الذي لم يرق لي على أي حال.

[Hirdesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive Guide book !!
I like this Author because his research about the topic is logical and effective.

This books possess comprehensive explanation of various situations and Postures and Gestures.
Interestingly, It describes how to accommodate and have superb understanding while talking in Face to face or phone.

I got surprise while reading that the way of smoking Cigarate could show us the nature of person or for instance about his thinking.

[Bea(triz) · Rating 4 out of 5]

" (...) o impacto total de uma mensagem é cerca de 7% verbal (palavras apenas), 38% vocal (incluíndo o tom de voz, inflexões e outros sons) e 55% não verbal. "

Ora, se forem como eu e a vossa mãe parar durante uma hora na rua para falar com conhecidos, conheçam a notar certos tipos de expressões e gestos que indicam que a pessoa quer tanto ir embora como eu.
Sempre dei crédito à intuição por notar em coisas que a maioria não percebia, mas ao ler este livro apercebi-me que há toda ela uma "ciência" por detrás da magia.
De uma forma bem sintetizada e acessível a todos, este livro aborda gestos e expressões e explica o porquê dos utilizarmos. O interessante é ver que quase todos, se não todos, provêm de um histórico evolutivo que nos é inerente (como os homens preferirem ancas largas porque significa fertilidade e cruzarmos os braços como forma defensiva do peito e dos orgãos vitais).

É ainda mais interessante analisar pessoas tendo como base este conhecimento, pois muitas das vezes, os gestos/expressões são são inatos e por isso, quem não sabe, pratica-os automaticamente conforme a sua disposição.


A única crítica que tenho a fazer deste livro em questão, até porque nem tudo podem ser rosas, é a falta de actualização do capítulo gestos culturais, visto que este livro foi publicado em 2004. A expansão da industria cinematográfica e até musical, maioritariamente da América do Norte fez com que houvesse um espelhamento da cultura americana, na Europa e não só; algo que já há anos que vem a acontecer em grande escala. Para vos dar um exemplo, o gesto "Peace", que todos sabem ser os dedos indicador e o do meio levantados, é mencionado neste livro uma única vez, com uma conotação totalmente diferente da que hoje em dia se tem do mesmo.

Tirando, isso, linguagem corporal é um assunto em que tenho agora, mais que nunca, um interesse bastante vivo e irei pesquisar mais livros no tópico.

[Ali Taheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

بخش عمده ای از ارتباطات غیر کلامی ما رو زبان بدن تشکیل میده
که ما با شناخت اون میتونیم عملکرد خیلی بهتری در ارتباطاتمون داشته باشیم و حتی حالت های ذهنی افراد رو با توجه به زبان بدنشون بشناسیم.
زبان بدن به طور ناخودآگاه و غیر ارادی حالت های ذهنی و حس درونی ما رو نمایان میکنه.
با خوندن این کتاب نمیتونم بگم همه محتوا علمی بود و همینطور نمیتونم بگم همه مطالب غیر علمی بود.
نویسنده در قسمت علمی کتاب بیشتر زبان بدن رو از دیدگاه تکاملی بررسی کرده بود و در قسمت غیر علمی بر اساس تجربه های خودش.
در کل به نظرم مطالب جالبی رو از این کتاب آموختم و ارزش خوندنش رو داشت.

[Goan B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Als ik heel snobistisch zou zijn zou ik dingen kunnen zeggen als: "Zo, jij spreekt Nederlands, Engels en Duits. Pff, knap hoor. Ik spreek lichaamstaal" of iets van "Maat, ik kan like, gedachten lezen enzo, ik lees je lichaam af." Maar vandaag ben ik niet echt in een snobistisch stemming dus doe ik dat niet en geef ik dit boekje 3 sterren.

In principe heb je een hele hoop aan dit boek. Zo leer je wel bepaalde lichaamshoudingen en de betekenissen erachter te kennen. Dit is heel handig om erachter te komen of mensen zich op hun gemak voelen of niet en hoe zeker ze zijn van hun zaak. Ook is het makkelijk te zien wanneer mensen open staan voor nieuwe ideeën en wanneer niet. Daarnaast leer je ook nog eens hoe je zelf zekerder overkomt, win-win zou je zeggen.

Nja, dat is zeker waar. Aan de ene helft van het boek heb je ook zeker wat. De andere helft van het boek staat vol met open deuren (als mensen lachen vinden ze iets leuk) en wat onzinnigheden (als je bij een sollicitatiegesprek zit en de interviewer wordt gestoord, pak dan een notebook uit je tas en ga berekeningen uitvoeren zodat het lijkt alsof jij ook bezig bent. Dafuq?). Ook die hele toon van die schrijver spreekt me niet echt aan. Allemaal van die slechte, flauwe grapjes die vaak ook nog eens vrouwonterend zijn. Van die Shutterstock images van een vrouw die een glas wijn tussen haar vingers rolt met zo'n onderschrift als "misschien een voorteken voor wat gaat komen". Hahaha, seks, hahaha. Dit is geen sexuele voorlichting in groep 8. Wel een leuke Read voor de rest hoor, soms moet je alleen het boek eventjes neerleggen om iets, hoe zeg je dat, op niveau te doen. Vandaar ook dat ik er 6 maanden over heb gedaan

[Angy - Books Lover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mmh. Forse mi aspettavo di più. I concetti sono validi ma in alcune parti mi sembra superato.

Lo stile di scrittura non mi ha coinvolto molto, infatti la lettura è andata a rilento.

Secondo me si può trovare di meglio sul tema!

[Sotiria Lazaridou · Rating 4 out of 5]

very informative and eye-opening!

[Mohammad Roufarshbaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

این کتاب را آلن پیز و همسرش، که هر دو تاجر (و نه روان شناس) هستند، نوشته اند. به همین علت ابتدا که کتاب را شروع کردم خیلی نسبت به آن خوشبین نبودم، اما هرچه جلوتر رفتم بیشتر به کتاب خوشبین شدم و از آن لذت بردم.
یکی از مزایای این کتاب این است که این زوج در کتاب خود از تعداد نسبتاً زیادی مطالعه استفاده کرده اند؛ مطالعاتی که در زمینه ی رفتار و زبان بدن انسان و بر اساس روش های علوم تجربی انجام شده اند. البته باید ذکر کرد که در این کتاب اسم روان شناسانی که مطالعه را انجام داده اند گفته شده و طراحی مطالعه به طور جزئی شرح داده شده، اما متاسفانه خود رفرنس ها- حداقل در نسخه فارسی که من خواندم- ارائه نشده اند*. از دیگر مزایای کتاب این است که بسیاری از رفتارها بر اساس نظریه تکامل توضیح داده شده. این توضیحاتِ مبتنی بر تکامل نسبتاً معقول به نظر می رسند و هم چنین باعث می شوند که به خاطر سپردن علائم زبان بدن راحت تر شود. از دیگر مزایای کتاب می توان به این اشاره کرد که نویسندگان در انتها عکس هایی گذاشته اند و از خواننده خواسته اند که بر اساس آنچه در کتاب خوانده علائم بدن افراد حاضر در عکس را در نظر گرفته و احساس این اشخاص را حدس بزند. در پایان پاسخ و آنالیز این عکس ها آمده و علاوه بر سنجش یادگیری فرد، با این روش مروری هم بر آنچه فرد خوانده فراهم شده است.

از معایب کتاب می توان به این اشاره کرد که بعضی از جملات مرتباً تکرار شده. مثلاً در ابتدای کتاب گفته شده که کلاً زنان بهتر از مردان می توانند زبان بدن دیگران را درک کنند، اما نویسندگان به یک بار گفتن این موضوع بسنده نکرده اند و مرتباً این قضیه را در کتاب تکرار کرده اند. ایراد دیگر این بود که در بعضی از جاها حس می کردم که بعضی از نوشته ها از حالت علمی و مستند فاصله گرفته و بیشتر بر اساس تجربه ی شخصی نویسنده ها- و نه مطالعات علمی- نوشته شده اند.
ترجمه ی کتاب به نظر خوب می آید، اما در بعضی از صفحات به نظر می رسد که ایراداتی وجود دارد که فهم مطلب را سخت می کند که البته نسبت به کل محتوا قابل چشم پوشی است. در کل برای شروع درک زبان بدن این کتاب احتمالاً مناسب باشد، اما این موضوع گستردگی زیادی دارد و برای یادگیری آن تنها خواندن کتاب کافی نیست و فرد باید در عمل هم برای یاد گرفتن تجربه کسب کند.

در کل کتاب خوشخوانی است و با اینکه داستان نیست، اما داستان وار پیش می رود و خواندنش ملال آور نیست.
و من الله التوفیق

پ.ن.*اگر منابع ذکر شده بود احتمالاً بعضی از آنها را با متن تطبیق می دادم تا از صحت مطالب کتاب مطمئن تر شوم.

[Beau Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read (and still have) Allan Pease's original book Body Language. It is a fantastic insight into understanding the people around you.

I highly recommend this book to martial artists and students of self defense classes, because Allan discusses topics your instructors allude to, but quickly pass over, because they don't have the time to cover this subject in depth.

Realistically, anyone who has to deal with people should read this book. From a self defense point of view, it's easier to avoid trouble if you can read the people around you (but it does take practice).

I purchased this revised edition a few years ago because it contained a lot of additional information. While it would be impossible to remember everything discussed by the author, it is definitely worth your while to absorb as much of the information as you are able.

[zainab_booklover]

A very good book to read for those interested in body language. Too many examples and details are provided to help the reader understand everything.

[Lữ Đoàn Đỏ · Rating 3 out of 5]

mấy hôm không có hứng thứ đọc gì, năm nay cũng đọc nhiều tiểu thuyết rồi, chọn đại 1 cuốn để đọc, 1 cuốn thể loại hơi khác đi.
Sách này được giới thiệu với những lời nhận xét có cánh, để hiểu con người, hiểu ngôn ngữ từ cơ thể họ, những thứ từ vô thức, thu được rất nhiều lợi ích. Sách viết thiên về thực hành, ngôn ngữ không quá trau chuốt, như vừa đọc vừa làm bài tập nhỏ. Nhưng hơi khô khan, cũng không cuốn hút quá nên mất khá nhiều thời gian.
Sách có ích cho những người thường xuyên phải tiếp xúc với người lạ, bán hàng, kinh doanh, nhân sự, marketing...Nó giúp người đọc hiểu rõ hơn về các ngôn ngữ cơ thể từ đối phương, đi kèm cả hình minh hoạ khá chi tiết, để hiểu thực sự cảm nhận của họ. Nó cũng giúp người đọc sửa lại những cử chỉ của bản thân sao cho dễ gây thiện cảm, đạt nhiều lợi ích hơn. Tác giả nói có thể người đọc cho rằng giả tạo nhưng thực sự tác động giữa cơ thể và tâm trí lớn đến mức không bỏ qua được. Một người khi đang lo lắng, thiếu tự tin, ưỡn ngực, hất cằm, chắp các ngón tay lại theo hình tháp chuông, những tín hiệu từ cơ thể toát ra sự tự tin thì tâm trí cũng dần cảm thấy tự tin hơn. Cái này bản thân cảm nhận đúng là vậy. Nhưng nói gì thì nói, nó vẫn cứ có phần nào làm bộ giả vờ ở đây.
Rất có thể cảm nhận của một người với một người lạ đến sau 4 phút đầu tiên là do cảm nhận từ ngôn ngữ cơ thể của người lạ đó, nhưng không rõ giác quan thứ 6 có vai trò gì không? Nhiều lúc gặp 1 người, ưa hay ghét hoàn toàn chưa phân tích được tại sao, chỉ là đột nhiên cảm thấy thế.
Dẫu sao sách đọc cũng có thêm chút kiến thức, góc nhìn, có điều mình cũng chẳng cần lắm.
Rate sách 3* tại đọc hơi chán. Tác giả cũng biết tâm lý thị trường, lấy 1 loạt hình của các nhân vật nổi tiếng để tăng thêm sức nặng. Thêm nữa nhiều điệu bộ cử chỉ chẳng cần tác giả phân tích thì ai ai cũng hiểu nó là gì. Nhiều thứ thì cảm thấy có phần khiên cưỡng quá, như việc đứng hay ngồi vắt chân hay mở chân cũng gán là tích cực hay tiêu cực thì hơi quá quá.

[Hilary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simply awful. I have no idea why this book is rated so highly, because it's a mess in every regard. I'll grant that it has some useful ideas about reading body language, but they're nearly impossible to suss out from the conjecture, sexism, overstated claims, and outright falsehoods. Even the formatting is terrible, with "summaries" that don't always summarize and subsection headings that have the same font as the section headings.

Some of the most egregious examples: 1) Violent crime rates in cities are blamed exclusively on crowding (causing intrusions into personal space) mere pages after evidence is offered that people in cities have smaller personal space requirements than those in suburban or rural areas. 2) The authors state explicitly that the hands are farther away from the brain than the chest. 3) Single examples are offered up repeatedly as evidence of universal trends. 4) Quiz answers at the end refer to things in the pictures that clearly aren't there.

I guess these authors must be masters of manipulating people with body language, because that's the only way I can imagine this book ever got published.