Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma

by Patti Wood

From business meetings to social events to first dates to job interviews, we all encounter new people every day. Our ability to read body cues and convey the right first impression drives the success and quality of our personal and professional lives. Body language expert Patti Wood, a sought-after consultant and speaker to Fortune 500 companies, helps businesses and individuals stand out, create profitable relationships, and thrive in competitive circumstances. Now she brings that knowledge to our daily lives, offering practical and proven guidance on accurately interpreting body cues and creating impressions both in person and digitally. In Snap, you’ll learn how to:

* Use your voice and body language to convey confidence and charisma, authenticity and authority
* Immediately discern people’s hidden agendas
* Make the best impressions via email, phone, video conferencing, and social networks
* Convey and interpret signals of likability, power, credibility, and attractiveness
* Use nonverbal tools to spot true integrity or recognize charming frauds
* Attract the best matches in business and romantic partners
* Recognize how you really look to others

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Self Help, Psychology

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 26, 2012

Reviews

[Peggy Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide to the nonverbal signals that we give and receive continuously in our personal and professional lives. Learn how to better understand how body language can contradict, or reinforce what is being communicated verbally. Tips on improving your own ability to make that valuable, first impression, whether it be at a job interview, a presentation, or a first date.

[Zeph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't finished this book yet - I do plan to finish it, but I have a few major bones to pick with it.

The first is that it has a very inflexible view of the meanings of individual kinemes - the author points out single kinemes as signs of lying and such, whereas I'm of the school of thought that no kineme has a set value and instead acts as part of a set that makes up the larger image of the person.

The second is the gender essentialism. Oh my god, it is everywhere in this book. She talks a lot about the outdated idea of neurological differences between men and women, and is inherently exclusive of transgender people. She makes different suggestions to men and to women for how to improve their first impression and overall body language and doesn't make the crucial clarification that body language differences across genders are due to the attitudes about gender in the society in which they were brought up. It's just a whole crock of neurosexism that I find really irritating.

She also engages in a bit of technological essentialism and talks about how since the advent of smartphones modern people don't know how to listen anymore, and does that irritating thing that older people tend to do where they imply new technology has brought down society. Before smartphones, people ignored others in favor of the newspaper - it's just distraction in a different shape. I'm all for portable tech etiquette and devoting attention wholeheartedly to a speaker, but that doesn't mean I have to agree that all technology is inherently evil.

So while there are some good points in the book about body windows and such, overall I have a mediocre impression of the author and am taking everything said with a grain of salt.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even more so in our technology forward way of life, this (or something like) should be mandatory reading/education in middle school, high school, college and when you get a job. So basic, fundamental, and essential. Book is well written, great anecdotes, at times more detail then is necessary, but covers basic to advanced, so pull from it what you want/need and move on.

[Dejan Simic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting!

I found this book such an interesting to read, and to practice the advices of the author.Good content, powerful ideas, detailed observations, recommended for everyone!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

You ain't thinking when you're blinking you is riled up maybe an attempt to get free shit

[Zy Marquiez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snap – Making The Most Of First Impressions, Body Language & Charisma by Patti Wood is a top-down analysis of the subject of body language.

The author conveys countless useful tools individuals can use to ascertain how people are feeling.

One of these aspects Wood focuses on rather trenchantly is nonverbal cues that individuals displace which showcase what type of emotions they are feeling.

Other notable points that the author delves into range from the importance of posture, handshakes, the depths of eyes, the positioning of feet, to hand positions, smiles, and much, much more. The author does a stellar job of showing why attention to these key areas of the human body is vital.

Example after example, the author gives various anecdotes, some personal, many not, of instances where the reader is able to glean the data she provides playing out in a ‘classic’ way. These are very helpful, and for me helped bring forth past memories of scenarios of myself of others going through rather similar situations.

All in all, the book is straight forward to understand, and its concepts are easy to learn/apply.

This well-rounded analysis into human bodily behaviour should be highly regarded and sought after by all individuals. After all, a well rounded approach to interpreting body cues is useful for most if not all people. It would be a straightforward way to increasing an your repertoire.

[Diana (DomesticGoddess) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you know what sort of first impression you're making? Do you go with your "gut" feelings about someone you've just met? Or does critical thinking override your initial perception?

"The first-impression process takes a few seconds or less. In fact, the most current research says that we can form an accurate first impression in 100 milliseconds - less than the time it takes to snap our fingers. ...We do this by noticing things we don't even know we are noticing, and most research shows that only long experience with someone can alter our initial hit."

Wow, how important is that? A lot of this is stuff we kinda know, but may not be utilizing. Body language expert, corporate speaker and first-impressions trainer Patti Wood breaks it all down for us, making the process crystal clear. The first chapter's subtitle is "Use Body Language to Accurately Read Others and Improve the Impression You Make." Subsequent chapters go into more detail. This book should be a great help to anyone meeting new people: business contacts or potential friends.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will be a great supplement for my speech and communication classes as well as serve to help me be more cognizant of my own impressions made on a daily basis. It focuses orimarily on body language and other non-verbal cues that cause "snap" first impressions under a variety of social settings; but, it also includes information on making the best impressions via email, phone and even social networking. The journal and reflection exercises are fun, the advice is organized according to context (business vs. classroom vs. interviews vs. dates) and the highlighted text boxes provide quick overviews of key ponts. Up-to-date and a snap to read in itself, it's worth the night or two it will take of your time to help recognize how you really looks to others.

[Rene · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many excellent points in this book. I took a lot of notes and plan to practice and be on the watch out for what I do and what others do with their non-verbal communication. Pictures would have been very helpful in this book-- especially for standing, sitting in chairs, taking up space, what to do with your hands (both good and bad examples), as would an additional lists including more conversation starters.

[Laura Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's crazy how unaware I've been about people's body language, but ESPECIALLY my own body language! This really opened my eyes up to why this is such an important skill to have. I'm not talking about manipulation, but about awareness. So good!

[Lawrence · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. The body language portion of the book didn't show photos of the body language the author was discussion so it was hard to follow her at times. Also, the author spent way too much time discussing handshakes. I had to read half the book before I got to anything interesting.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for certain pop psychology subjects. Wood's book is one of the best ones on the area of body language that I've read to date.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye-opening look at how our actions reveal and conceal our thoughts. Wood's writing style is accessible, and she peppers the book with interesting sidebars and helpful exercises.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about body language.

[FSU Alumni]

Patti Wood (B.A. '80)

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because I thought it would bore me & help me fall asleep, but I actually thought it was pretty interesting.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone should have this subject in school - reading body language, or paralanguage. Invaluable.