Truth be told, reading What Every BODY is Saying was a "homework" assignment for my latest novel. The book is a well-organized, comprehensive discussion of body language. It includes photos and personal breakout stories by the author from his personal life, including his FBI agent experiences. Navarro makes it pretty clear that "non-verbal behavior" is about humans dealing with stressful and comfortable situations. Putting a person's body language into context is the key to interpreting deception. He admits, at best, it's a 50/50 proposition, even for an expert such as himself. ( )

Some interesting content that discusses non verbal behaviours of different parts of the body I hadn't considered (particularly the legs and feet). It has given me more to consider when liaising with people and also made me more aware of my own gestures. ( )

It was the best book I have read so far on body language. It is arranged accordingly to every body region and its non-verbal behaviours provided with a part for deception detection at the very end of the book . A fantastic read so far as well as he succeeded in the destruction of many body language myths known publicly.
A must read for everyone. Although sometimes the author just over explains certain points in the book till it sometimes becomes boring . Other than that it’s greatly informative. ( )

“For instance, when people press their lips together in a manner that seems to make them disappear, it is a clear and common sign that they are troubled and something is wrong.”
― Joe Navarro, What Every Body is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People

It is a fun read. I did not try any of the techniques mentioned but I did have fun reading about them!

I liked the narrator very much and was pleased he used "regular people speak" so I did not have to be at all confused as to what I was reading. Again it was fun and I may read it again sometime. ( )

“Most people spend their lives looking but not truly seeing.”

What problem does this book attempt to address?
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.

Content
• Concept explanation: Excellent
• Related stories: Many
• Data references and studies: Many
• Charts and graphics: Many
• Practical application: Very Strong

The concepts in this book are laid out in a direct and easy-to-understand way. Each chapter contains are numerous anecdotes that explored how the concept has been used in real-world situations. The graphics correlate with each nonverbal communication written explanation. He also backs up his claims with research and references. In the introduction, he says he worked with a research psychologist to verify all the data he uses. Overall, the combination of all these factors makes the book extremely effective at achieving the goal teaching how to asses non-verbal communication

Writing style & presentation
• Tone: Conversational
• Organization: Excellent
• Flow: Adequate

While the conversational tone of the book makes it interesting to read and the stories intertwined in each section is engaging, there is a lot of material covered in this book. For someone who is truly attempting to learn and improve these skills reading this book straight through is probably not a good idea. The organization of each section is necessarily repetitive in order to lay out all the information effectively. The content is not repetitive but the format is, which can make it more challenging to not start skimming through the later sections.

Bringing It All Together
One thing done very well in this book is the exceptional explanation of each nonverbal behavior. New terms are both defined and shown through relatable examples that someone who is new to reading body language would recognize (such as a child slumping their shoulders when they feel guilty). Then Navarro demonstrates how it applies in high-stakes situations including criminals, board rooms, and relationships. The graphics are quite useful and listening in audio format without the graphics would take away from the learning process.

One main thing I took away from this book was that the body is more honest than words. Learning to recognize and understand the full scope of nonverbal cues benefits in all aspects of life.

Favorite quote
“When it comes to seeing the silent language of nonverbal behavior, many viewers might as well be wearing blindfolds, as oblivious as they are to the body signals around them.”

Overall recommendation: 5/5
Who I would recommend this book for: Someone interested in practicing and developing the techniques of reading nonverbal communication.
Who I wouldn’t recommend this book for: Someone looking for a light, quick, feel-good read. ( )