I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but there’s been a real explosion in the number of big TV dramas focusing on non-verbal communication.
Psych, The Mentalist, Lie To Me.
The shows may differ slightly, but they all show experts at body language attempting to get to the heart of a mystery by focusing on the things that people don’t say.
There are two things at work here
First the body language itself.
These reactions come from a part of the brain that we can’t control.
They are involuntary, we can’t stop them.
Secondly, the observational skills
The expertise comes from the fact that the characters notice minute details.
They look at people very, very closely.
Observe behaviours and draw conclusions.
Now, I’m no Patrick Jane or Shawn Spencer but I thought I’d share a little body language insight.
If you ask someone a question and they shut their eyes, they’re uncomfortable and don’t want to address the answer.
It works the same whether the question is “Have I got the job?” or “Did we win the pitch?”
Importantly, you can’t assume that the answer will be a lie but you can know that they don’t want to give it.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work quite so well over the phone.
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