What is a business book? A book that reveals secrets of the trade? A “how to” guide to inspire newbies? Is it niche focused or could its guidelines be applied in other branches as effectively? All books are full of ideas. And ideas can be adapted to any field.
My favorite business book is The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara and Allan Pease. And if you think “body language” has nothing to do with business, you couldn’t be further form the truth.
Human communication is mostly non-verbal. And this non-verbal communication could mean the difference between success and failure even in business. A job interview will go wrong if your body transmits the wrong messages. It doesn’t matter how good you are on a professional level. The employers need to know you are able to communicate well with the team and, believe it or not, they know how to “read” you.
Allan and Barbara Pease are “the” masters of non-verbal communication. The Definitive Book of Body Language approaches this field with a touch of humor, a sprinkle of sarcasm and the erudition you expect from real experts in this “science.”
Because reading body language with scientific approach reveals more about a person than the words you hear. Sometimes reading people is pure instinct. But as body language differs from country to country, from one educational level to another, from town to village and so on, it’s always good to learn the rules, understand the differences and never “read out of a context.”
In my career as a military journalist, then in my career as a public relations consultant and even in my personal life, the knowledge assimilated while reading this book served its purpose more than once.
I introduce this book to you today as my contribution to the group writing project started by Brad Shorr at Word Sell and announced by Laura Spencer at Writing Thoughts.
Hi Mig! What a good choice for a business book! I’ve always been fascinated with body language. I agree that it can be helpful for business as well as personal life.
Hi Michaela, thanks for participating in the project! Sharpening on-verbal communication skills is something lots of people, including me, overlook. I’m looking forward to reading this book.
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I’m glad to read this. I’d like to get the book and see what it says about unintentional body language–the ingrained postures and facial expressions that aren’t relevant to the moment but are part of the body. I’m always intrigued by candid photos and the people in the background. Very often people tend to look angry. Why are concentration and anger so alike in appearance?!
Great food for thought here. Thanks.
Oh Sandy, you will love the book! I mean it. I used to call it “my bible.” He he. People cannot really fool me, and that’s more of a curse these days. But there is one thing you should know about body language: there’s something new to learn each day.
This book is awesome! Thank you for recommending it. I have always been interested in our non-verbal communication and how it can affect everything in our life, especially in the business world. Thank you for posting this. It has been a real help to me.
Hi, liked the post of the book review. Body language is something I have always been really interested in as we use it for communication much more than we’re conscious of. I’ll look this book up for my next read.
Thanks,
David