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A Casual Tone of Voice In an Emergency. Story of Fireman on Scene of the Accident.

Recently a fire fighter on the scene of an accident used his cell phone to video tape the body of the victim, a young girl. How horrible.
I just watched a Today show interview of the parents of the young girl who was killed in the car accident. Yes, a fireman here in Georgia took a video at the scene of the accident.The fireman took a video and sent it to friends. Besides the obvious horror of having someone taking a video of your deceased loved one and treating it like entertainment, what disturbed the parents was the casual tone of voice of the Emergency workers on the scene.
The voices showed no urgency. Certainly the emergency workers had seen tragic accidents before, but where was the urgency to match the situation.
I have written that when the nonverbal cues don't match the situation we feel uncomfortable. This horrible situation reminds us to have a sense of honor and respect.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp=39737492?
A year ago

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://PattiWood.net. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Deception Detection, What Does It Mean When Someone Breaks Out in a Sweat?

Uncover Deception.
When you know details of a transgression that the suspect does not know you now look at their nonverbal response when you reveal details to them. An Innocent person would not get nervous when details about something they didn't do are revealed. Below is a powerful story from a workshop participant who saw this work. My guess, in the story described, is that the suspected thief had prepared for the big questions but when the questioner knew small specific details it tended to make the guilty person feel more exposed and nervous.


I was in a deception detection session with you this past summer. In October I went to a European country, I won't name, to look into allegations that our ---- was stealing from us. I took part in complicated interviews with the subject and our accountants that were largely conducted in his language because neither the ---our accountants were fluent enough in English to deal with such a stressful situation and get the meaning right. So my U.S. colleague and I were dependent on our watching skills more than our listening skills. At first I was unable to sense any change in tone, speed, or bodily position as the --- lied to us for about an hour. That is, until we got to questions where we had details. When the accountant started that line of questions, the --- broke out into a sweat that was visible on his face. Your speech helped me recognize the change. You said knowing details even seemingly small ones helps. And sure enough the details were part of a fairly minor transgression compared to the real theft!), I knew enough not to let go of that issue until we had proof that he had committed a crime.

Thanks for speaking to us. I had no idea I would be putting what I’d learned to use so quickly.


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://PattiWood.net. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

The Body Language of Listening

I did an interview for Cosmopolitan recently.
The piece is how to gloss over certain situations that can be awkward. One particular section was supposed to be on how to fake listen, but I gave body language cues on listening and discussed the research that shows that faking listening actually requires more physical and mental energy and stresses the body more that actually listening. Also, how not giving the body language cues of listening can actually make the conversation go longer because the person doesn't feel heard, so they repeat themselves. See my other posts on listening.


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://PattiWood.net. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Dog Body Language Mischa Barton and Patti Wood in LA at Pup-peroni Couch Talk Event

Paw Mischa! Barton takes pets to dog therapy... as she reveals anger at 'messed up' presenter Fearne Cotton
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:10 AM on 15th October 2010
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A smiling Mischa Barton poses with her dogs as she takes them for a spot of pet therapy in Los Angeles.
But behind her happy facade, the actress has revealed she is absolutely furious with British presenter and radio personality Fearne Cotton.
Barton, 24, let Cotton, 29, film her for an episode of her 'Fearne and ...' show for ITV2 - and she is not impressed with the way she was portrayed.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1320665/Mischa-Barton-reveals-anger-messed-presenter-Fearne-Cotton.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz12jSq6pvI


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://pattiwood.net/. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

Lying and Body Language

Answers to a report... "Questions About Body Language and Lying."
1.Are there different types of body language for different types of lying?
Lying style is based more on the liars personality rather than the type of lie. We tend to think liars always pause or liars don't make eye contact. The newest research indicates that extroverts are more likely to speed up, get louder and more effusive when they lie and introvert pause more, soften their voice more and have less facial expressions and movement. Liars try to put more expression in their voice and face but the facial expression stays on the face too long and the vocal variation seems out of sync with the facial expressions. An honest person feels something then shows it nonverbally then says it with their words. The liar is focusing on the words then has to think about what emotion they should be expressing. So the words come out first then the person expresses. So someone telling you the truth may smile then say, "Sure I love you." a liar may say, "Sure I love you." then smile and the smile and voice and body expressions comes a beat late and can linger a bit so that it feels and looks awkward.

2. What sort of body language occurs in the upper body when someone is lying? (i.e arms, hands)
So many different possibilities depending on personality.
If the person feels guilty and or fears being discovered, they may close what I call the body windows to the person they are lying to. So they may pull back the feet under their chair or point the toes away, they may close the knee window by crossing their legs. They may cover up their heart window by turning slightly away, adjusting their shirt, holding a beverage in front of their chest. They may also lean slightly away with their torso or head as they listen to a question they don’t want to answer honestly or as they prepare their answer or just after they lie. Extroverts with big egos (Think Politicians’s and big sports celebrities like Arid ) may lean forward as they lie. Honest people do that naturally to emphasize a point but liars tend to start the lean to soon and they lean in closer and tend to linger forward a bit too long. They may close their neck window by clasping their neck or playing with a necklace or shirt button, collar or zipper. They may slightly turn their head away. Their mouth window may twist up on one side, they may bite their lip or do a weird liar smile that looks like a upside down clown smile. They may close their eyes (eye widow) a beat or two longer than normal or blink frequently. The voice may get higher as the vocal chords tense.

Also honest people gesture and give facial expressions as they speak, that match and mirror the voice tone, speaking rate and body language of the person they are talking with. If you accuse them of something, they want to keep talking till they are sure you realize they didn’t do it and they can feel you trust them again.

Liars want to change the subject, they may attack you verbally or get mad to distract you from your accusations. If you accuse someone, see how they respond then change the subject. Liars relax when you change the subject!!!

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://PattiWood.net. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.