It happened gradually over 20 years. My
clients started calling me a body language expert of body language expert in
the 1990s. By then, I had done academic work in my field, taught Body Language
and Nonverbal Communication at Florida State University and Oglethorpe University,
and spoke, wrote, and consulted on nonverbal communication. I wrote a monthly article
on Nonverbal Communication for several trade journals. And that led to me
writing my first book on body language, Success Signals -Understanding Body Language.
I created a body language blog, writing posts about current events, and recent
research in the field and answering questions my clients ask me about human behavior. The
blog now has over 5,000 posts. National media started recognizing me as an
expert in the early 2000s. I began as a consultant on "Hard News" stories
during the O.J. Simpson murder trial. In 2004, I started doing at least two weekly
national media interviews, both hard and soft/entertainment news. For example,
I analyzed political debates and murder trials and did a weekly Nonverbal
Analysis of celebrity couples each week for several magazines. Those magazines
would send me photos of a celebrity couple, and I would read the couple, and the
magazine would print a one-page spread of the photos and my read. I did this
for US Weekly Magazine for four years, YES magazine for two years, and InTouch
magazine for two years. That led to The Washington Post article that labeled me
the "gold standard of body language experts" in 2004. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42111-2004Jun14.html. I also had a regular guest spot analyzing murder
trials on Nancy Grace and Dr. Drew and for Murder trials and political analyst
for CNN, Fox News, and FOX Business News. I still do two or more four national
and international media interviews weekly about body language and nonverbal
communication. I have written several books on nonverbal communication and
other books on communication.
Expertise requires years of focused practice,
constant curiosity, attention to the newest research, and a keen eye for what
is happening around you that relates to your area of interest. I not only read
research articles related to nonverbal communication every week, but I observe
and listen and see each conversation, media program, and interaction through my
nonverbal-communication-reading senses. I'm blessed to have clients worldwide,
and my speaking, training, consulting, and coaching clients ask me questions
and bring me problems to solve. My work keeps me abreast of what is happening currently
in the business world regarding verbal and nonverbal communication. I have been
traveling as a speaker and consultant for decades, visiting businesses and
spending time with people from many different realms of the business world.
That allows me to observe the hot issues in my field. Currently, I can see, for
example, what changes are happening to greeting behavior and small talk and how
cell phone use and other technology are affecting interactions. I know from my
clients that there is increasing concern over employees' lack of face-to-face
and over-the-phone social skills and that issues of bullying and conflict have
increased in the workplace in the last two years. I speak to VISTAGE groups
around the country; those groups are made up of small business owners and high-level
executives. Their insights and issues are particularly valuable, as are
questions I get for high school and college students when I speak on campuses.
Expertise can also be recognized internally when you achieve confidence and mastery, and it appears to be recognized externally when others experience an expert's mastery. For me, it began with the foundation of academic research. If I made a statement about my field, I would cite the research that supposedly supported it. Eventually, however, I reached a time when I saw changes and trends, and over the years, my knowledge broadened, and I could begin to predict changes and trends. My father, a Ph.D., and a college professor believed you couldn't consider yourself a true expert until you knew the research in your field and added to that body of knowledge.
As a result of my work, I am happy to fulfill
the wish and standards of my father and add to the body of knowledge about
Nonverbal Communication.
- What scientific research would you recommend I read to gain a better understanding of the science of body language?
Several peer-reviewed journals contain the
latest research in the field. You may want to search the Journal of Nonverbal
Communication and the Journal of Social Psychology. If you want a more accessible
layperson resource, visit Science Daily
News. This site gives a
simple example and summary of the latest academic research. If I read something
there that I may want to quote, I go to the actual research. Sometimes the
simplified explanation in just that. Or I disagree with it and want to see how
they conducted the research. You can search for general terms and specific
cues, like eye contact. I am particularly fascinated with any research related
to first impressions, greeting behavior, goodbye or closing behavior, gender differences,
touch, handshakes, anger, charisma, power, deception, and credibility – anything
related to neuroscience and nonverbal communication, as well as the latest
artificial intelligence and other technology related to nonverbal
communication. I typically read new research daily; I am a research junky for anything that relates to my field! Today I was reading about software that can take videos and create
changes to the videos. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/26/fake-news-obama-video-trump-face2face-doctored-content. One aspect of that article I find interesting
is that they think it can improve video conference calls. My clients complain
about the poor interactions they get on those calls.
-
What, in your opinion, are some of the most essential or recurring principles
of non-verbal communication and body language when it comes to politicians? (Whether
in debates, speeches, meetings with other leaders, on the campaign trail, and
so on.)
How nonverbal cues communicate power, anger,
alpha characteristics, charisma, credibility, and deception. I am particularly
interested in what makes someone credible and teaching my clients how to be
authentic and credible, and how to create trust. Everybody wants to find "tells"
of deception, but the secret is to be honest so people naturally tell you the
truth, and you can easily discern deception. If you look up my name and some of
those words, you'll see that they are the keywords that the media tend to
choose when they quote one of my reads. I find that very interesting. Here are
three:
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patti-wood/positive-body-anguage_b_2459454.html,
- http://time.com/4849232/g20-summit-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-body-language/
- http://www.reuters.com/article/us-body-language-candidates-commentary-idUSKCN12K263
