The Dictionary of Body Language: A Field Guide to Human Behavior

by Joe Navarro

A decade after his huge international bestseller What Every BODY is Saying, which has sold more than half a million copies in the U.S. and been published in dozens of foreign territories, retired FBI agent Joe Navarro offers its follow-up. The Dictionary of Body Language is a companion “field guide” to What Every BODY is Saying, expanding the original work with hundreds of additional behaviours, and presenting them all in an easy-to-reference format.

Moving from the head down to the feet, Navarro explains the hidden meanings behind the many conscious and subconscious things we do with our bodies. We learn how to tell a person’s true feelings from movement and dilation in their pupils; what to watch for in the lips of a person who may be afraid, or lying; the many different varieties of arm-crossing, and what each one means; how the position of our thumbs when we stand akimbo reflects our mental state; and many other fascinating insights. The applications for readers are numerous, from the business environment to romantic relationships.

After reading The Dictionary of Body Language, you’ll have a new ability to read other people’s true intentions, and to adjust your own body presentation so that you can convey the right messages.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Communication, Science, Personal Development, Writing

Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Joe Navarro is an author, public speaker and ex-FBI agent. Navarro specializes in the area of nonverbal communication or body language and has authored numerous books.

Reviews

[Aditi Subba · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has well explained the meaning of body language, however, it is a slow read as it lacks images and as a reader, one has to imagine and decode body language together while reading it.

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

My boyfriend got me this book as a present and I feel a little bad for not liking this more. The topic, decoding body language, is really interesting to me, especially as someone who writes a lot of fiction and keeps using the same actions (everyone's always scratching their necks, shaking their heads and huffing, as one does). As a very broad overview of possible ticks and movements, this book is fine, but the commentary for 80% of these can be summed up as "People do X when they're nervous or anxious". Well, yes, obviously.

I would have hoped for some more insight. And the idea that the FBI decides who's guilty or not based on how they sit seems a little silly to me.

[Peter P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Navarro's "What Everybody Is Saying" and I was eagerly anticipating The Dictionary of Body Language. The good and bad news is that it delivers as promised. It is bite-sized and still comprehensive in documenting the myriad aspects of body language and their possible interpretations. The disappointment, for me at least, is that there was no story-telling. The book is as dry as a standard reference manual, useful without being particularly interesting. I highlighted some pieces that I can see using ongoing, but I was just a little disappointed in the book relative to my own expectations.

[Chyngyz · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the author's "What every body is saying" I really started taking notice in body language, and that book was a very good introduction to the field for me.

This one is not good as an introduction: it lacks illustrations and describes body language literally from head to toes, rather than from basics to subtleties.

It's main purpose, I believe, is to refresh your memory. If you are not sure what a particular gesture or pose means, you can just look it up here. It's much easier to do it with this book, since it's content is categorized from upper to lower body. Plus it has more info than "What every body is saying" and no storytelling.

The book serves it's purposes very well.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book would have been better if it were a video series (ex. movie, tv, YouTube). This would provide actual (visual) examples of each social cue described in this book. I think people who struggle with understanding or reading social cues would benefit from this.

I think the author has a lot of information on body language but, this book was slow and boring for me. The majority of the social cues were basic.

[𐙚 🇵🇸 Moonie ⋆˚꩜｡ (uni hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2.5⭐️) i love things related to body language and human behavior but this was so basic 🧍🏻‍♀️ it was all simple obvious information I feel like everyone already knows.

[Patrick Nolet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely dreadful. This book is only useful to someone who has no ability to recognize social cues whatsoever. Most of the information provided is simply common sense. To top that off, when talking about certain actions, the author tries to explain them in detail but fails miserably. Surely there must have been someone in the editorial process that suggested adding a few images to help make it clearer.

The only good parts of this book are the introductory paragraphs at the start of every chapter, too bad they only consist like five percent of the book. Given the author's life experience I was expecting a much more in-depth analysis of various non-verbal communications. What we are left with is the author simply laying out various actions and summing them up as being caused by stress 90 percent of the time.

It is called "The Dictionary of Body Language" so I was not expecting a literary masterpiece but the flow in this book is horrendous. You might as well pick up a real dictionary where you will actually learn a thing or two. Simply put, don't waste your money.

[landrejczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great practical guide that goes over small tics and movements in every part of the body and what they can tell you. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this book and it was a fun read.

[Piper Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

The way it was formatted made it impossible to retain any information.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2.5 ) Was a very quick read but seemed very basic ... like .... well, duh yeah doesn't everyone know that?.... or maybe I am in the wrong career and I should be an FBI agent? 😋

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a writer I'm finding this book helpful in the art of showing vs. telling when it comes to the wide array of emotions of "body language".

I would recommend it for any writer to have on their shelf as a quick reference.

I most particularly like topic #111 (Tongue in Cheek). So many double meanings.

[Angélique Hermes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for every body language nerd. It gives you 400 body languages gestures, so you can learn to observe minutely what people are saying without listening to their acutal words. Joe Navarro is a expert in this field and a great teacher.

[Dyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book piqued my interest after I watched an episode of Wired on YouTube, featuring the writer, Joe Navarro's. He's a retired FBI agent, and his explanation about body language makes it seem really intriguing.
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After reading the book, I realized that some of the facts mentioned I have already known but always taken for granted; Such as "positive emotions drive gravity-defying gestures", some repetitive and stroking motions have soothing effect that help a person deal with stress, etc. There are also some new facts (for me) that are good to know.
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This book is easy to read. It's not loaded with medical terms about human body.
I can't say that after finishing this book you can be an expert on Body Language, but you'll certainly notice or pay more attention to small things people do--and understand what they mean.
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"If language was given to men to conceal their thoughts, then gesture's purpose was to disclose them."
--John Napier
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Rating ⭐⭐⭐
This book makes me thinking "hey, maybe reading non-fiction books is not that boring."

[Marmota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somos todos una bolita de nervios, es un pensamiento que tal vez tengas por la cantidad de "pacifiers" que usamos en nuestra comunicación no verbal, cosa que me sorprendió y me dio alivio, por ejemplo saber que cuando cruzo mis brazos frente a mi pecho me estoy abrazando a mi misma, no significa que me esté cerrando a los demás, y viceversa. Es una guía clara y bien organizada para observar y leer a la gente.

[Violet ♡]

Basically, it's a review of all the body parts that are used in body language, some of which I'm already familiar with and others of which I'm not. Because I'm somewhat interested in the subject, I found this to be fascinating.

And I believe that if I read his book What Everyone Is Saying first, this will go lot better.

[Katherine B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Navarro moved from the tip of the head to the toes, evaluating common behaviors throughout his years of study. While there are several areas where it depends on the context/baseline behavior/culture (which he pointed out), overall, this book is a fantastic explanation of what most basic body language is saying, how you can help put someone else at ease (or intimidate them) through your own body language, and how to have a basic read on other people's intentions when conversing with them.

[Jade (beauty.andherbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning about body language. There was so much I didn't know and now I feel like I pay more attention to how people's bodies react and not just focus on their words. Highly educational. Would reccomend if you're interested in reading people.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-3.75?

It was genuinely like a dictionary so sometimes it felt dry, but it made me more aware and conscious of my body. If you’re neurotypical, this will feel like he is stating the obvious at times but there were good moments for introspection in this book as well.

[Tjinder Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's more of Practical book

[Jessica Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very concise, helpful read. Pretty short compared to his first book, with no pictures. Would recommend to an adult.

[Ezekiel Pettit · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really interesting! I plan to read it again sometime soon.

[Dimitar Lyupev · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Dictionary of Body Language" is probably the only book you need to become an expert in deciphering human behavior, as far as that's possible, the only book you need to become a real-life Sherlock Holmes (by certain body signs not only can we tell about people's emotional states, but also about their occupations, as that could be achieved only by continuous observation).

Apart from the benefits of being able to read people properly, we also have the huge advantage of knowing the correct body language to display in front of others, so that we are perceived as we like.

One of the big pros of the book is that it dispels common myths about body language, most often related to recognizing lying, which would help us not to be deceived by the wrong information that's been presented to us so far.

Moreover, we had probably never even known about some of the body language signs presented in the book, considering that Joe Navarro paid attention to each part of the human body, including the neck, the hips, the buttocks and the genitals.

Furthermore, the different ways certain signs are perceived abroad and those that are unique for certain countries are covered in the book as well. So get ready to broaden your mind's horizons quite a bit when reading the book.

Lastly, I must mention something very important: if you aren't serious about learning the non-verbal cues we constantly give to other people, if you are the type of person who likes to read just for fun or to read self-help books without putting what you learn into practice, this book is certainly not for you for it will most likely bore you to death or you will totally waste your time reading it.

[Manar · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

As a book that was written by a former FBI agent, I had really high hopes. I won’t say I’m disappointed, but it didn’t quite match my expectations. I admire Navarro’s expertise but I was expecting more psychological explanations behind people’s behaviors. In reality, it truly is A “dictionary” of body language.

I also felt that the book lacked images, which made some parts a bit vague and harder to visualize. Around half of what was discussed were things I already knew, but on the other hand, I did gain some new insights ! I studied every chapter, and I now consider this book a reference I can return to, and for that, I’m so glad I read it !

[Eline · Rating 3 out of 5]

he flexed on us just to give us nothing

[BLEIDER · Rating 3 out of 5]

One-word summary: Disappointing.

While this dictionary delivers on explaining many non-verbals, most of them are very obvious to anyone with even an intermediate level of knowledge of human nature. It is nice to have them all in one place and reading them might make you pay more attention to them.. but that doesn't change the fact that at least 70% of this book were extremely obvious to me. A foot suddenly pointing towards the door might mean that the person is ready to leave? Avoiding eye contact can indicate shame or embarassment? Cut marks from self-injury can mean that the person's mental health isn't the best and they might need help? Who would've thought?
But there are also some very interesting things to be found. There were several instances where I thought to myself: "Yeah, that makes sense, I can see that." And there were even some things that I would probably never have thought of - but while the former was a breath of fresh air every now and again, the latter was an absolute rarity.

I didn't dislike it. Most of the time I actually enjoyed reading through it. But there were way too many instances where I asked myself the same question over and over again: "Would the book as a whole be more intriguing if this specific point wasn't included?"

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the brevity of this book - it will make it easier to go back and look for information when I want to. I also enjoyed how the author organized the behaviors he discussed by body part. There were some behaviors he wrote about that I wish he went into more detail on why humans do these certain actions, not just what the actions are.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a more of a catalogue of thoughts about body movements. Nothing earth shattering here to read. Although the author has considerable experience, there are no real pieces of evidence here to support that. A catalogue of sorts without much substance. Was hoping for something more.

[Christin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read to feed body language curiosity of mine - however, nothing new and most observations were generalized with “depends on context” I didn’t walk away with any new knowledge on the subject.

[Tanvi Pawar · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75⭐ I expected more from a former FBI agent. Some points were so averagely described that I felt like there could be more causes behind that particular body action. Also, you'll find reasons like nervousness, stress, and anxiety on nearly every second page.

[Cathy Sites · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine points-much of a bulleted summary of What Every Body is Saying. Good refresher if you need one.