The Secret Language of Business: How to Read Anyone in 3 Seconds or Less
Price:
» » Buy this Product @ Amazon.com « «
Product Features
- ISBN13: 9780470222898
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The Secret Language of Business reveals the secrets of body language and nonverbal communication. Successful professionals need more than just good communication skills, you also need the ability to interpret the nonverbal signals that everyone displays. You’ll learn how to master and manipulate your own body language, read the body language of others, and influence people through your new skills and perception. No matter what business you’re in, this is a valuable guide to achieving more in life and business.
Customer Reviews
Darrell Brent Beery Said: Worthless ( Aug. 13th 2010 )
The book reads like it was written for an alien species preparing to encounter humans for the first time.
Highlights:
p41: "Facial expressions can communicate nearly any emotion... They appear as follows: Happiness - Lips pull back at the corners; cheeks rise up, Fear: Mouth opens slightly, Disgust: Nose wrinkles up, Sadness: Lips draw down at the corners, Surprise: Eyelids open wide."
He finishes each chapter with "Takeaways" and "Worksheet", like a school text book. For example: Chapter 1, Takeaway 1: "The observation and discussion of body language has been around for centuries."
Chapter 3 insert: "Extraordinary body language facts: Most women have fingers almost exactly the same length."
Chapter 9 is about dating and chapter 10 is about child rearing. In fact, beyond the title, it is difficult to find business mentioned at all.
Jessica Said: A little information, a lot of filler ( Apr. 18th 2010 )
The first red flag for this book was in the introduction, where the author asks that the reader take it on faith whenever he claims there's a lot of research on a given subject. This request should be repulsive to any thinking person-- verifying the facts for myself is the only way I really ever know anything-- and the only way someone earns my trust is by consistently SHOWING that there are facts to support his claims.
There is tons of filler in this book. There's an intro to each chapter, which adds nothing, then at the end of the chapter, there's a conclusion, which restates exactly what the chapter said-- in exactly the same words. It implies that people are too stupid to retain what they read. There's also an end-of-chapter exercise, which is the same for every chapter, adds nothing to my understanding, and contributes to the high-school-textbook feeling of this book.
This book does not teach you to read people in 3 seconds or less-- it's just a catchy title. It contains the same basic body language information found in many other books. Worse, the writing is watery and, strangely, it contains a bunch of irrelevant, unsupported advice about parenting. An example of the watery filler that's spread liberally throughout this book: "As soon as parents get through the preteen phase, next up are the teen and young adult years. This is perhaps the most tumultuous time in a parent/child relationship and one that can go on for only a couple of years or extend out further over many years."
The most shocking thing about this book is its bibliography. It cites a bunch of the author's own books and a few other mainstream body language books (no journal articles). It's no wonder the author asked me to take the reserach on faith-- looks like he didn't bother to learn any of it.
There were a couple of interesting parts of this book. There were a few boxed facts that were interesting, and the author discussed a few of the most common cultural misunderstandings (ie, Asian people will nod as a sign that they're listening, which we misinterpret as agreement, and Latin Americans use much more physical contact in platonic relationships than Americans do, which can be very off-putting for us). These few pages of interesting information were definitely not worth the price I paid for the book-- I feel like I was robbed.
Brian Farrell Said: Gives you the advantage and work and at home. ( Jan. 22nd 2010 )
I really enjoyed this book. As a consultant selling and pitching to professional service providers, I'm often presented with strong body language. This books helps to demystify their hidden meanings, and actually gives me an advantage when presenting. The book goes way beyond the basics. From a personal perspective, I especially liked the chapter "Back Home with the Kids". Kids also show strong body language. Lesson learned: I've got to be more careful with my own since they also pick up our signals as parents very quickly.
Rolf Dobelli Said: Understanding nonverbal communication ( Nov. 10th 2009 )
Despite the tantalizing title, this book by body language expert Kevin Hogan reveals few secrets as it introduces the study of nonverbal communication. However, much of the book's thorough material on body language is useful and accurate, though basic - the kind of thing most people know intuitively. Hogan explores how body language, physical positioning, appearance, tone of voice, eye contact and the like communicate more than words ever could. Then, he explains how you can use this knowledge to improve every interaction you have in business. Much of the advice is specific to western cultures, though the author discusses other norms. If you're looking for an easy-to-read overview on this subject, getAbstract suggests beginning with this user-friendly text. It covers the fundamentals, and the take-aways ending each chapter make it easy to digest.
Eric Kassan Said: Non-verbal communications 101 ( Nov. 23rd 2008 )
This book implies a business focus that it does not consistently deliver. The subtitle of the book, "How to read anyone in 3 seconds or less" is also contradicted by the fact that it is often changes is body language that convey the most meaning.
This book provides a good overview to the subject of non-verbal communications, especially conveying how much it is used, and how frequently it is not noticed consciously. The author demonstrates considerable knowledge, especially with interesting tangential facts. Unfortunately, I did not find this book very usable by itself. This was somewhat due to the presentation focusing more on details than on themes. Even there, not many details were provided. Perhaps the author has more useful information available for purchase through his website- something he mentions a few times in the book. For those looking for a single book reference, I would recommend "What Every Body is Saying" by Joe Navarro.