What Every BODY Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People by Joe Navarro and Marvin Karlins

This book popped up in my Audible recommendations and it intrigued me.

Written by a former FBI agent with business professor and psychologist Marvin Karlins the book is like a quick guide to reading people’s body language.

I enjoyed the contents of this book and do recommend it for everyone, not just business people and card players, but if the book was properly edited it wouldn’t be much more than a pamphlet. The audiobook is 7 hours and 24 minutes long and I think it would be about 2 and a half hours long if all the useless repetition and rambling was removed. That would make it a much better book.

The narrator, Paul Costanzo, turned in an absolutely terrible performance. His voice sounded a lot like a computer voice in an underpowered gadget with lousy speakers. It does not sound like he had ever read the material before reading it for the recording. It appears that this is a common problem for him and I will be actively avoiding any books that he is involved in.

From the publisher:

He says that’s his best offer. Is it? She says she agrees. Does she? The interview went great – or did it? He said he’d never do it again. But he did.

Listen to this book and send your nonverbal intelligence soaring. Joe Navarro, a former FBI counterintelligence officer and a recognized expert on nonverbal behavior, explains how to “speed-read” people: decode sentiments and behaviors, avoid hidden pitfalls, and look for deceptive behaviors. You’ll also learn how your body language can influence what your boss, family, friends, and strangers think of you.

You will discover:

1. The ancient survival instincts that drive body language
2. Why the face is the least likely place to gauge a person’s true feelings
3. What thumbs, feet, and eyelids reveal about moods and motives
4. The most powerful behaviors that reveal our confidence and true sentiments
5. Simple nonverbals that instantly establish trust
6. Simple nonverbals that instantly communicate authority

Filled with examples from Navarro’s professional experience, this definitive book offers a powerful new way to navigate your world.

©2008 Joe Navarro (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

I rate the book a 6 out of 10 for content and the performance of the audiobook a ZERO out of 10.