Body Language and Lie Detection

Perhaps, the first ever and most interesting record of detecting lies or catching liars by checking the bodily or physiological cues or indicators goes back to 3,000 years ago. The process of lie detection inside the imperial courts of ancient China was entirely focused on salivation (secretion of saliva). What is the exact logic behind it? If a person produces less or no saliva inside her mouth then it's most likely that she is under stress while speaking with/to or answering the questions asked by another person.

Before starting to speak or to give answers, an accused person or a suspect was ordered to keep a lump of dry rice in her mouth. As speaking or answering come to an end, the person was ordered to take out or spit the rice from her mouth for visual inspection. If the rice was found to be moist or wet due to normal secretion of saliva during the question-answering session then it was assumed that the person was telling the truth because she wasn't speaking without any stress or fear. Wasn't it simplest and straightforward? Obviously, chewing rice was much better than getting tortured.

We do lie verbally but we've set out on the mission to check the nonverbal cues of lying. From indirectly checking the saliva inside the mouth to detecting the cues, signs or indicators in body language, we look for fear, guilt, stress, anxiety or nervousness. There are several other ancient methods of lie detection. Surprisingly, some of them are still used, such as licking a red hot spoon in Bedouin tribal members of Arabia. Truth teller wouldn't get a scar or burnt mark on tongue, due to the normal level of saliva keeping it enough wet.

Although tongue is solely responsible for generating the deceptive speech, we can't stop ourselves from looking at each other's faces or into eyes look even while we aren't talking. That's why we've developed different (mis)beliefs around the face about the (reliable) cues, signs or indicators of lying, over the thousands of years. Some of them are universal e. g. a person not looking into your eyes or looking away is lying to you. However, it's not at all necessary that people of every culture and/or ethnicity exactly do the same.

Most of us are naturally inclined to blindly believe in and follow the tips, tricks or techniques that are shown in or shared by commercial movies, online videos and TV serials to catch liars in the real-time. Lie to me was a famous TV serial in which the central character Dr. Cal Lightman was depicted as an expert that could catch liars by detecting their facial micro-expressions. However, they can't be detected in the real-time without a formal training and rigorous practice.

(Image Courtesy: Fox Broadcasting Company)

"So, Exactly how GOOD (%) we are in detecting lies? Certainly, we aren’t 100% good. Even our technological tools aren’t 100% good/accurate in catching lies."
One of the 55 slides from my recent presentation
(Note: Please read #Special Note (below) for more details.)

Whenever it comes to determining if a person is lying or telling the truth based on the nonverbal or body language cues, signs or indicators; there's a little disagreement among people, especially between two tentatively different groups. First group (A) is mostly made up of academic researchers and/or scientists. Second group (B) is largely made up of the professionals such as (counter-)intelligence officers/agents, lie detection professionals, law enforcement officers, lie detection experts, forensic interviewers, interrogators and investigators who do face people.

On one hand, if not all but most studies that have been conducted so far were by the academic researchers from western cultures, countries, universities and/or institutions. They mostly involved the subjects of very specific backgrounds e. g. university students. Also, most experiments have been conducted in controlled environments or inside labs. Of course, conducting elaborate experiments or studies by involving the real suspects, criminals or offenders might be posing some difficulties, challenges and/or limitations for researchers.

On the other hand, it's only the professionals who ask questions or interrogate to get confessions from the real suspects or criminals. Unlike a limited amount of, chosen or specific subjects participating in experiments conducted in controlled environments or labs; they do face the real people belonging to different ages and genders with diverse social, ethnic, genetic, physical, cultural, educational, developmental, psychological and economical backgrounds, conditions and/or histories. They do matter a lot.

Both groups or even the members of any single group among themselves don't completely agree with each other about (some) nonverbal or body language cues as reliable and/or strong indicators of lying. Indeed, members of any single or both groups have their own conclusions that have been entirely derived from their own studies, findings, observations, experiments and/or experiences originating from entirely different sets of people they faced so far.

After going through the above facts or bitter truth, I'm quite sure that you clearly realize a great gap between both groups or parties i. e. A) Academics/scientists and B) Professionals/practitioners. Of course, there's a great difference in operating conditions, inclinations, obligations, challenges, exposures, limitations, thoughts, resources and/or methods of both groups or even among the members of any single group.

Despite of disagreements between both groups or even among the members of any single group, they do honestly share the single-most common goal or the greater challenge of bringing the criminals and offenders to justice by analyzing the different kinds of cues that suspects or criminals do subconsciously give away while lying or deceiving verbally.

Method of lie detection by analyzing of body language is repeatedly criticized as 'pseudoscientific' by (some) academic researchers and/or scientists. Hence, I really wonder if a truly 'scientific' lie detection method is strictly supposed to be capable of predicting beforehand, with a mathematical accuracy. Can any lie detection expert, interrogator or professional can predict a nonverbal cue or cues of lying, well before facing the person to be interrogated, interviewed, questioned or scrutinized? Or Is it always possible to anybody? Being an independent researcher, I've to challenge you to think over this.

If predictability of nonverbal or body language cues of lying is the sole qualifying criteria then it'll be satisfied in an ideal world in which every person's neural wiring, perception, personality, experiences, motivations, anxieties, ambitions, intentions, character, thoughts, ideology, memories and needs are exactly the same. What about the differences in social, ethnic, genetic, physical, cultural, educational, developmental, psychological and economical backgrounds, conditions and/or histories that subtly or overtly influence, govern or shape them in this world?

Still, most lie detection experts or professionals do agree that there's no single reliable, definite or universal cue of lying or verbal deception. Also, any single cue doesn't convey anything so multiple cues need to put in a cluster. However, a cluster of different cues doesn't help until it is timely and smartly capitalized by the investigator in search of the truth or reality. Actually, a suspect, a criminal or an offender needs to confess the crime or offense verbally or it needs to be proven in the court with evidences.

Hence, analysis of nonverbal or body language cues in the real-time is only a tool. It can and does help a questioner, an interviewer or an interrogator to dig deeper in the mind of the person under scrutiny. If the investigator is well trained and/or skilled in statement analysis and speech (para-language) analysis then it gives a huge advantage. Sometimes, mental smartness works much better or efficiently than pressure, confrontation, intimidation or physical torture.

Actually, determining if a person is telling a lie or a truth just by observing her body language with bare eyes is a little difficult and challenging for most of us, without a formal training. Also, some of the nonverbal or body language or cues are too small, swift or subtle, to be detected with bare eyes. For example, blinks can be detected with bare eyes but 4% to 8% pupil dilation can't be. That's why we need an electronic device or tracker for sure.

Apart of the skill, training, practice and sharp eyes required to detect the subtle nonverbal cues; the success of a (counter-)intelligence officer/agent, lie detection professional, law enforcement officer, lie detection expert, forensic interviewer, interrogator or investigator depends on the ability to stay mentally calm, curious, focused and balanced. Sometimes, indirect questions and/or eliciting statements works like magic.

A scene from movie "Liar Liar" (1997)
(Image Courtesy: Universal Pictures)

Starting from finding the cues of deception in nonverbal behavior or body language, we've gradually developed several methods of lie detection. According to a paper published in 2023 by Dr. Tim Brennen and Dr. Svein Magnussen (Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway), there're seven different (available) methods of lie detection at present that have been most likely adapted by law enforcement or investigative agencies across the globe. Perhaps, it's the first time that you're coming to know about them. I didn't know about some of them, before reading the paper.

Along with the analysis of 1) Nonverbal Cues (or body language), 2) Systematic Analysis of Verbal Cues, 3) Manipulation of Statement Production, 4) Polygraphic Analysis, 5) Brain-based (Neuroscientific) Analysis, 6) Strategic Interviewing and 7) Analysis using an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool have been included in the same list. Currently, AI based cue analysis is a slowly evolving method. However, it can certainly find and reveal the (kinds of) patterns that haven't been identified yet by us humans with organic or bioligical brains or intelligence.

Ability of deceiving (nonverbally) is very common in many creatures, including human beings. However, ability of lying or deceiving verbally could be reserved to human beings because we're the only species on this planet that can produce pre-specified sounds through our mouths. However, further research needs to done if other creatures have developed an ability of lying while using their own languages. Although one person can lie to the other person, no human being can lie to or or deceive any other creature verbally. Can you?

One of the 55 slides from my recent presentation
(Note: Please read #Special Note (below) for more details.)

Today, majority of the current human population is living inside the modern techno-industrial world. However, there're a few percent of people who do still live their lives in small groups, just like our remote ancestors did, hundreds or thousands of years ago. So why don’t we study Exactly how today’s tribal-indigenous-aborigional people catch a person while lying? It'll be quite interesting to find if they still rely on the nonverbal cues of lying or verbal deceit, just like most of our own ancestors or forefathers did or used to do over last thousands of years. Perhaps, tribal-indigenous-aborigional people might be using other methods or ordeals for confession.

However, both frequency and severity of massively damaging or devastating lies in the tribal-indigenous-aborigional world could be way more less in comparison to the modern techno-industrial world. The exact reasons behind the same could be the ones that do reveal the darker reality of the 'brighter' world in which millions of people get hallucinated, brainwashed, manipulated, intoxicated, illusioned, tricked, fooled, robbed, hunted, addicted, hijacked, enslaved, devastated or destroyed by convicing truths, fancier fictions, false promises, elaborate myths, powerful propaganda or above all - the utopian dreams.

Minimal requirements for living the life, higher frequency of face-to-face interactions, lesser (or no) materialistic ambitions, lesser (or no) personal possessions, higher level of interdependence, higher level of cooperation, greater emphasize on relations, smaller geographical territories, harsher punishments upon lying, strict moral obligations, smaller group sizes and higher level of empathy might have conditioned the tribal-indigenous-aborigional people to be more honest, truthful, realistic, verifiable and transparent.

"Surprisingly, how easily, quickly or foolishly you get convinced by a lie is entirely dependent on YOU only. Yes! It’s you and nobody else i. e. your very own mental processing capacity, prior knowledge, awareness, perception, prejudices, urgencies, (mis)beliefs, biases and/or needs."
- Body Language Insights (Book)

[#Special Note: This entire article has been inspired by and is partially based on the overall content of the same PowerPoint presentation that was given by me to students pursuing bachelor, masters and doctoral (Ph. D.) degrees and faculty members of National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU).

The article related to the same lecture-cum-presentation can be read here - My lecture at an International university.]

Related Articles:
1) *From Common Signs to Spotting Lies 2) Entire body can’t lie 3) Nonverbal Advantage in Investigation 4) My career saving lie detection 5) Face of liar(?) 6) Truth about Lying 7) Inside Interrogation Room

Nonverbal Advantage in Investigation

How much a small cigarette can reveal about the smoker standing next to you? Can you ever imagine if a small cigarette can shake an entire nation and an alliance? Can you ever imagine if a small cigarette can help in discovering perhaps the greatest intelligence breach in world history? Yeah! It surely can but only if you could detect its shaking in the hand of an individual who sold nuclear weapon launch codes for money while betraying his country.

You might have read a lot of stories of secret agents and spies. The fictional super-spy James Bond is celebrated on silver screen and loved all over the world. While secret agents and spies are depicted saving the world in movies, the individuals who catch evil spies and double agents are never talked about. Now, I'm going to share a short story about a very special individual who succeeded in bringing one of the smartest cold war spies to justice. In near future, his spy-catching pursuit might get converted into a movie too.

On one fine Sunday morning of Tampa (Florida) in August 1988, a young FBI agent was asked to meet and ask a few questions to a former American soldier named as Roderick James Ramsay. While asking him questions about another soldier named as Clyde Lee Conrad who was arrested in Germany upon suspicion of involvement in intelligence leakage, the FBI agent noticed subtle shaking of a burning cigarette in his hand. His hand revealed what his face was hiding from the FBI agent.

"The body reveals what the face conceals." - Joe Navarro

Why should a cigarette shake in Roderick’s hand upon listening a name of an individual? A single random instance then it could be an observational error. Right? However, every time the FBI agent intentionally but sporadically mentioned Clyde Conrad, the cigarette shook. It shook three times to give the agent a valid assurance to convince the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to start an elaborate and lengthy investigation which surprisingly lasted for next 10 years, till 1998.

Many frightening and mind-boggling revelations and disclosures were achieved by the FBI investigators. They were so serious and sensitive that many intelligence agencies or institutions like The Pentagon (United States Department of Defense), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), British Military Intelligence, Section 6 (MI6), German Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) or 'Federal Intelligence Service' and Hungarian Információs Hivatal (IH) followed the whole case very closely.

The single decisive observation of discomfort upon listening a name led to the revelation of a most horrifying intelligence leakage during the cold war. The accidental assignment to the case of Roderick James Ramsey changed the career of the young FBI agent which went on to become the world’s nonverbal communication pioneer and an inspiration for many crime investigators. The whole world knows him by his name as Joe Navarro. After 25 years of duty, he retired in 2003.

FBI agent Joe Navarro succeeded in bringing
one of the smartest cold war spies to justice.

Crime investigators, police officers, interrogators, detectives, secret-agents and spies simply cannot convince or pursue the investigation agencies, authorities and governments to start an investigation or take an action based upon a single body language clue. However, such subtle clues silently give a great insight into the minds of suspects. Clues of discomfort and distress given away by sudden body shifts, movements, gestures and expressions are stronger enough to not let them miss, ignore or neglect.

Our body gives away the clues of discomfort and distress not just upon seeing the discomforting and distressing visuals but also listening to the words which cause them. Mentioning names of the victim(s), weapon(s) used, partner(s) in crime and location(s) of crime or only known to the guilty arouses the nervous system of the individuals being questioned about the crime. It causes discomfort and distress in real time which the careful observer can capitalize on.

The courts ask for evidence not body language clues. If the investigator cautiously asks the right questions in the right sequence, by focusing on discomfort and distress clues, it can help the investigator to evince information of lead or probative value. However, observation is the key because these behaviors are very subtle and they disappear quickly.

Clues of Discomfort can be subtle/unnoticeable for most of the times.
(Image Courtesy: Body Language Decoded documentary)

Great investigators, analysts and profilers always look for subtle details. Some suspects might just sit for hours showing no expressions on their face while giving answers to the questions. However, the rest of their body can give away vital clues of discomfort and distress such as the one which were preciously picked by the experienced eyes of the FBI agent Joe Navarro who earned the title ‘spy-catcher’.

As Mr. Navarro often says, the body reveals what the face conceals. The secret is good observations, careful interviewing and keeping good notes of the observations. Hence, getting the nonverbal advantage in an investigation is only up to the the eyes of the investigator.

[#Special Note: This article is my sincere attempt to let the readers know about the world saving investigation of my great guru Sir Joe Navarro. I’ve taken a formal permission from him only through email for mentioning the famous investigative pursuit and publishing his photos in this article.

The whole story can be read in his book Three Minutes to Doomsday: An Agent, a Traitor, and the Worst Espionage Breach in U.S. History. The story might get converted into a movie for which famous actor George Clooney and filmmaker Grant Heslov have secured rights.]

Related Articles:
1) Body Language of James Bond 2) Inside Interrogation Room 3) Entire body can’t lie 4) Observation is the key 5) Artificial Intelligence and Body Language 6) Human Interactions in AI Era 7) Body Language and Lie Detection

Is Human Communication 93% Nonverbal?

Myths are scientifically incorrect and false stories, beliefs and ideas but they sound amazing and amusing. Moreover, myths are used for massive marketing too, just by adding their credible origins while making confident claims. Especially the one which has been gracefully given birth to in 1967 has taken the whole world by storm and quite essentially the small community of body language enthusiasts, aspirants, analysts, experts, speakers, instructors, coaches and trainers. It is The Convenient Myth of 93% share of nonverbal clues in human communication. Unfortunately, it's widely cited by academic institutions too.

Mehrabian 7-38-55 Rule

Prof. Dr. Albert Mehrabian conducted two separate studies at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with only 37 female psychology students about Which clues are emphasized, prioritized or given weightage to while understanding EMOTIONS, FEELINGS and ATTITUDES of a speaking individual by the audience. Based upon the answers given by the participants, only 7% emphasize was given to words while 93% emphasize was given to body language, facial expressions and the different tones of voice of the speaking individual.

According to the conclusions derived from Prof. Dr. Mehrabian's study, an emotionally charged interpersonal message is or can be identified almost nonverbally i. e. 93% out of both verbal and nonverbal clues. As the study suggested, an emotionally charged message conveyed by an individual can largely and precisely be identified by the individual's para-language and body language including facial expressions. These two components roughly made up to 38% and 55% of the message respectively in the 7-38-55 rule.

Prof. Dr. Albert Mehrabian

It's critically important to keep in mind that Prof. Meharbian's study was only related with emphasizing clues while understanding EMOTIONS, FEELINGS and ATTITUDES of a speaking individual. Nevertheless, the rule is wrongly interpreted, widely referred and conveniently cited by many.

As the three numbers of the rule are easy to remember and recite, many people started boldly claiming the total percentage of nonverbal clues in any kind of human communication as 93%. Importance of words was greatly undervalued.

Prof. Dr. Mehrabian himself has humbly clarified at many times that his famous rule is overly generalized. It has never ever been his conclusion that any human communication in general follows the 7-38-55 rule or has 93% share of nonverbal clues. He only believes that it was applicable within the context of interpreting the affect or emotional state of a speaking individual by the audience. However, nonverbal share is entirely relative in human communication and I'm going to prove the same.

Although Mehrabian Rule was simply the rough estimation, we get totally different shares of nonverbal clues in different situations, circumstances and conditions if we strictly adhere with the numbers from the same rule. If audience can see only the face but not the body of the speaker then the share of nonverbal clues would be less than 55% due to detectable facial expressions. If only voice of the speaker can be heard then the share of nonverbal clues would be roughly 38% due to detectable para-lingual clues.

If it was only about communicating emotions, feelings, sentiments, attitudes and different psychological states then we wouldn't have transformed ourselves into the present form at all. Unlike other creatures, we're a highly technological, knowledge sharing and imitating species. Our journey began in small tribal groups and ultimately ended up in spreading or dominating globally with further plans to colonize the outer space. Amount of verbal usage by us has gradually increased in our daily lives with increment in complexity, distance and interdependence.

Human communication significantly and frequently includes facts, locations, directions, dates, time stamps, geographical coordinates, measuring units, measurements, quantities, equations, findings, formulae, logical arguments, assumptions, algorithms, frameworks, concepts, hypotheses, theories, (abstract) ideas, routes, processes, stages, workflows, results, conclusions, plans, alerts, precautions, suggestions, strategies, instructions, commands, warnings, definitions, rules, regulations, requirements, (legal) contracts, (legal) agreements, treaties, testimonies, pacts, policies, norms etc.

They can be published, presented, explained, displayed or described with the help of words, numbers and characters. Graphical characteristics of printed or written text such as position, decoration, highlighting, fonts, font sizes and colors do arrange, organize, distinguish, emphasize and draw attention at some details. Therefore, graphical characteristics of written or printed text used are entirely nonverbal in nature. However, its calculable share is much less in comparison to the entire text.

Also, verbal and numerical data, information and facts can also be converted or compressed into and represented by many visual forms for better and readily understanding. Therefore, using sign-languages, sketches, paintings, drawings, photographs, graphs, charts, animations, images, signs, symbols, icons, 2D models, 3D models etc. in the human communication is entirely nonverbal in nature with its calculable share depending upon the amount of usage.

Additionally, if an individual is involved in talking about them then para-lingual clues and illustrating hand gestures do help a lot for emphasizing, drawing attention and visually explaining some details. Undoubtedly, vocal emphasizes and hand illustrations are also nonverbal in nature. However, its calculable share is much less in comparison to the content.

Some of the common traffic signs

The true purpose of this article isn't only to share critically important details and facts about Prof. Dr. Mehrabian's study and to debunk or bust The Convenient Myth of 93% or the over generalized 7-38-55 rule/equation/formula originated from the same study. My explanation and arguments simply don't end here because there's much more in our real lives.

After critically thinking over this seriously scientific topic over many days, I'm deeply interested and highly motivated to share my honest, sincere and meticulous insights and views about the percentage of nonverbal share in (face to face) human communication, considering different kinds of possible situations and circumstances in daily life.

Try to assume yourself in four different situations in which you’re interacting or you need to interact with four different kinds of individuals i. e. an infant, a man fatally injured after meeting an accident in front of you, an old man communicating only through a sign-language and a foreign lady tourist speaking in her language.

Surprisingly, the true nonverbal share or its percentage during (face to face) encounter, interaction, exchange and reciprocation taking place between you and the four different individuals would be much greater and most likely to be 100%, from either or both sides.

Please let me explain exactly how, with details as following:

1) The Infant: Due to absence or lack of verbal articulating ability at its age, the infant's body language, facial expressions and different tones of voice would convey what exactly it is trying to convey or 'say' to you in your presence.

2) The Injured Man: Due to fatal injuries, the man might not be able to speak clearly, continuously and loudly or at all. His vocal clues (if any), eyes, face, collapsed posture and visible wounds would convey his grim condition.

3) The Sign-language User: Due to absence of spoken words, you must rely only on your own knowledge about the specific sign-language. Otherwise, you’d need to communicate with him only by using commonly known hand gestures, facial expressions, head movements and para-lingual clues only.

4) The Tourist: As you're unfamiliar with her language, you both need to communicate with each other only by using commonly known hand gestures, facial expressions, head movements and para-lingual clues only. Otherwise, you need to find a translator.

In all above situations, only nonverbal, physical, visible, vocal and observable clues would play the greatest role in understanding, interacting, exchanging, sharing, suggesting and reciprocating. When and/or If an individual isn't (capable of) talking (in a known language) then his/her body does (try to) communicate the same. In short, body definitely speaks when, what and/or if words can't or don't.

To my best knowledge, both spoken and written words help a lot but only if the two interacting individuals know the language and also the meanings of the words very well in the first place. If either one doesn’t know the language and/or doesn't understand the meaning of the words then irritation, confusion and perplexity is clearly seen in body language esp. eyes, eyebrows, mouth and hands.

When and/or if words aren't present, familiar, complete, appropriate, audible, readable and/or sufficient while communicating then (entire) body, orientations, movements, gestures, expressions, adaptations, stances, vocal tones, actions, reactions and responses of either or both individuals are the only reliable sources for the firm conclusion because nonverbal is the default mode of human communication.

On the other hand, if familiar, complete, appropriate, audible, readable and/or sufficient words are being used during (face to face) communication, interaction, encounter, exchange and reciprocation then congruence between the cluster of words and corresponding nonverbal clues (available if any) is the determining factors for reliability and truthfulness in the given context. Prof. Dr. Mehrabian’s study too emphasized congruence.

The bottom line of this myth debunking or myth busting article is that nonverbal share in any human interaction isn't always or absolutely 93% (or any fixed number) at all but entirely relative. The nonverbal share or its percentage can and does conditionally change and even reach up to 100%.

Next time if anybody publicly writes and speaks about 93% of nonverbal share then you could confidently explain the nonverbal relativity of human communication with a few best supporting examples, including some of the aforementioned ones.

[Critical Note: Although every human communication isn't always and/or entirely nonverbal, our bodies, physical conditions, movements and actions do keep revealing a lot about ourselves automatically, unmistakably and reliably throughout our lives, which is just beyond our imagination.

Even when we're not actively communicating (with anybody), our bodies continuously do keep receiving and sending different kinds of nonverbal data, clues, hints, signals and messages.]

Related Articles:
1) Context 2) Congruence 3) Clusters 4) What is Nonverbal Communication? 5) Evolution of Nonverbal communication 6) "Nonverbal" is alien way of communication? 7) Unlimited potentials of Nonverbal Knowledge 8) Can body language reveal thoughts? 9) Why exactly languages evolved? 10) Are human emotions really universal?

Why exactly languages evolved?

Have you ever played dumb charade? You might need to. A week ago, my wife and I had a prolonged and heated argument over a topic (we’re not a ‘very different couple’). At the end of arguing, out of her disappointment, my wife suddenly jumped into ‘Verbal Non-cooperation’ mode with me. She declared that we wouldn’t talk with each other, just to cool off from heated arguments that we just had.

Whoever talks first would loose thus need to give some kind of gift to other. By the way, we gave liberty to each other to communicate nonverbally i. e. through facial expressions, gestures, body movements and some very basic sounds.

Within just a minute after we got into ‘Verbal Non-cooperation’ mode, I had to ask her about very important thing about this so-called ‘silent standoff’. I started by using hand gestures, facial expressions and sounds to explain what exactly I wanted to ask her about. I was trying harder to explain and she was trying even harder to understand.

After few frustratingly failed attempts, I eventually broke into words overthrowing the agreement. Actually, the question I wanted to ask her was - For how many hours or days from now we’re going to be in this mode?. This question was very easy to ask verbally than nonverbally.

Have you ever asked yourself this question - WHY (or HOW) the very language I speak and write in EVOLVED? Well! This so-called simple question is very complex to answer in a single sentence. So many theories have been proposed over years about evolution of spoken languages and writing systems.

Like other experts in this field, I’ve my own theory about same to which I call as Nonverbal Failure Theory (NFT). It doesn’t discuss about HOW exactly languages evolved but pin points WHY exactly languages evolved. Let me introduce all of you with this theory.

Like all other creatures, we evolved to communicate primarily through bodily expressions because they are embodied, non-confusing and easily understandable. Moreover, everything we observe, experience, sense through different sensory organs, store in memory and eventually respond to is basically nonverbal.

Body language is outward manifestation of emotions, feelings, motives, intentions, orientations and aspirations. It was only nonverbal mode of communication or body language through which our remote ancestors used to exchange information and knowledge among themselves. It still happens today, between a mother and a child. Haven't you observed it?

Nonverbal mode of exchange or body language is so profound, irreplaceable and inseparable from vast world of creatures that even two members of two entirely different species can communicate between each other easily. Except modern humans, rest of the creature world successfully survives through communicating nonverbally. Isn’t that amazing?

Let’s take a look at our closest evolutionary cousins. Male gorillas don’t (need to) write letters to their potential mates to win their hearts and chimps don’t (need to) speak over hours among themselves to create strong social bonds and bonobos don't need to sing the songs of eternal peace and brotherhood.

Communicating with dogs nonverbally isn't much harder for us.

We all know that our ancestors faced same challenges like every other creature. To survive successfully, any creature has to 1) defend itself from predators and adverse climatic conditions 2) mark and protect certain physical area for shelter 3) find and preserve food to live upon 4) attract a mate, protect it and produce off-springs 5) take care of off-springs and teach them techniques, methods and manners 6) cooperate and coordinate with members of same species as well as others to seize opportunities and minimize risk to survival.

To be able to survive and pass genes to next generation, any living creature must be able manage fairly well on all six fronts, both on it own and communally. For doing same, it needs to communicate effectively. Communication is said to have taken place effectively between two individuals only when the sender succeeds in inducing the most accurate meaning of indented message in the mind (or brain) of the receiver.

Being primitive, honest and clear in nature, nonverbal mode of communication is still the best. However, it has its own limitations, challenges and issues.

When environment, living conditions, resources and survival challenges remain same over a considerable amount of time; creatures don’t need to adapt to new tools, techniques and methods. They can carry on surviving and passing genes by using old and same methods, tools, techniques and methods which their ancestors invented, devised and taught to later generations. When entirely new challenges appear, they have to adapt anew to survive.

Was it a dramatic alteration in early human’s survival challenges that ultimately led to evolution of speaking and writing? According to Nonverbal Failure Theory (NFT), language evolved when Nonverbal mode of communication failed to meet the very challenges and demands of human world that went on becoming complex. It kept on expanding through continual exposure, experience, exploration, observation and experimentation.

Languages and scripting methods were invented by us just to overcome huge barriers and shortcomings that facial expressions, gestures, body movements and some very basic sounds posed in expanding human world and changing living environment. Human bipedal anatomy, erect posture and free hands greatly helped in development of speech and scripting.

In modern world, can we explain or describe mathematical formulas/equations, theories, findings, patterns etc. without using alphabets, numbers and signs? Simply, we cannot.

When our ancestors started to realize that body movements, gestures, facial expressions, postures, smells, sounds and colors were not efficient or adequate to express, convey, explain, propagate and record complex & lengthy information, occurrences and phenomenon; they completely revolutionized the way of human communication.

It must have started by making different kinds of grunts, growls and sounds through their primitive voice-boxes to identify, convey and talk about different entities, occurrences and phenomenon. Continual changes in producing sounds from throat paved path for evolution of spoken languages.

Carving images and basic shapes on cave walls, writable surface of pots, lather, wood and fabric paved path for evolution of writing. Both spoken and written mode of communication catapulted human evolution. This very article is result of our ability to write down information and data systematically.

However, nonverbal mode of communication is still most effective and efficient, especially when it comes to expressing and acting on something that simply can’t be conveyed, done or carried out through speech and scripting. Action speaks louder than words. Right? Moreover, effectiveness of nonverbal communication wouldn’t wither in future, as long as creatures thrive on this marvelous planet to which we call Earth.

Related Articles:
1) Body Language Brain 2) Basic Gestures: Best Survival Tools for Travelers 3) Can body language reveal thoughts? 4) Is Human Communication 93% Nonverbal?

Analytical Interview: Are HR Professionals ready for it?

Show if you can really play.

Gone are the days when kings, leaders, landlords, chefs, merchants, masters and captains of ship used to recruit their employees only after adequately ensuring that candidates have required skills to perform tasks.

Royal examinations, tests or verifications used to be quick, tough and very thorough, thus debarring unskilled, inefficient, incompetent or unfit candidates from possibility of getting employment opportunity in the first place.

The candidates were asked to prove themselves by showing what actually they can do or perform (i. e. through actions or performances) and not just claiming the same verbally because only actions speak louder than words.

Haven’t you heard a classical story in which a sorrowing king promises that he would let the lucky young man marry his daughter (of course a young and gorgeous princess) who could rescue her from clutches of a mightily witch living in a spooky castle in high mountains?

Apart of good qualification, personality and etiquette; getting truly skilled and proficient employees is a great challenge for every employer i. e. let it be running business in any domain and part of world. Job interview is the only available window through which an employer or recruitment officers can ‘look into’ potential employees in a limited period of time.

No other opportunity, other than an interview, can be sought to examine any person as a deserving candidate for a particular job. Thus interviewing becomes a difficult, elaborate and also tiresome task for most employers and human resource professionals.

Is Qualification sufficient?

The Conventional ‘question and answer’ interviews rely mostly on information provided by a candidate, the documents it submits to the scrutinizing authority and some few well-know or established nonverbal clues of authenticity.

While verbal analysis remains limited to scrutiny of facts and figures only, nonverbal analysis provides us large spectrum of information about candidate being interviewed in real time.

Why nonverbal scrutiny and checking body language is required after all? Never forget that actions and expressions are primeval, genuine and profound than words. Paying careful attention to non-obvious clues and tone of voice could reveal much insight about the candidate.

Different nonverbal clues given away by a person being questioned can convey affective (emotional), cognitive, associative, physical and social statuses with varying degrees. However, many interviewers don’t have critical skills to obtain and analyze different nonverbal clues given away by a candidate being questioned.

Hence it raises a great question about core purpose behind recruitment of skilled employees. Great responsibility of any employer or human resource personal is to find that where a candidate might fit itself well if sufficient evidences of its credibility are found.

"Companies which suffer from poor performance from an employee, actually lack skilled human resource professionals to pick the able one."

While facial expressions only convey both genuine and fake emotional state of a candidate, most interviewers mostly rely on them only. Many seasoned and experienced HR professionals cannot collect and analyze different types of clues other than facial expressions so chances of getting false and misleading information become higher.

Especially when patients and enthusiasm of interviewers gets challenged after multiple and long running interview sessions, they might take negative steps out of anger, boredom and frustration during interview. At many instances, truly skilled candidates are debarred whereas ‘smart’ ones easily get through due to their skills to hide certain clues from interviewers.

Asking good questions is a great challenge.

Thus accurate collection of context specific nonverbal clues with respect to what kind of question is being asked becomes very important. True purpose of any recruitment procedure is not just to authenticate information being provided by candidates during screening but also to understand affective (emotional), cognitive, associative, physical and social clues given by them and try to co-relate those clues with facts and figures being shared.

However, due to lack of required skillfulness in the context specific (analytical) questioning, clue collecting and analyzing; the conventional interview sessions cannot reveal the information and clues required for further verifications of a candidate’s true professional and personal capabilities.

Looking at the core issues related with scrutiny and authentication during recruitment, employers need to implement Analytical/Behavioral Interviewing Techniques. Actually, employers and bosses need to rigorously train their Human Resource officers to get skillful in them in the first place.

Apart of standards established by analytical interviewing experts from other countries, local experts and researchers should be deployed to identify ethnic, social and cultural specific nonverbal clues that can give clear indications of authenticity of information being provided by candidates.

Finding, recruiting and also retaining is always a great challenge in front of employers and establishments. Analytical interviewing could bring astonishing advantages to both interviewers and candidates because true purpose of it is finding what a candidate is exactly skillful in and compatible with.

Hiring candidates based only upon clues like good eye contact, smile, hand shake and excellent verbal skills could prove 'costly' because it could hamper basic goals of any purposeful establishment which are better performance, efficiency, profitability and prosperity.

Human Resource or HR professionals capable of reading body language accurately is the true game changer for companies. Only question is if are they even considering about it yet?

Related Articles:
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It’s Written All Over You...

Some lies are performed brilliantly. What goes into telling a lie..? The more intelligent a species, the larger the neocortex and the better the ability to lie. For obvious reasons, man tops that list (and more technically, women outshine the men). But not everybody can lie with a ‘straight face’. Why..? Is there a force that works against our deceptive words..? If yes, where does this force originate and how does it manifest itself? This article aims to develop a basic understanding of the emotive processes that underlie deceptive speech and how our bodies can sometimes, have a mind of their own.

In the thousands of years that man has walked the earth, there is one thing about us that hasn’t changed: our instinct for self-preservation; an innate desire to save ourselves and keep ourselves at a distance from anything that threatens our existence. An instinct embedded in all living organisms, ours has taken on several forms and doesn’t just come in to play when our physical selves are vulnerable.

Gradual changes in Physical Features

It has been a while since we’ve found ourselves running for dear life from felines somewhere in the African wilderness. But that’s not to say modern day society doesn’t host its share of situations held synonymous with wild cats.

There is a part of the human brain that never forgot the self-preservation tactics it strategically developed to help pre-historic man cope with trouble. This part of the brain is one of three parts of what later came to be known as the ‘Triune Brain’ or ‘the three-in-one brain’. The Triune Brain comprises of the Limbic Brain, the Reptilian Brain and the Neo-cortex (Human Brain).

The human brain is the one that churns out untruths. The Limbic Brain is one that does not think - it just reacts. It is so dead honest that no matter what the human brain comes up with, the limbic brain finds a way to shield itself and you from it. This performance is obviously dependent on the outrageousness of the falsity. Not many of us squirm when we feel the urge to tell someone their (distasteful) new hair-do is exquisite.

Freeze..!

You’ve probably noticed several times how when you’re watching a horror flick, some scenes so petrifying make you tense up. You sit perfectly still almost holding your breath (at least till the bad guy is shot 7 times). You obviously don’t plan to sit that way with every intense scene. This is the Freeze response devised by the limbic brain to make you “inconspicuous to the threat at large”. You’re body senses danger and the first thing it does is tries to make you less of a target by reducing movement and thus reducing your chances of being noticed. Observe how the limbic system kicks in even when deception is not involved; but mere fright.

Horrified!

Apply the above to a scenario where a guilty crime suspect is being questioned. The first thing he might do unconsciously is stop making unnecessary movements while he tries to assess how much the police know about him. It would help if the police could visually pick up when his breathing gets shallow and resumes normalcy.

Taking Flight

This is by far the most interesting and extensive strategy developed by the limbic system. How convenient it would be if we could just literally run away from experiences or people we didn’t like. Sometimes when in a group, you can pick out the people who really don’t want to be there.

The feet being the farthest from the brain are considered to be the most honest; not many of us keep track of what our feet are doing anyway in times of positive excitement or stress. Many a time, your desire to leave a terribly boring meeting might resonate in your feet - one of which could be facing the exit.

The Flight response is more complex than just assessing which way the feet want to run off to. This response takes place in the form of distancing as well. Take a look at this couple. Observe how their bodies are slightly tilted away or disoriented from one another.

Disagreed!

When the freeze and flight responses are not viable options or have failed, the Fight response may be resorted to. This does not necessarily mean a physical fight but could be by way of aggression in demeanor, posture or words.

We’re all well-versed with the three wise monkeys. But what do they have to do with us?

Three wise monkeys

The honest brain (the limbic brain) tends to get scandalized when it hears dishonest words. Almost as though it wants to stop the words from flowing, it quickly makes the speaker cover the source of these scandalous words - the mouth. However, like many obvious actions that can’t be performed so openly by an adult in public, this action is disguised so it can be executed without calling for attention. This is one reason for the very popular nose-rub.

Show a guilty crime suspect evidence of his incriminating text messages and he might want to distance himself or take flight from what he’s being shown. This is what he might look like if he does that. The same is in the case of someone who probably does not want to hear what you are saying or has invalidated what you’re saying.

Finally, following an uncomfortable or threatening situation, the Limbic brain switches to Pacifist mode. This is the time during which the brain helps you soothe yourself. Neck touching, wiping/ stroking sweaty palms along legs while seated, the comforting self-hug are all examples of pacifying behaviors.

In summary, the act of lying is something that puts most people at unease. This unease is exposed by the limbic system through pre-set codes like self-saving freeze, flight or fight gestures. It is to be kept in mind that such gestures are not symbolic of lies, rather merely of the experienced discomfort or anxiety which innocent people may face as well.

While body language is construed widely as casual entertainment; it is based on instinctive mechanisms that we all use. For example, it is the limbic system at work again when you intuitively decide that you like or dislike someone almost at first sight. While this article focuses on discomfort behavior, body language also contributes much to rapport and trust-building; because what we see counts.

#Truine Brain: The triune brain model suggests the basal ganglia was acquired first, which is thought to be in charge of our primal instincts, followed by the limbic system, which is in charge of our emotions or affective system, then the neocortex, which is thought to be responsible for rational or objective thought.

The triune brain model divides the brain into three parts: the reptilian complex, which includes the basal ganglia and brain stem, among other structures; the limbic system, which includes the amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus, among other structures; and the neocortex.

The triune brain is a model of the evolution of the vertebrate fore-brain and behavior, proposed by the American physician and neuroscientist Paul D. MacLean. MacLean originally formulated his model in the 1960s and propounded it at length in his 1990 book The Triune Brain in Evolution.

Author: Ms. Rebecca D'Silva (Goa, India)
LLB, M.Sc. (Psychology and Investigation) from UK
Micro-Expressions Analyst

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Body Language of Extreme Narcissist

Can you quickly spot an extremely narcissistic individual i. e. a grandiose, self-submerged, entitlement seeking, abusing, impulsive and exploiting individual, just by observing its body language and overall behavior? Both self-confessed and unidentified narcissists are all around us in a great number and you’re likely to face them at almost every location and in different situations throughout our lives. In fact, the modern age has provided a firm platform for the proliferation of narcissism like never before.

Like every other individual living with and around us in the same society, an extremely narcissistic individual too makes for living and struggles for survival. Then what’s so wrong with an extremely narcissistic individual after all? According to some psychology experts, narcissism is the final stop on the downward and steep slippery slope of psychopathy, social predation and criminality. Hence if you can't identify a narcissistic individual then you are most likely to face the consequences.

"I, ME, MINE and MYself!"

Everybody needs to sustain itself through adversities, challenges and dangers which is the fundamental necessity of every living and flourishing creature and not just human beings. Moreover, we all need to form different types of relations with different individuals for living, progressing and prospering. One needs to develop and posses self-love, self-respect and self-worth for the same. It gives us confidence, strength and social advantage.

Only thing is that a few of us are extremely self-loving and entitlement seeking individuals and this turns them into manipulators, controllers, serial liars, cheaters, scape-goaters and abusers. Principally, what every extremely narcissistic individual does most of time is attracting attention of others towards itself then ultimately impress, exploit, manipulate and control others for serving its own best interests.

Following are the body language clues given by extremely narcissistic individuals:

1) They come forth to shake their hands with you and say, “It was only me to encourage you from the beginning.”, “It has happened only because I accompany you.”, “It happened only because I greeted you in the beginning.”.

2) They try to attract attention of others and especially individuals of opposite gender in crowd by raising themselves above others or staying away from others.

3) Unlike open-ended and “away from body” gestures, they gesticulate in such way that their hands and palms face their own bodies most of the time.

4) They would raise their voice unnecessarily to make their presence felt without any hesitation about their contribution to the noise pollution.

5) They try to accentuate their presence and make maneuvers that saliently convey to others, “Hey, I’m here! Aren’t you looking at me?”.

6) They often express jealously in presence of those individuals who make them feel genuinely inferior, insecure and powerless.

7) They hardly show facial expressions that match with their words and actions while they appreciate, admire and praise others.

8) They invade your private and intimate space suddenly and remind that you didn’t treat them as per their own expectations.

9) They standout as magnets for the members of apposite genders and especially those with genuine low self-esteem.

10) They often express contempt in presence of those individuals whom they assume as inferior than themselves.

11) They look very charming, intelligent, smart, updated and tidy by their overall appearance and clothing.

12) They put on glossy or gleaming cloths and carry costly accessories so that people should praise them.

An extremely narcissistic individual tries to overrate oneself and creates a scene or a drama of having a great level of self-esteem which the individual completely lacks in the first place. If they're dating or courting somebody especially with lower self-esteem then they would try to manipulate them to spill out the words of appreciation, recognition and admiration about themselves.

""WHO else is BETTER than ME?"

Unlike extreme psychopaths, extreme extremely narcissistic individuals wouldn't pose any physical harm to others due their higher sense of guilt and remorse. However, they mentally torment, abuse and gaslight others at a great extent, leaving their victims in psychological pain throughout their lives. Also, narcissistic parents can give birth to psychopathic children.

Following are the overall behavioral characteristics, patterns and clues of extremely narcissistic individuals:

1) They show arrogance, stiffness and haughty behavior. They even ignore the existence or presence of those who boldly object/criticize their negative aspects.

2) They are preoccupied with fantasies and dreams about unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty or an ideal love and thus they always try to pursue them.

3) They have an extravagant sense of self-importance. They try to exaggerate their qualities, skills and talents with expectations of recognition as superiors.

4) They lack the ability of recognizing and respecting feelings and needs of others. They form circles of underachievers around themselves and stand in their centers.

5) They exploit others to achieve or fulfill their own needs, goals and ambitions. They roam only with those who appreciate them or follow their instructions.

6) They have a very strong sense of entitlement i. e. unreasonable or extraordinary expectations for special treatment, care, attention and compliance.

7) They believe that they are “special” and unique hence can only be understood by or should associate only with other special individuals or institutions.

8) They are addicted to or involved in substance abuse. They may not be able to stay in a single (committed) relationship for a longer amount of time.

9) They have definite plans, strategies or agendas to stand out in the crowd without any considerable contributions to the community or the society.

10) They demand excessive and continuous admiration and appreciation. In fact, they seek every opportunity of getting admired and appreciated.

11) They look very charming and witty but they always try to make fun of the others. They greet as if they are doing great favor to the others.

12) Their relationships with others last as long as they satisfy their empty ego. They don't at all bother to disrespect others publicly.

13) They hardly make statements like “Didn’t I tell you that you could make it?” or “You had all necessary qualities and the potential!”.

14) They cannot control their own impulses or bad tempers. Also, they publicly cannot withstand any kind of criticism at all.

15) They often express extreme jealously towards the others but they claim that others are jealous of them on the contrary.

There are number of reasons that turn a tender, loving and easy going child into an extremely narcissistic or a noxic individual in the future who gives importance to itself and doesn't really care about others and their feeling and/or emotions. In fact, an extremely narcissistic individual is empty from inside that's why it creates a lot of noise outside.

Narcissistic individuals aren’t like psychopaths who have cruel intentions in their minds but actually they are victims of biological, genetic, psychological, environment and parenting factors that transform their fragile personalities in an ego-centrism, exactly like the prince (or princess) who falls in love with his (or her) own reflection in water and ultimately die by falling and drowning into it.

Could you believe that everybody, including you and me, possess certain level of narcissism or self-love? Actually, most of us are healthy narcissists but some individuals are beyond the normal or acceptable level of narcissism. However, the extreme narcissists are self-destructing individuals. They never can have a long-term, strong and deeper relationship with other individuals, including their own family members.

"Every psychopath is a (extreme) narcissist but not every (extreme) narcissist is a psychopath."
Clinical psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula
(World leading expert on Narcissism)

According to experts, there are five main types of narcissism i. e. overt, covert, communal, antagonistic and malignant narcissism. Actually, an extremely narcissistic individual isn’t a subject to punish but actually the individual needs a great amount of counselling and therapy to overcome the narcissistic traits.

When put on a scale of narcissism or conducted psychological assessment, every individual would find itself at different level of narcissism. If you really want to know then you can undergo a test by following this link and giving honest answers only.

By the way, there are some common or shared behavioral and psychological traits among Narcissists, Sociopaths and Psychopaths. Also, sociopaths are often called as angry psychopaths.

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