Paralanguage is the nonverbal communications of your voice, such as pitch, tone, and cadence. Often, we can hear how confident or anxious one feels by simply listening to their voice. By learning paralanguage, we can even master our own voices and give power to our words. Emblems

Stress compromises your ability to communicate. When you're stressed out, you're more likely to misread other people, send confusing or off-putting nonverbal signals, and lapse into unhealthy knee-jerk patterns of behavior. And remember: emotions are contagious. If you are upset, it is very likely to make others upset, thus making a bad situation worse.

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Bowden’s advice centres on acting (and looking) more confident rather than learning to read body language in others. As such, it works well as an accompaniment to other books on this list because you’ll use it more for your own actions. Whenever we use the eyebrow flash, we call attention to our face. Teachers and speakers often use it as a way to say, “Listen to this!” or “Look at me!”

However, the interview officially turned into an interrogation when the detectives became suspicious. They noticed her story didn’t line up, and the nonverbal cues she displayed weren’t quite normal for her situation. It turns out that she actually staged the murder herself, and she was faking her story the entire time! How to Use it: Before shaking hands, consider the context. Salespeople learned early on that an uninvited or surprise handshake from nowhere was damaging to their sales—the buyers obviously didn’t welcome them, and they felt forced to shake hands. Gives you a better understanding why people do what they do because you can guess more accurately how they feel and think. They have found that the use of body language and the capability to decipher it significantly contributes to our success.How to Use it: Make sure to mirror subtly. If someone nods their head vigorously in agreement, and you do the same, you may come off as too obvious—this can lead to suspicion or decreased rapport. In the book, you will find lots of personal anecdotes and tips. It’s an interesting read and worth your time if you are studying body language from a different perspective. There are many reasons why bother with body language. It can be used to communicate messages that cannot be verbalized, such as when a person is feeling uncomfortable or threatened. It can also be used to create or reinforce social bonds, such as when two people share a smile or handshake. Additionally, it can be used to express emotions, such as happiness, sadness, or anger.