Former FBI Agent Explains How to Read Body Language | Tradecraft | WIRED

Nonverbals are anything that communicates but is not a word, commonly known as body language. They include how we dress, how we walk, and other behaviors that reveal what is in the mind of a person.

Joe Navarro was a special agent with the FBI for 25 years, primarily working within the national security division. His job was to catch spies and focus on understanding targets and neutralizing threats.

• Security is based on observing nonverbals—looking through peepholes or observing people at ATM machines • Most people select their mates based on nonverbal communication • We are constantly transmitting information through our behavior

We may think we are sophisticated, but we are never in a state where we are not transmitting information to others.

Crossing arms is often thought to be a blocking behavior, but this is false. Even when we dislike someone, we cross our arms as a self-soothing mechanism, similar to a self-hug. We actually do this behavior more in public than in private.

Looking in a certain direction while thinking or processing information does not indicate deception. It simply means the person is processing information. This behavior should not be used to detect lying.

• Clearing the throat, touching the nose, or covering the mouth are self-soothing or pacifying behaviors, not signs of deception • There is no scientific or empirical evidence of a 'Pinocchio effect' • Claims that these behaviors indicate lying are 'sheer nonsense'

Humans are lousy at detecting deception based on body language alone. These myths persist despite lack of scientific support.

Intelligence from another country indicated that an American mole was working for a hostile intelligence service. The suspect was videographed coming out of a flower shop, and the FBI team was analyzing the footage.

Most Americans hold flowers by the stock with flowers facing upward. The suspect grabbed the stock and held the flowers facing downward—how flowers are carried in Eastern Europe. This small detail revealed his true origin.

Rather than directly confront the suspect, Navarro used a 'presumptive' technique. He asked the suspect if he would like to know how they figured him out, then mentioned the flowers.

The suspect's facial expression showed recognition, and he subsequently confessed to being a spy. This case demonstrates how a single nonverbal detail can uncover a major security threat.

When entering law enforcement, Navarro thought it was all about getting a confession. However, he discovered that success was really about face time with the person.

In 25 years with the FBI, it was rare that a person did not eventually reveal the information needed during lengthy conversations. Patience and sustained interaction proved effective.

Navarro looks at behaviors to assess what a person is transmitting in relation to any stimulus. Further questioning comes from observing these behaviors rather than starting with assumptions.

Studying nonverbals is not about making judgments but about assessing what a person is transmitting in that moment.

• Hair: Look for health and grooming as indicators • Forehead: Often reveals stress and life experiences etched over time • Eyes: Check for redness or signs of insufficient sleep • Glabella: The area between the eyes reveals information early, especially discomfort signals

• Compressed lips indicate something bothers the person • Sucked-in lips show severe disturbance • Tongue rubbing inside the cheek paired with attempts to hide it indicates perception management

• Head tilt suggests relaxation; when it disappears, there is usually an issue • When asked a question they don't know, both shoulders shoot up very quickly • Neck ventilation in men occurs at the instant something bothers them

• Stiffened interlaced fingers with slow hand movement indicates troubling thoughts • Steeple position suggests something is at issue • Arms akimbo with thumbs back indicates inquisitiveness rather than pure territoriality

Brushing of the legs with hands is another pacifying behavior that communicates discomfort or the need for self-soothing.

• Wiggling or kicking of feet can indicate anxiety or discomfort • When feet suddenly withdraw and cross after a question, the person may feel threatened by the question

When studying nonverbals, it is not about making judgments but assessing what the person is transmitting in that moment.

Everyone transmits information constantly through clothing choices, grooming, personal care, and how they carry themselves—with varying levels of energy and pace.

What to look for are differences in behavior down to the minutia of how an individual carries themselves and presents themselves in different contexts.

• Posture while walking down the street • Whether the person is on the inside or outside of the sidewalk • Blink rate, which is typically around eight times per minute • How often someone looks at their watch

All these details factor in because they transmit information. The role of an observer is to use this information to determine whether resources need to be marshaled to monitor that individual.

These observations help law enforcement and security professionals identify when closer attention should be paid to a person.

In most Western cultures, the handshake is the first time people touch one another. This makes it a critical moment for establishing initial connection.

During a handshake, bodies release bonding chemicals that communicate whether we like or dislike the other person. Everyone can remember a time when shaking hands with someone felt wrong.

Handshaking is both necessary and essential in most cultures as a foundational element of human interaction.

The handshake conveys crucial information through pressure, duration, temperature, and the overall feeling of the contact.

By introducing the topic of comfort, individuals unconsciously increase their distance from each other. They rock away from each other and create space when discussing personal comfort.

• Feet movement increases as individuals search for their optimal personal distance • A high degree of movement indicates unsettledness • Rocking behavior becomes directed away from each other

By explicitly addressing comfort and appropriate distance, individuals feel more at ease maintaining the distance that feels right for them.

Understanding how people adjust their personal space reveals their comfort level and psychological state in social interactions.

Poker games provide a similar dynamic to sitting across from a spy. Both situations involve reactions to stimuli and behaviors indicative of psychological discomfort used at home, work, or the poker table.

• When a table is called for the first time, it is an opportunity to observe behaviors indicative of discomfort • Shifting in chairs, reaching to grab shoulders, and high shoulders are early indicators • Poker intelligence can be collected before the game even starts

As players see their cards and the game progresses, behavioral patterns shift based on the value of their hands and their confidence levels.

Reading poker behavior is useful because the same nonverbal indicators of psychological comfort or discomfort appear in real-world scenarios.

• Some players cage their cards while others place hands directly on top and press down • This pressing behavior occurs when the cards increase in value • Player behavior with hands indicates their engagement with the cards

Some players keep their hands very close to their body, while others maintain distance. These variations indicate different comfort and confidence levels.

When players withdraw their hands from the table, it mirrors a broader principle: we move our hands forward when we like things and away when we don't like things.

Players who shuffle their chips are self-soothing and pacifying themselves. This behavior simply helps them get through the game.

A player with crossed arms and minimal activity does not mean they are transmitting no information. Thumb position and movement are critical indicators that change as the game evolves.

Looking at nonverbals at double speed makes critical behaviors jump out as though they were a caricature, making patterns more obvious.

• When a player's hands move from held close to fully extended, it indicates engagement and interest • The progression from withdrawn to active hands shows increasing psychological involvement in the game

Once the game is opened with community cards visible, 75 to 80 percent of the information needed is sitting out there in player reactions and behaviors.

Players often look at their own cards or community cards rather than observing others. The key is to watch for reactions, because those reactions will appear again during play.

While people can have a poker face, they cannot have a poker body. Somewhere the body will reveal what the person is feeling or thinking.

Most of the information needed is transmitted through the body rather than the face, making full-body observation essential.

Understanding this principle—that nonverbals cannot be fully controlled—is critical to reading people in poker and in life.

When Navarro was in college in the early 1970s, there were really no courses on nonverbal communications. He realized that understanding behavior interpretation was crucial to the field.

• Nonverbals have gravitas because they affect how we communicate with each other • This is no small matter in professional and personal contexts • Understanding nonverbals is essential for meaningful communication

Humans primarily communicate nonverbally and always will. Words are secondary to the messages transmitted through body language and behavior.

Mastering the reading of nonverbals enhances every aspect of human interaction, from law enforcement to everyday relationships.