You are contagious | Vanessa Van Edwards | TEDxLondon

Vanessa shares her experience being quirky growing up, wearing striped jackets, and how those years led her to study human behavior and understand people.

Along with fellow researchers, Vanessa became interested in understanding why some TED talks spread while others don't, prompting a large-scale analysis of thousands of hours of TED talk footage.

• Analyzed body language and hand gestures • Examined vocal tone changes • Studied clothing choices

A common pattern began emerging in the data that became increasingly clear with further analysis.

When first seeing someone, our eyes are naturally drawn to their hands—an inherited trait from our cave-dwelling ancestors who needed to see if someone was holding a weapon or tool to determine if they were a friend or threat.

When hands are hidden, our brains experience discomfort and actively wonder what the person is doing with their hands. Revealing hands brings immediate relief because we can see intentions.

• Most popular TED speakers use approximately 465 hand gestures in 18 minutes on average • Least popular TED speakers use approximately 272 hand gestures in the same timeframe • That's nearly half the number of gestures

Our brains give 12.5 times more weight to hand movements than to words alone, making hand gestures incredibly powerful in communication.

Popular TED speakers typically begin with a welcoming gesture—waving hands as if saying 'hello friends'—to establish connection with the audience.

Speakers use hand movements to demonstrate that they know their subject well and can explain concepts both through words and physical gestures, making their message clearer.

When describing something as 'huge' with exaggerated hand gestures, the audience perceives it as significantly larger than when the same word is spoken without corresponding hand movements.

Successful communicators show they can transmit information through multiple channels: spoken words and physical demonstration.

Humans are biologically wired to send and receive body language signals constantly, both emotionally and chemically.

• Researchers collected cotton pads with sweat from people on treadmills and from people after their first free-fall jump • Participants smelled the pads in an MRI scanner without knowing the source • Those who smelled fear-sweat activated fear-response areas in their brains despite not knowing what they were smelling

Fear, confidence, and other emotions are contagious—they transfer from one person to another through chemical and non-verbal signals.

If our emotions are contagious, how can we ensure we're transmitting the right emotions to others?

Vanessa conducted a simple test on a Portland, Oregon street by standing and staring at the sky, observing whether passersby would unknowingly imitate her behavior without any verbal communication.

One by one, then in groups, passersby began looking up and gathering, demonstrating spontaneous emotional contagion through non-verbal cues alone.

When we catch an emotion from someone, we first experience the feeling, then our brain searches for a logical reason or explanation for why we're feeling that way.

This automatic response helps us stay safe—when we see fear in others, we become alert to potential danger and prepare to defend ourselves, escape, or seek help.

Dr. Paul Ekman research identified seven universal facial expressions that appear across all genders and races when experiencing intense emotions.

Fear manifests as widened eyes, raised eyebrows, and an open mouth—natural responses that help us see more of our surroundings and prepare our body for survival.

• We display fear expressions before consciously recognizing danger • Wide eyes increase our field of vision to detect threats • Open mouth helps us breathe more oxygen for fight, flight, or help-seeking responses

When we see fear on someone else's face—like in a subway—our instinctive reaction is to feel concerned and become more alert, which keeps us safe.

Our emotions don't just cause us to make facial expressions; making facial expressions actually causes us to feel those emotions—it works both ways.

Opening eyes wide, raising eyebrows, and holding breath creates tension and worry in the body, showing how facial movements trigger emotional responses.

• Genuine happiness smile reaches eye muscles (crow's feet) and upper cheek muscles • Fake smile uses only lower face muscles • A true smile naturally causes us to feel happiness

When we see someone's genuine smile, their positive emotion transmits to us and lifts our mood; fake smiles don't create this effect.

Vanessa worked with clients in phone-based industries who asked how to convey genuine happiness when they can't communicate face-to-face.

• Participants recorded themselves saying 'hello' in different emotions: happy, sad, angry, and while projecting authority • Researchers wanted to know if listeners could detect these emotional differences in voice alone

Listeners can clearly hear the difference between a happy 'hello' and other emotional versions, detecting the micro-expression of happiness through vocal tone.

People who expressed themselves happily were significantly more liked than those who spoke with anger, sadness, or false authority, and they became more memorable.

In Portland, Oregon, researchers gathered 500 participants in rapid speed-dating circles, giving each person different opening lines for eight rounds while recording with cameras in all corners.

• Body language observations: leaning, nodding, laughing, smiling, confidence • Vocal tone variations: pitch changes and volume levels • Good conversations typically showed rising vocal tone; awkward ones showed dropped voices and silence

Standard questions like 'What do you do?' and 'Where are you from?' received lower ratings and produced flat conversations with poor engagement and minimal enthusiasm.

Effective opening lines trigger dopamine—a neurotransmitter released when we feel happy or experience reward.

When asked 'Are you busy lately?' our brain searches for everything negative—stress and pressure. When asked 'Are you working on anything interesting?' our brain searches for positive, happy, exciting things happening in our lives.

• Instead of 'What do you do?' ask 'Are you working on anything interesting?' • Instead of 'How are you?' ask 'Anything good happen to you today?' • Instead of 'Where are you from?' ask 'Do you have any vacations coming up?'

Asking questions that trigger dopamine creates happiness in others, makes you memorable, and helps them shift toward optimism.

By directing people's minds toward positive things, we guide them toward optimism and give them the gift of enhanced mood and hope.

Researchers had students sing 'Don't Stop Believing' into software measuring vocal accuracy without preparation time, evaluating pitch and lyrics.

• Group 1: Entered and sang immediately (neutral condition) • Group 2: Entered and said 'I am nervous' before singing • Group 3: Entered and said 'I am excited' before singing

• Nervous group: 53% accuracy • Neutral group: 69% accuracy • Excited group: 80% accuracy

Stress and excitement are physiologically similar feelings; the only difference is our mental interpretation. Reframing anxiety as excitement significantly improves performance.

• Think about what emotions you'll transmit to others • Start conversations with dopamine-triggering questions • Use hand gestures and point • Smile genuinely • Don't answer the phone in a bad mood

We have the power to influence others' emotional states and motivation through our non-verbal communication, word choices, and emotional expression.

Vanessa challenges the audience to actually transmit contagion by having them shout 'I am excited!' with full energy when she counts to three.

We are contagious—our emotions, confidence, and energy spread to those around us. Understanding this gives us the power to positively influence others.