These are the absolute best body language books. Reading body language books is an absolute must for mastering communication for business or personal life. So get started with one of these.

Best Body Language Books For Gestures and Their Origins

Desmond Morris: People Watching

So many body language books on the market are just pop fads. If you want to skip these and head straight to the science and facts of body language, then you really can’t do any better than picking up a copy of Dasmond Morris’s People Watching. This is the best body language books for delving into the science of body language to reveal why we move our bodies the way we do during different emotional states. To be completely honest, if you ever hope to consider yourself a body language specialist, you’re simply going to have to read this book. Don’t  worry thought; it’s as entertaining as it is insightful.

Extract: “The wagged forefinger (left) or the laterally shaken hand (middle)
often act in place of the simple Head Shake. These are examples of
Substitute Signals, where one part of the body (the forefinger or the
hand) replaces the usual organ (the head) involved in sending the
signal. In a similar way, the North American Indian sign for ‘yes’ is a
dip of the forefinger (right), with this movement substituting
for a nod of the bead.”

Download the ebook Demond Morris People Watching, the best body language book for science
Or get a physical copy here: PEOPLEWATCHING

Best Body Language Books About Lying

You Say More than You Think

Written by a former ATF body language expert, You Say More than You Think is one of the best body language books telling who is lying and who is not. It’s a risky subject, because in reality there are no sure far tells for uncovering who is lying and who is not, but You Say More than You Think covers the subject comprehensively and in great detail, making it one of the best books for uncovering deceit.

Extract from You Say More than You Think: “During those years at the ATF, I came to realize that reading and responding to body language is an awful lot like handling explosives. Used correctly, they can both be extraordinarily effective. But you have to stay aware—you never know when they’re going to blow up in your face.
Ask yourself: Has there ever been a time in your life where you got so caught up in the moment that you didn’t think through all the potential consequences of your actions? Maybe poor judgment cost you a missed business opportunity, your personal safety, a spouse, the love of one of your children, respect from colleagues, or even self-respect.
Now consider this: over 50 percent of what we communicate with others is nonverbal. If you aren’t aware of the raw power of your body language, you are taking an unnecessary risk.”

Download the ebook of You Say More than You Think, the best body language book for lying
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Best Body Language Books; Best Introductory Book

Barbara and Allan Pease: The Definitive Book of Body Language

If your’e relatively new to the field of body language and you want to get a good overview of what it’s all about, then this is onw of the best body language books for that purpose. Let Barbara and Allan Pease get you up to speed. The vast majority of the info in it is actually takes from Desmond Morris; work (above), but where Morris is a little heavy handed, Barbara and Allan Pease’s work is far easier to grasp. This is pop body language done right. It’s entertaining, it’s easy to read, and unlike a lot of books out there, it’s accurate. 

Extract from The Definitive Book of Body Language
“Salespeople are taught to watch for a customer’s exposed
palms when he gives reasons or objections about why he can’t
buy a product, because when someone
is giving valid reasons, they usually
show their palms. When people are
being open in explaining their reasons
they use their hands and flash their
palms whereas someone who isn’t
telling the truth is likely to give the
same verbal responses but conceal their
hands.”

Download the ebook of the best body language book for introduction
Or get a physical copy:The Definitive Book of Body Language

Best Body Language Books on Reading Body Language

Joe Navarro, What Every Body is Saying

Written by ex FBI agent Joe Navarro, it’s fair to say that What Every Body is Saying is one of the best body language books for illustratig the real life importance of reading body language. Navarro has spent his life reading body language, and in this book he teaches you the methods he used. Another standout of What Every Body is Saying is the personal accounts Navarro gives. You really get a sense of his life and work with this book.

Extract from Joe Navarro’s What Every Body is saying: “Universal nonverbal behaviors constitute one
group of body cues: those that are relatively the same for everyone. There
is a second type of body cue called an idiosyncratic nonverbal behavior,
which is a signal that is relatively unique to a particular individual.
In attempting to identify idiosyncratic signals, you’ll want to be on
the lookout for behavioral patterns in people you interact with on a regular
basis (friends, family, coworkers, persons who provide goods or services
to you on a consistent basis). The better you know an individual, or
the longer you interact with him or her, the easier it will be to discover
this information because you will have a larger database upon which to
make your judgments. For example, if you note your teenager scratches
his head and bites his lip when he is about to take a test, this may be a
reliable idiosyncratic tell that speaks of his nervousness or lack of preparation.
No doubt this has become part of his repertoire for dealing with
stress, and you will see it again and again because “the best predictor of
future behavior is past behavior.”

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Best Body Language Books on the Face and Facial Expressions

Paul Ekman, Unmasking the Face

The field of body language would not be what it is today without Paul Ekman. All the best body language books include a great deal of Ekman’s research.  Ekman spent countless years studying the movement of the face in expressing emotions, and he goes to great detail in explaining exactly what happens when we feel happy, sad, disgusted, angry, surprised and fearful. This is also one of the more scientific body language books on the market, and a must for anyone interested in microexpressions.

Extract from Ekman’s Unmasking the Face: 2 Contempt is shown by a variation on the closed-lips disgust mouth.
Figure 25 shows three contempt expressions. John shows the unilateral contempt
mouth, with slight pressing of the lips and a raising of the corners on
one side. Patricia’s expression in 25B is essentially the same as John’s except
that her upper lip is raised on one side, exposing the teeth. This adds the
scornful, sneering note to the expression. The picture of Patricia in 25C
shows a milder form of contempt, with a barely noticeable lifting of the
upper lip on one side of her face.”

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Or get a physical copy Unmasking the Face: A Guide to Recognizing Emotions From Facial Expressions

so there we have it, the best body language books available. We’ve presented the best body language books for each category. Reading these best body language books will give you a very good understanding of everything that is body language. I recommend reading all of the these best body language books.

Learn to read the body language of men with these signs that he’s interested.   OR go to the body language guide for a complete encyclopedia of body language.    

Body Language of Men | Body Language for Singles Dating

These body language signs are the keys to reading a man when dating. They’re particularly important the first time you meet a guy (so, for instance, if you’re meeting a guy from an online dating site they are particularly important).

We’ll be covering the ten most important body language signs of interest. If a guy shows more than five of these body language signs, he’s interested in you, more than seven and he adores you, all ten and he basically thinks you’re a goddess.

The Signs of Attraction in the Body Language of Men

Sign 1: The Belly Button: Whether his face and eyes are looking at you, your friend or the floor is less important than where his belly button is pointing. We naturally point our belly buttons towards the thing we desire. Think of the belly button as an arrow. Where it points is where he wants to go. If it points to you, that’s score one. This is one of the most important gestures in singles dating. If he’s pointing his belly button at you, he’s attracted.

Learn to read the secret body language of belly buttons HERE. 

Sign 2: His Feet: Given that you’ll be checking out whether he’s wearing Gucci footwear, you might as well take a sec to see which direction those shoes are point in. Much like the belly button, we also naturally point our feet where we want to go, which is why, if you find yourself sitting down, bored of a conversation, you may notice that your feet begin to point towards the door: you want to leave. If his feet point to the door, he probably wants to leave too. But if they point towards you, then that’s another point.

Learn to read the body language of feet HERE. 

Sign 3: His Pupils: There’s a reason why cuddly toys usually have great big round eyes. The reason is that when we are attracted to something our pupils dilate, becoming bigger, and when we dislike something, our pupils contract. Just like your favourite teddy, if his the pupils of his eyes are big, round and dilated, he totally adores you. If a man is wearing contact lenses his eyes may appear different, so bear that in mind. Also, this sign is particularly important in webcam dating for those readers who use webcam dating websites.

Discover the secrets of eye body language HERE.  <<< this is probably the number one way to tell if he really is interested! 

Sign 4: Hugs: The way a guy hugs you reveals a lot, and is also a very easy body language sign to read. Consider how delicate the fronts of our bodies are, containing our vital organs, private parts, throat, heart and more. We naturally try to protect these regions, so if a guy hugs you and puts a lot of the front of his body in contact with you, then you know for certain that he feels close to you, literally and figuratively.

Did you know you can tell what someone feels about you from their hugs?

Sign 5: Gaze: One of the quickest ways to tell if a man is interested in you at your first meeting, is to be mindful of how long he holds your gaze. If he holds your gaze for a little longer than the average person, that’s a sure sign that he likes what he’s looking at. However, a lot of men are shy, in which case he may look away quicker than usual, not because he thinks your ugly, but because he finds you so gorgeous that he feels awkward just looking at you.

Are you conveying the body language gestures of a strong and confident person, or of a shy and timid field mouse? This look at body language gestures will take you from weak to confident body language in ten minutes.

So far our online course in body language  has covered the basics of reading people and presented a great many body language gestures for all different parts of the body. Now it’s time to look at some constructive body language activities you can try today to begin to present yourself to your choosing, starting with this look at weak to confident body language.

Weak and Shy Body Language Gestures

How do you know when someone is feeling shy, unconfident, protective or weak, and how do you make sure you’re not giving that impression yourself? The following body language gestures are seen in people with low self esteem and depression, in social anxiety treatment centers and clinics. in most people they will only be used in moments of worry and stress, but if a person uses many of these gestures often or continuously it is a cause for concern.

Be sure to stop doing the following weak body language gestures:

• Picking nails
• Arm rubbing
• Putting hands in pockets
• Rubbing fingers or hands together (with a few exceptions)
• Fidgeting
• Touching legs
• Putting objects in mouth (sucking like a baby)
• Covering up throat, privates and chest
• Shoulder Shrugging

These are some of the most telling signs of under-confidence. Be sure to get rid of all self touching. It makes you look nervous. What’s more, performing these body language gestures will actually make you feel less confident. Remember, body and mind are one, if you use weak body language you will feel weak. It’s time to pick up strong and confident body language instead.

Strong and Confident Body Language Gestures

The following are some of the most powerful communicators of strength and confidence you can show. They are taught in a variety of different schools, from offline and online acting schools to international business schools to sales training. Be sure to include as many of these in your body language gestures repertoire as you comfortably can.

Showing the throat, chest and belly button:  The chest, belly button, private parts and throat are the most vulnerable areas of the body, so when a person stands or sits with these areas on display they’re showing a great deal of confidence. This air of confidence also makes them more approachable because they’re sending the signal that they’re confident enough to talk to anybody about anything. And of course, this confident body language is very attractive.

Confident Body Language Gestures of the Hands

The hands are one of the most vital body language communicators, both for weak gestures and strong ones. Here are some of the best hand gestures to use to show confidence.

Thumb in pocket, Hand out: Putting your thumb in your pocket and hooking the rest of the hand outside of it is a strong sign of confidence, but it can also appear aggressive, so use it cautiously.

A-OK: The a-ok gesture, of course, is one of confident reassurance, but by increasing the definition of the gesture (i.e by making it more pronounced) it also shows a precision of thought.

Steeple with Hands Apart: To perform a steeple hand gesture, bring your hands together in the shape of a steeple, then bring your hands about a foot apart. Got it? Great. This gesture shows conviction and is a key gesture for getting people to agree with what you’re saying.

Steeple with Hands Together: The same gesture performed with your hands together produces the impression of being clear and confident in your thoughts, though too much use of this gesture will make you appear arrogant.

Handgun Gesture: Put your hands into the shape of a gun facing the ceiling (handgun gesture). This gesture is great for emphasising points of your speech but can also come across as aggressive so use it cautiously.

Confident Standing Body Language Gestures

Be sure to stand with your feet at hip width apart (guy’s can stand with feet a little further apart still). This shows dominance.

Try to achieve and maintain good posture, a fundamental element in achieving elegance and beauty both in men and women. Stand tall but relaxed, your body balanced correctly. If you need to work on your posture the best book on the subject is: Towards Perfect Posture

Be aware that any objects preventing full view of your body (like a table in the way) will make you look distant.

Confident Body Language Gestures of the Face

To show confidence in your face, smile occasionally but not too much, keep your gaze length in moderation (make sure your eyes arent darting about the place) and use facial expressions to punctuate your verbal speech. Be aware that using too little facial expressions will make you appear mechanical and lacking life, enthusiasm and playfulness, where using too much facial expression will make you appear theatrical, comical and childish. Aim for moderation.

Confidence in Speech

Confident speech is slow, low, smooth and with good but not posh diction.

Failing all else, there are three keys to achieving a confident image: good posture, slow and smooth movement and ventral fronting (which means to not cover up the chest, throat or privates with an arm or other object).

Start to make use of these confident body language pointers today and you will be amazed how big a boost it gives not just to your relationships but to the way you feel about yourself.