Body Language Expert

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/rs4yhh/janhargravefinal_-_10_4_21_814_PMbkjue.mp3

EPISODE SUMMARY

As a body language expert, Jan Hargrave has a plethora of tips and tricks not only for interpreting the actions of others but for improving one’s own body language. In today’s episode, we spoke with Jan about how she began studying body language, tips for overcoming feeling invisible, confidence in dating, and the different tells for when someone is telling a lie. First, we talked to Jan about some of her knowledge about the statistics of body language. She told us that 55% of a person’s language is based in nonverbal communication, while only 37% is voice inflection and vocal ton and 7% is the actual words a person says. Within the first few seconds of speaking to someone, a person will have already formed a first impression, and after four minutes, will have already decided whether or not the person is someone they want to keep in their lives. When asked how she became interested in studying body language, Jan explained that she found inspiration in a graduate school psychology class. Every day, her professor would walk into the room and claim to know what one of the students was thinking. When confronted, the professor explained that he was able to read the body language of everyone in the room. After that, Jan was immediately interested, and went on to conduct graduate research on nonverbal communication. She eventually created a course on nonverbal communication to show to attorneys, and even brought her knowledge from law to the business world.

For tips on how to avoid looking invisible, Jan said that the smaller you keep yourself, the less threatening you seem, which makes others more likely to disregard your presence. By taking up more physical space, you portray more power and confidence. This can be achieved by spreading out your arms or books on a desk and putting one hand on your hip. You should also be mindful of how you are carrying your shoulders. By bringing your shoulders up and putting them back, you are setting a tone of confidence. Also, for establishing trust with whomever you’re speaking to, people tend to trust someone more when they can see minor hand motions in front of them.

We then asked about body language for dating. Jan said that for men, there are a few physical cues he’ll give to signify that he’s interested. When attracted to someone, men will lean down and adjust their socks, squeeze a drink in their hand, and tug at their tie. When women are attracted to someone, they will cross their leg towards the person they find most attractive, slowly start kicking the crossed leg, dangle their shoes, and play with their hair. For first impression gestures, men will gaze at a person’s body up and down, puff out their chest, and partake in sexual peek-a-boo, where they alternate between looking at the person and looking away. For women, gentle touches are a sign of interest. We also talked briefly about how to appear interested and engaged in conversations. Jan explained that when someone is engaged with another, they will nod their head periodically to signal that they’ve heard them. When a person is listening and agreeing, they will nod twice, and when they want to speak, they will nod three times.

Finally, we discussed how to tell when a person is lying. Jan told us that when a person is lying, they will often show physical cues with their left hand, since it is the ride side of their mind that is processing the lie. When determining if someone is lying, it’s important to know their baseline behavior so cues that are abnormal can be more easily detected. Some of the physical hand cues for lies are if a person rubs beneath the left side of their nose with their left hand and if their left finger tugs down slightly on their left eye. For eye language, there are a few tells for if someone is lying: if they make too much or too little eye contact, excessively blink, keep their eyes closed for too long when someone is speaking, dart their eyes to the exit in the room when asked a question, and have a sharp-shooter eye, which is when they look at someone through the corner of their eye. Jan also told us the three Cs of nonverbal cues: context, congruence, and clusters.

Jan Hargrave

Body language expert Jan Latiolais Hargrave teaches you the ways in which your body communicates to the world around you. As the nation’s leading behavioral authority and body language expert, Ms. Hargrave provides you with the skills you need to “read” your family, your associates, your customers, in fact, everyone around you. Jan is the author of Let Me See Your Body Talk, Freeway of Love, Judge the Jury, Strictly Business Body Language, Poker Face and a contributing author to Diversity and Inclusion in Quality Patient Care, 2nd ed. She has shared her expertise about body language, persuasion and influence with the New York Times, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, Fox Television, the Steve Harvey Show, The Lifetime Channel, E-Entertainment Television and dozens of popular magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Glamor, People, InTouch Weekly, Us Weekly, Life & Style, First for Women, The Forensic Examiner, Golf Magazine and others. Jan describes the “hidden messages’ you use in your everyday life and shows you how to stop the lies and uncover the truth—in any conversation or situation.

Working with thousands in the field of personal growth and self-expression as a consultant and corporate trainer for the past 15 years, Jan Hargrave continues to inspire may of today’s leading corporations such as Merrill Lynch, Starbucks, ESPN, Chase Manhattan Bank, NASA, Bank of America, IBM, Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Boeing Corporation, MARS Chocolate, Johns Hopkins Space Telescope Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, BlackRock Investments and the Tony Robbins Leadership Academy. Her membership and leadership in the American College of Forensic Examiners

provides practical tools for her seminars to Legal Associations throughout the country. Jan’s expertise regarding witness preparation, jury selection and interrogation tactics is frequently requested by the United States Military Armed Forces and foreign governments.

Jan has become the go-to-resource for analyzing key White House figures and Presidential and Vice-Presidential hopefuls for the past 20 years. Jan consulted on the body language of President Bill Clinton during his grand jury testimony in 1998 and has continued her political behavioral analysis through to her recent study and reporting of President Donald Trump. As a media guest, she relays information concerning the delicate details of the political figure’s leadership style, thought processes, and decision-

making abilities.

The Cajun French Ms. Hargrave was born to French-Acadian parents in the unique “Joie de Vivre” (Joy of Life) culture of southwest Louisiana and as a result, sprinkles her captivating presentations with entertaining Ragin’ Cajun folkloric tales. Jan received her Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree and Specialist Degree in Education with emphasis in Business Psychology from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. Jan is presently CEO of Jan Hargrave & Associates, a Houston-based consulting firm, and serves as an

Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston and M D Anderson Cancer Center.

Nonverbal communication—Body Language—often communicates a different message from the spoken word. Jan proves with her contagious warmth, wit, and humor that there is a method, and style, to success. Bring your body, your curiosity, your sense of humor and learn what your body—and the body of others—is communicating to the world.