Book Of Tells - Softcover

Collett, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385604297 ISBN 13: 9780385604291

Publisher: Doubleday, 2003

Synopsis

The way you stand when you're talking to others, how you move your feet, your hands, your eyes - even your eyebrows - says a lot about your commitment to a conversation and your underlying attitude. Your actions and stance can also affect how long you get to talk and how often you get interrupted. Even when you're seated, the position of your arms and legs provides a wealth of information about your mood and intentions, showing whether you feel dominant or submissive, preoccupied or bored. But "tells" aren't confined merely to conversations; when you are alone you are constantly shifting your body - and each movement, each gesture provides clues about your state of mind. In this book, Peter Collett, social psychologist and Big Brother's resident psychologist, introduces the reader to the fascinating concept of "tells", showing how they work, where they come from and how to identify and interpret them. Whilst sensitizing readers to the motives and actions of other people, this guide also focuses on the messages that we unwittingly send, and the impact that these might have on those around us. The book offers a unifying vocabulary for understanding human communication and social influence - and an opportunity to read yourself, and others.

About this title

About the Author

Dr Peter Collett is a social psychologist and ex-Oxford don. For many years he was a member of staff at the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, where he taught and conducted research studies. Peter is the co-author of Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution (with Desmond Morris), Driving Passion: The Psychology of the Car (with Peter Marsh) and is the author of Foreign Bodies: A Guide to European Mannerisms, the foreword for which was written by Peter Ustinov. He has appeared in various TV documentaries, on News at Ten and Newsnight. For the past two years he has been the consultant psychologist for the hugely popular Channel 4 series Big Brother, appearing each week to analyze the behaviour of the participants.

From the Back Cover

A TELL IS AN ACTION THAT TELLS YOU WHAT SOMEONE IS THINKING, EVEN IF THAT PERSON DOESN'T KNOW IT THEMSELVES. AND TELLS ARE HIGHLY INFORMATIVE.
The way you stand when you're talking to others, how you move your feet, your hands, your eyes - even your eyebrows - says a lot about your commitment to a conversation and your underlying attitude. Your actions and stance can also affect how long you get to talk and how often you get interrupted. Even when you're seated, the position of your arms and legs provides a wealth of information about your mood and intentions, showing whether you feel dominant or submissive, preoccupied or bored. But Tells aren't confined merely to conversations; when you are alone you are constantly shifting your body - and each movement, each gesture provides clues about your state of mind.
In this illuminating book, Peter Collett, social psychologist, former Oxford don and Big Brother's resident psychologist, introduces us to the fascinating concept of Tells, showing how they work, where they come from and how to identify and iterpret them. Whilst sentizing readers to the motives and actions of other people, this invaluable guide also focuses on the messages that we unwittingly send, and the impact that these might have on those around us.
Comprehensive and accessible in its approach, and written in the tradition of the international bestseller, Manwatching, THE BOOK OF TELLS offers a new, unifying vocabulary for understanding human communication and social influence - and a unique opportunity to read yourself, and others.

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385604297
• ISBN 13: 9780385604291
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320